Hydropower Reform Coalition - Klamath

Benefit Dinner to Un-dam Klamath

Rupak Thapaliya — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 09:08:31 -0600

Project: Klamath : P-2082

A benefit dinner is being organized to remove dams from the Klamath River that have been disturbing the habitat for salmon, trout and other species for a long time. The Klamath hydroproject owned by Pacificorp includes four dams that are not only disturbing fish migration and spawning but also polluting the river with toxic algae.

Local fishermen, tribes and environmental groups have long opposed the dams. Even the California Energy Commission calls it the "most environmentally damaging energy project in CA." A recent analysis by FERC concluded that dam removal would be cheaper by $7 million a year, thus saving money for the owner, state and tax payers.

A short video developed by American Rivers, with funding from Hydropower Reform Coalition, explains the need to remove the dams for restoration of Klamath River.

The $5-$15 dinner will include live music, a multimedia presentation, and silent auction. See the Klamath Riverkeeper's event page for more details on the event.

Settlement reached for Klamath's future

Rupak Thapaliya — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 12:18:16 -0600

Project: Klamath : P-2082

After years of negotiations, the Klamath River Basin Restoration Agreement, or simply a settlement agreement was finalized yesterday. The settlement agreement aims to restore salmon population, revitalize commercial fishing and support farming by local tribes while also hoping that irrigation water will be more appropriately allocated. Pacific Corps, the owner of the project, however, did not participate in the the settlement.

On the other hand, discussions for the removal of the four dams is still ongoing. Last month, FERC, in its Environmental Assessment determined that dam removal would be the most economical option.

Read the LA Times article on the settlement here.

Wall Street Journal: Dam the Salmon

Rebecca Sherman — Thu, 31 May 2007 12:38:17 -0500

The Wall Street Journal (www.wsj.com) published an opinion-editorial called "Dam the Salmon" from a Reason.com analyst. The analyst, describing conservationists as "greens," begins:

If their opposition to the Klamath hydroelectric dams in the Pacific Northwest is any indication, the greens, it appears, are just as unwilling to sacrifice their pet causes as a Texas rancher is to sacrifice his pickup truck. If anything, the radicalization of the environmental movement is the bigger obstacle to addressing global warming than the allegedly gluttonous American way of life.

The American way of life is allegedly excessive? Conservation is the problem behind global warming? Fascinating. The reply from American Rivers, available on their blog, and published by the WSJ reads:

Are the readers of the Wall Street Journal supposed to be horrified when an outmoded 100 year-old factory closes its doors? Of course not.

But that’s exactly the sort of irrational economic logic Ms. Dalmia proposes should protect all hydro dams into the infinite future.

Another letter from Friends of the River, also published, says:

[S]he neglects to mention at any point that a staggering 95% of the Klamath's native salmon population has been destroyed. Stepping in to protect the remaining 5% of a critical species is hardly a "radical" environmental position.

[She also] alleges that environmentalists have "rejected all attempts by PacifiCorp... to take mitigation steps... to create a salmon pathway." This is not true. PacifiCorp only considered mitigation because it was required to and its only genuine proposal was to catch migrating salmon, load them into trucks and drive them upstream -- a plan best characterized as absurd.

The WSJ published a third letter to the editor from a California resident, Scott Christensen, who points out that "there is nothing "cheap and renewable" about energy production that results in the destruction of wild salmon and steelhead runs and the jobs that depend on them."

SF Chronicle: Take Down the Klamath Dams

Keith Nakatani — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 13:27:47 -0600

Project: Klamath : P-2082

The San Francisco Chronicle weighed in with an editorial stating the removal of the four Klamath dams is close. The editorial highlights the current situation--feds want prohibitively expensive fish ladders, which may lead to dam removal--which keeps the pressure on PacifiCorp and government officials.

The editorial is below:

Take down the dams

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

FOR YEARS, Indian tribes, conservationists and fishing groups have argued that removing four power dams blocking the headwaters of the Klamath River would reverse the losses of once-plentiful salmon.

Free flows of cold water are what the fish need, and the fearsome foursome of dams near the Oregon border were major impediments.

Now the federal bureaucracy has joined the chorus in a roundabout way. As a result, taking down the barriers has never been closer.

Because the dams need new licenses to operate, federal agencies have taken a long look. The results aren't pretty for the dam operator, PacificCorp, owned by billionaire philanthropist Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Corp.

To keep the dams humming, Commerce and Interior agencies now want $300 million in fish ladders and screens. This price tag may be too high for PacificCorp, which cranks out only enough power to light 70,000 homes.

A miracle lies within reach. One of the country's biggest dam removal projects could begin, affording a chance at returning surging waters not seen for almost a century. Easing this change is the fact that Washington controls most of the land along the river course, and no major city lies downstream. Taking out other dams on big rivers won't be this easy.

Much remains to complete the dam demolition dream. Sediment behind the dam walls must be considered. Other tolls on the Klamath's health such as timber cuts, farm diversions and human building should be weighed.

But an amazing change is suddenly attainable. The dams that have plagued a once-mighty salmon river may come down. A river's past could be restored.