Save the Salmon in the Klamath Basin

November 22, 2006

Newport News-Times

The Klamath River was once the third most productive salmon river in the United States . Today, thanks to habitat blocking dams, poor water quality and too little water left in the river, coho salmon stocks are now listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), and chinook stocks this year are at 4 percent of their historic level.

Salmon losses in the Klamath Basin have had devastating impacts on the coastal communities - from Port Orford on the southern Oregon coast to Ft. Bragg , Calif. - for more than 20 years.

The weak chinook salmon stocks that resulted from water diversion to the Klamath Basin farmers in 2002 caused the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) to reduce the 2005 season on the Oregon coast by 50 percent and the 2006 season by 90 percent. The cost to the coastal counties of Oregon was $12 million in 2005 and $30 million in 2006. What is particularly troubling about the 2005 year is that the fishermen were pulled off the largest projected run of Sacramento River salmon in history.

At the request of Congresswoman Darlene Hooley, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is holding a town hall meeting at the Shilo Inn in Newport on Nov. 30 from 7 to 10 p.m. to take comments on whether the four dams owned by Pacific Corporation on the Klamath River should be re-licensed for up to a 50-year period, or whether the dams should be removed. The four dams average generating 82 megawatts of power per year, which is one-tenth of what a modern gas generator produces each year. California has advised that replacing the lost power would not be a problem. The National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) and the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) have both filed letters with FERC requesting dam removal.

When one considers the importance of the sport and commercial salmon fisheries to both our coastal economy and our coastal way of life, it is vital that we as a community support our fishermen at this meeting and encourage our governmental agencies to fix the Klamath River for the benefit of all user groups.

Mike Becker

Newport  

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Source:  http://www.newportnewstimes.com/articles/2006/11/22/opinion/letters/letters03.txt