Hey there Pioneer Press, how about a little common sense

Pioneer Press

Fort Jones , CA

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

page E29, col. 1

pioneerp@sisqtel.net

To the Editor:

From your continuous defamation of Copco Lake , I assume you (Phil Hayworth) have never been here. The comments you make sound like ramblings from the dam-removal crowd. Those of us who are familiar with the lake at all times of the year know what a great recreational place it is, and appreciate the fishing available for the professional angler as well as the little kid that gets a thrill out of the catch.

Maybe when you go to the ocean you swim in the kelp beds or some of the other spots that give you something to write about. We use common sense and stay out of the few algae bloom areas that get thick in the summer.

If you look into the situation, you will find God did not bless us with the algae. He grows it in the 70-75 degree water of Klamath Lake . It comes down the river where it blooms in the slack water river areas and the same in the shallow, slow areas of the lake.

This is where many people want to send the Salmon by removing the Dams. The same people tell me Salmon like cool, clear water. That sure is not the place to get it.

Last summer when the bloom was bad, the Siskiyou Health Department tested many people using the lake and found no ill effects. The EPA found the area from Oregon to Iron Gate Dam could be posted due to levels determined by the World Health Organization.

Where they got the figures is unknown because there have been no ill effects here with concentrations thousands of times what they require. If you observed their figures people would probably not be able to go in waters anywhere. The water below Iron Gate was clear and below the standards. Must be getting clean going through the Lake . How about a little common sense.

Robert Davis,
Copco Lake

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