Salmon Nation
Restoring Free-Flowing Rivers in the Pacific Northwest
By Malena Marvin and Regina Chichizola, Klamath Riverkeeper

» In 1918 construction was completed on the 250-foot tall Copco I Dam. Several others followed over the next 40 years, effectively slicing the Klamath River in half and setting into motion a cascade of ecological effects that have reduced Klamath salmon populations by 90 percent. In 2006 and 2007, the river’s ecological dysfunction and economic woes made daily headlines as commercial and Tribal fishing along Oregon and California’s coasts were restricted and shut down. We’re losing our salmon-based economy on the Klamath, but if we can remove the river’s antiquated dams we just might get it back.

Nearly a century ago ‘progress’ meant sacrificing rivers, and what must have seemed like an endless supply of salmon, for hydroelectric power. But today people are learning to work with nature to achieve sustainable prosperity. And we are reversing the mistakes of the past. In 2007 the owner of the Marmot Dam in Oregon removed the dam. Though it powered 12,000 homes, the owner found it cheaper to dismantle the dam rather than to retrofit to allow fish to pass above the dam (as required under federal law). Two other dams on Washington’s Elwha River, including the 210-foot Glines Canyon Dam, are slated for removal in Olympic National Park in 2010.

Klamath Riverkeeper and a coalition of Native Tribes, commercial fishermen and recreational businesses are working to secure a similar renewal on the Klamath by restoring a free-flowing river. Studies show that every sport-hooked Chinook brings $200 to the local economy. The cultural and subsistence benefits of a restored fishery to California’s three largest Tribes, the Karuk, Hupa and Yurok, and Oregon’s Klamath Tribe, are incalculable. The Klamath’s salmon runs affect fishermen from Southern California to Oregon. Salmon Nation, the stretch of salmon-bearing watersheds between California and Alaska, is having an identity crisis as its famous salmon runs blink out, one by one, down the coast. Undamming the Klamath is an important step in rebuilding Salmon Nation.

In addition to destroying fisheries, the Klamath dams create water quality conditions that breed Microcystis aerigunosa, algae that releases a harmful toxin. Toxic to the touch and potentially fatal when ingested, this algae has turned the world-class Wild and Scenic Klamath River into a summer-time public health nightmare. Klamath Riverkeeper, Tribal religious leaders, fishermen and recreational businesses have filed two algae-related lawsuits against the dams, owner, PacifiCorp, which are still pending. A third lawsuit organized by Klamath Riverkeeper has successfully forced U.S. EPA to list the toxic algae as a pollutant in the Klamath, a victory that will make it very difficult for PacifiCorp to obtain the water quality permit it needs from California to relicense the Klamath dams.

We are sitting on the edge of an unprecedented opportunity for river restoration on the Klamath. In a process that happens only once every 50 years the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the federal commission that oversees dams, is reviewing the operating licenses of the four Klamath dams that lack fish passage. Though its own economic analysts found dam removal to be cheaper than relicensing, this White House appointed commission recommended keeping the dams in a puzzling 2007 report. In parallel negotiations to the FERC process, farmers (who use the reservoirs for irrigation), Klamath Tribes and other stakeholders have reached a tentative agreement to remove Klamath dams and coordinate flow releases to benefit fish. Though PacifiCorp was included in these negotiations, the corporation is now throwing its weight behind a media spin campaign, and remains the main settlement partner on the Klamath to oppose dam removal.

With the diverse and historically divided parties on the Klamath River agreeing on dam removal, the next step is to convince PacifiCorp and their customers. Billionaire Warren Buffett is the owner of PacifiCorp, which owns the four Klamath dams. So in May 2007 Klamath Riverkeeper and a delegation of Klamath Tribes, fishermen and environmental advocates went to Omaha, Nebraska, to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway shareholders’ meeting. Working with the Klamath Salmon Media Collaborative we made a big splash, getting international coverage of the demonstration and our toxic algae nuisance lawsuits. Our message: Even as Warren Buffet fights poverty and disease through his philanthropy, his resistance to Klamath Dam removal is creating poverty and sickness among Klamath Tribes and the Pacific coastal fishing fleet.

Riverkeeper is also reaching out to PacifiCorp’s customers. Klamath Riverkeeper’s lawsuits and direct action campaigns are urging public utilities, who buy electricity from PacifiCorp, and state water quality commissions to reject dam re-licensing. According to federal and state economic studies, re-licensing the dams could cost as much as $270 million more than removing them. The number jumps still higher if it includes the millions of dollars in federal subsidies to the foundering commercial fishing industry and the Tribes that are becoming impoverished due to the lack of Klamath salmon. PacifiCorp can only pass the costs of relicensing onto ratepayers if the Oregon Public Utility Commission approves the plan. We are educating and organizing ratepayers to urge the Commission to deny any such request.

Until these dams are removed Klamath Riverkeeper and the Tribes and fishermen that depend on the Klamath will be in Omaha, Portland, DC, in the courtroom, and in the papers making sure people know that it is time to tear down the dams and restore the heart of Salmon Nation.