Comments
to American River article
regarding Federal agencies
require fish ladders on
Klamath Dams
Followed by American Rivers
article
January 30, 2007
Is it really about the fish?
It would seem that if this
whole dam scenario were
really about the fish, there
would be no question or
opposition to trucking the
fish around the dams to
firmly establish if they can
even survive and/or spawn
above the dams.
But instead, tribes and
others want to remove fully
functioning dams when there
is no history or science
that says this will improve
salmon returns. There is
also no study that has been
done that can tell us the
effects of dam removal on
this scale.
Suppose, just suppose that
the dams are removed. The
resulting sediment flows (21
million cubic yards) have a
very strong potential of
burying all spawning beds
downstream of the dams for a
very very long time.
The Klamath will again be at
the mercy of drought and at
times almost dry up to a
trickle as it did before
dams were built, where will
the water come from then to
help salmon even get to the
dams. They may well not be
able to get any farther than
they got in the infamous
fish kill. The tribes and
others attributed that fish
kill to low water flows. If
the dams come out there may
very well be no water flows
instead of just low water.
How irresponsible to even
consider dam removal when
there is no way to know what
the result will be. How much
more irresponsible in light
of California's governor
calling for more dams to
sustain water demands into
the future. Hydroelectric is
the cleanest power
generation that is
dependable, unlike solar and
wind, which need online
fossil fuel generators
running 24/7 to take up
power demands at peak times.
How irresponsible to even
consider dam removal when
there is no way to know what
the result will be.
What of the refuges and
wetlands above the dams,
what of the legions of
birds, fish, and wildlife
that depend on the water as
it is now. What about the
wetlands that the upper
Klamath sustains that feed
and rest the largest
migratory bird flyway on the
west coast. Are these all
expendable?
James Foley
Private Property Rights
Advocate
Hamburg, CA.
--------------------------------------
Federal agencies require
fish ladders on Klamath Dams
January
30, 2007 By: Amy Souers
Momentum builds toward dam
removal
January 30, 2007
www.AmericanRivers.org/Klamath
Nevada City, CA -- In
final fishway prescriptions
issued today, federal
agencies stood firm on their
requirement that PacifiCorp
install fish ladders and
screens and make other
modifications at its four
dams on the Klamath River,
to help the river’s
imperiled salmon runs.
Steve Rothert, director
of the California field
office of American Rivers,
made the following
statement:
“The agencies made the
right choice in requiring
fish passage at the dams.
The onus is now on
PacifiCorp to make the right
economic and environmental
decision, and remove the
dams.
“The Klamath dams are
economic losers, and by
removing them PacifiCorp
would protect its ratepayers
from higher costs.
PacifiCorp has a golden
opportunity to do the right
thing, and to contribute to
what could arguably be the
greatest river restoration
project in our country’s
history.
“PacifiCorp might be
considering appealing these
conditions in court, but in
case after case, the
agencies’ authority to
protect salmon from harm
caused by hydro projects has
been upheld. This case will
be no different.
“I believe a solution is
possible that works for all
the people of the Klamath
Basin. I think we are on the
cusp of ending decades-long
disputes over management of
the Klamath, and charting a
better future for farmers,
tribes, fishermen and all
the communities that depend
on healthy Klamath River."
PacifiCorp's dams on the
Klamath River, built between
1908 and 1962, cut off
hundreds of miles of
productive salmon spawning
and rearing habitat in the
Upper Klamath, which was
once the third most
productive salmon river on
the West Coast. The dams
also impair water quality,
encourage the growth of
toxic algae and fish
parasites, and degrade river
habitat. Klamath salmon
populations dropped to such
low levels in 2006 that much
of the commercial salmon
fishery was closed along
more than 700 miles of
California and Oregon
coastline. Recent closures
may have cost the California
economy more than $100
million.
A recent study by the
California Energy Commission
and the Department of the
Interior found that removing
the dams and replacing their
power would save PacifiCorp
ratepayers up to $285
million over 30 years.
###
Founded in 1973, American
Rivers is a national
non-profit conservation
organization dedicated to
protecting and restoring
healthy natural rivers for
the benefit of people,
wildlife and nature.
American Rivers has more
than 65,000 supporters
nationwide, with offices in
Washington, DC and the
Mid-Atlantic, Northeast,
Midwest, Southeast,
California and Northwest
regions.
www.AmericanRivers.org |
