Klamath River eNews - July 7th, 2008
KR, 08.07.2008 20:58
Klamath River eNews - July 7th, 2008
News:
* PEACE ON THE KLAMATH* FEDS TELL IRRIGATORS KLAMATH SALMON NEED MORE WATER* DREAMING OF BARBECUED SALMON? SAVE WATER FOR ITS RETURN* CHILOQUIN DAM REMOVAL TO BEGIN MID-JULY
Action Alerts:
* STATE HEARINGS BEGIN ON DAMS' WATER QUALITY - 7/22 in Sacramento and more...
Announcements:
* WELCOME GEORGIANNA MYERS, KLAMATH RIVERKEEPER EMPOWERMENT PROJECT COORDINATOR* LAPTOP COMPUTER NEEDED FOR EMPOWERMENT PROJECT
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News:
PEACE ON THE KLAMATHHigh Country News - 6/23/08
http://www.klamathriver.org/Documents/HCN62308PeaceOnTheKlamath.pdf?article_id=17763“We’ve been in the fight for ages,” Fletcher says. “But we can’t afford to litigate for decades and watch our fish continue to die.” The negotiation process has been as tortuous as the river’s run through the canyons, and it has been tightly wrapped in secrecy. But after 90 years, salmon will soon be bound once more for the river’s upper reaches. And the long-warring parties say they have laid the groundwork to sustain native fish, farming and Indian communities, creating a peace on the river that can last. “We turned the traditional alliances upside-down,” Fletcher says. “Now you’ve got the deck shuffled, and it makes no rhyme or reason who’s out or who’s in.”
See also:Kayaking the Klamath while dodging the dams - HCN Writers on the Range http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.WOTRArticle?article_id=17789
FEDS TELL IRRIGATORS KLAMATH SALMON NEED MORE WATERCapital Press - 6/20/08 http://capitalpress.com/Main.asp?SectionID=94&ArticleID=42470After evaluating the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's latest plans for splitting water between irrigators and fish, the NOAA Fisheries Service said Friday more water is needed in the spring to flood rearing habitat for juvenile coho salmon, a threatened species. The latest review - ordered by a federal judge - is known as a draft biological opinion, and comes in a long-standing battle over how much water goes to farms and how much goes to salmon in the Klamath Basin. The final version is expected later this year.
DREAMING OF BARBECUED SALMON? SAVE WATER FOR ITS RETURNSan Jose Mercury News - 7/1/08 http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_9750545Will you eat salmon at your Fourth of July barbecue? How much will you pay for it? Will you even be able to find it? There is no salmon fishing season this year, so there may be no wild salmon for your party. If you think that's bad, imagine how it feels to the commercial fishermen, fishing guides, seafood shops and all the local businesses that rely on salmon for their livelihood. As you slap farm-raised tilapia on your grill Friday, give a thought to our rivers.
CHILOQUIN DAM REMOVAL TO BEGIN MID-JULYKDRV - 7/2/08 http://www.kdrv.com/article.aspx?id=43622Crews are preparing for the second phase of the Chiloquin Dam removal project. The first phase involved installing a new pumping plant on the Williamson River to provide water for the Modoc Point Irrigation District. The actual removal of the dam, the second phase of the project, will start in mid-July. Deconstruction of the Chiloquin Dam is the culmination of years of negotiation among the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Klamath tribes, and the Bureau of Reclamation.
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Action Alerts:
* STATE HEARINGS BEGIN ON DAMS' WATER QUALITY - Will California give PacifiCorp's dams a green light?
For the last four years the Klamath dams’ reservoirs have created one of the worst toxic algae problems ever recorded. While downriver communities are continually exposed and warned to stay out of the river, no action has been taken by the state of California to regulate the problem. PacifiCorp has argued states do not have the authority to enforce the Clean Water Act on federal projects, and has fought impacted communities in court while suppressing their own water quality monitoring results.
After successul legal action from Klamath Riverkeeper forcing California to enforce clean water law and regulate PacifiCorp, the state is finally beginning its Clean Water Act certification process (called a 401 permit) on the dams this summer. The 401 permit may be the single most crucial process within the movement to un-dam the Klamath. If California denies PacifiCorp’s clean water permit for the dams, it is likely that the only realistic solution to the algae pollution is dam removal.
TAKE ACTION!
If you could do one thing to un-dam the Klamath, this is it! We are depending on the Klamath-loving public to stand up for clean water on our river, and say no to dams that threaten it. In the next six months there will be multiple public hearings, rallies and comment periods on the decision to issue PacifiCorp a 401 permit. We absolutely need you to attend whatever hearings are in your area and to submit comments on this issue.
EIR Scoping: July 22nd - Sacramento (time tba) Call Klamath Riverkeeper for info on carpools leaving from the Klamath, southern Oregon and the North Coast
July 31 - Klamath at the Yurok offices 11-1 pmJuly 31- Orleans at the Karuk DNR, 6 to 8 pmAugust 1 - Yreka at the Yreka Grange 11-1 pm
More info at http://www.klamathriver.org/Action-Alerts.html
For rides from Northern California to Sacramento call Georgianna Myers, Klamath Riverkeeper Empowerment Project Coordinator at 707 599-0877 or call Molli White from the Karuk Tribe at 530 627-3346 ext. 6. Or email sregonlady at gmail.com.
For rides from Oregon call Malena Marvin 541-821-7260.
Contact Jennifer Watts at the State Water Board at 
jwatts@waterboards.ca.gov or (916) 341-5397 for background information on the 401certification process.
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Announcements:
* WELCOME GEORGIANNA MYERS, KLAMATH RIVERKEEPER EMPOWERMENT PROJECT COORDINATORWe're pleased to announce a new member of the Klamath Riverkeeper team. After Georgianna's outstanding organizational help during our trip to Omaha, we're contracting with her to help us further empower Native and other communities impacted by the Klamath dams. Georgianna is a Yurok Tribal member who teaches the Yurok language to students at Weitchpec Elementary. She's starting out with KRK by helping organize a great turnout to the state water quality hearings starting on July 22 in Sacramento. The Empowerment Project will also be helping rural commercial salmon fishing communities speak out for restoration of Klamath fisheries.
* LAPTOP COMPUTER NEEDED FOR EMPOWERMENT PROJECTCan you help us find a laptop for Georgianna to use? If you're upgrading, please consider donating your functional used laptop to Klamath Riverkeeper. This is a great tax write-off that also empowers Native communities on the Klamath to organize public involvement in restoration of the river.
______________________Malena MarvinOutreach and Science DirectorKlamath RiverkeeperPO Box 897, Ashland, OR 97520cell: 541-821-7260 ph/fax: 541-488-3553malena@klamathriver.org http://www.klamathriver.org
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