A convergence of forces might be coming into alignment to remove some dams that may no longer be needed, and that could be very good for the salmon, do no harm to the people; a good thing all the way around.
An excerpt.
PacifiCorp says Klamath dams negotiable
By Paul Boerger
August 16, 2006
In the long complicated saga of the Klamath River, a new twist has been added with a recent statement from PacifiCorp Energy that says the company is willing to consider removing five power dams as part of settlement negotiations to solve Native American, farm irrigator and fishing issues.
The dams are currently undergoing a 50 year licensing renewal process with the federal government.
“The company continues to believe that the settlement process is the right place to work on and resolve the complex issues in the Klamath Basin,” the PacifiCorp statement says. “Thus, PacifiCorp does not oppose settlement opportunities, including dam removal, as long as any settlement safeguards the economic interests of our customers and respects the company's ownership rights in the project facilities.”
Glenn Spain of the Pacific Coast Fisherman's Association says it is welcome news.
“It's the first time anything has been heard in public that the dams are negotiable,” Spain said. “Obviously, it solves the fish passage problem. If the dams were taken down, it would move the whole basin away from the brink of crises every year.”
Earlier this year, the federal government severely reduced the salmon catch because of low numbers of fish resulting in the declaration of a federal economic disaster for Oregon and California coastal fisherman.
Greg Addington, executive director of Klamath Water Users Association, which represents farmers, said the idea is worth exploring.
“We don't want to be a roadblock to negotiations,” Addington said. “We're pretty amenable. We don't have a pre-position, but we do have questions.”
The Klamath Project is located in south central Oregon and north central California. The total area is approximately 5,700 square miles.
The Klamath Reclamation Project was begun in 1905 to reclaim land from lakes and marshland for farming. Water diversions continued unabated through the building of Iron Gate Dam, one of five on the Klamath River, in 1962. More than 230,000 acres of farmland are now irrigated by the Project.
The last five years have seen water cut off to farmers to save fish and water restored to farmers with low river flows blamed for tens of thousands of dying fish.
Numerous conflicting scientific studies have not been able to definitively come up with a solution acceptable to all interests, but a recent report from the National Academy of Science recommended studying removing some of the dams as a possible way of restoring the eco-system to improve fish habitat.
