By Kristian Foden-Vencil
PORTLAND, OR 2006-08-02 Several
Indian tribes from the Oregon-California border marched through Portland
Wednesday to call for the demolition of four dams along the Klamath River. As
Kristian Foden-Vencil reports, contrary to the outcome of many such marches,
they got more than the usual brush-off from authorities.
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(Sound of demonstrators singing.)
About 150 members of the Yurock, Karuck, Hoopa, and Klamath tribes began their
demonstration with prayers and a song. Ronnie Reed, a ceremonial dip-net
fisherman at Ishi Pishi Falls, says they're here to push Pacificorp into
taking the Iron Gate, Copco, and JC Boyles dams down so salmon, steelhead, and
coho can once again reach 350 miles of spawning habitat.
Ronnie Reed: "Last year we caught less than 200 fish at our fishery. I
represent the Karuck Tribe of California and we have over 3,400 tribal
members, so catching less than 200 fish at our fishery is an absolute problem,
it's a travesty, not only to our tribal members' health, but also it's our way
of life."
Reed says The Karuck have only had access to modern foods for a few
generations, since 1850.
Ronnie Reed: "Tribal members have a shock to your body when all of a
sudden you have all these foreign foods coming into our system, and
genetically I don't believe our system can handle it. And so when we have all
these starch-rich coming into our system -- it contributes to diabetes,
obesity, hypertension, all these huge issues out there that are astronomical,
four or five times the national average for tribal members."
He says members of the tribe miss being able to fish for salmon, hunt for deer
and enjoy the land as "The Creator" intended.
(Sound of chanting.)
At the march, hundreds of people carry signs reading "First the Buffalo,
Now the Salmon," and "Don't Dam our Future."
Reed burns ceremonial angelica root and several female elders sport large blue
tattoos on their chins.
(Sound of chanting.)
The four dams were built between 1917 and 1962, but they're not large,
compared to Bonneville or The Dalles. One is simply a pile of earth and rock.
None have fish ladders.
The dams have generated a lot of interest, however, as they're up for
relicensing -- a complex federal process that can force owners to install
expensive new equipment, like fish ladders. And environmentalist Stormy Stotts
says this is the time for action. That's why she drove to Portland for the
rally from the Klamath Basin.
Stormy Stotts: "This is the first time in 50 years that they've come up
for relicensing, so it's really the chance of a lot of people's lifetime to
have the opportunity for them to come down."
The tribes say that in purely financial terms, putting in new fish ladders
would cost twice as much as tearing the dams down.
The figures are not lost on PacifiCorp, whose president responded to news of
the demonstration by saying, "We are not opposed to dam removal."
Craig Tucker, a member of the Karuk tribe, says that's new.
Craig Tucker: "We're looking at it with guarded optimism, we're going to
have to have some action to go behind those words. But we think this could
happen. It could be the most visionary river restoration effort in American
history when it does happen."
For years PacifiCorp has been in negotiations with tribes, commercial fishers,
the states, and Klamath basin farmers, to try and reach a compromise on what
to do about the dams.
Company spokesman Dave Kvamme says there is now a new company president and
he'd much rather reach some kind of settlement than fight what he calls
"the Byzantine federal regulatory process."
Dave Kvamme: "If we can find a settlement that includes dam removal and
addresses our customer needs and property rights, we're willing to go there.
That said, we've been in settlement talks for a long time and we've always had
dam removal as one of the potential outcomes in these talks."
The tribes says it's now up to the feds and Governors Kulongoski and
Schwartzenegger to put together a package that allows PacifiCorp to make
enough money -- on a new wind farm, say -- to justify removing the dams.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has set a 2007 deadline for
relicensing the dams. But it does have the power to push that deadline back if
the tribes, irrigators, fishermen, and the governors are still in negotiation.