Klamath River News

Klamath River News: Jan. 19th
* KLAMATH RIVERKEEPER TO SUE PACIFICORP,
* JUDGE RESTORES SALAMANDER TO THE THREATENED SPECIES LIST,
* THOMPSON INTRODUCES SALMON RELIEF BILL,
* ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER HIRES NEW CHIEF,
* LEAPING STEELHEAD AWARD AWARDED TO KLAMATH RIVERKEEPER, FISH RUN ORGANIZERS FROM HOOPA HIGH

Action Alert:
* SPEAK OUT AGAINST MASSIVE SOUTHERN OREGON PIPELINE
Pipeline will transect Upper Klamath Drainage and use imminent domain to cross properties.


KLAMATH RIVERKEEPER TO SUE PACIFICORP,
Klamath Riverkeeper on Wednesday filed a 60-day notice of its intent to sue PacifCorp, claiming the utility is polluting Klamath River.
Klamath Riverkeeper's lawsuit claims that operation of the Iron Gate Dam hatchery has resulted in repeated violations of the Clean Water Act and is just one of the ways that PacifiCorp, as the owner of the four dams along the Klamath River, is destroying the river, its salmon runs and the coastal fishing economies of the California and Oregon Coastline.
Since the dams were built, Klamath Salmon numbers have dropped from more than a million to less then 8 percent of that with one of the worst runs ever occurring last year, according to the Klamath Riverkeeper.
Record-setting levels of a highly toxic algae have been found behind the dams during the last two years, and last year, low runs of wild Klamath salmon caused severe restrictions on commercial salmon fishing on more than 700 miles of coastline in Oregon and California, Yreka, Calif.-based Klamath Riverkeeper said.
PacifiCorp, a Portland-based company, was recently acquired by Des Moines, Iowa-based MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., which is owned by Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2007/01/15/daily24.html

WATER POLLUTION SUIT AIMS TO MAKE DAMS' COST PROHIBITIVE
By Jeff Barnard, Associated Press
January 18, 2007
GRANTS PASS, Ore. - Conservationists are increasing pressure on PacifiCorp to remove hydroelectric dams from the Klamath River to help struggling salmon runs, warning they will sue to stop pollution from a fish hatchery the utility owns.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5286753,00.html


JUDGE RESTORES SALAMANDER TO THE THREATENED SPECIES LIST
JEFF BARNARD
Associated Press
GRANTS PASS, Ore. - A San Francisco Superior Court judge on Friday put a salamander that lives in old growth forests along the Klamath River back on California's threatened species list until the state Fish and Game Commission takes action.
The California Department of Fish and Game had stopped giving protection for the Scott Bar salamander under the California Endangered Species Act after new genetic work determined it was a subspecies of the Siskiyou Mountains salamander, which was listed.
Taking the Scott Bar salamander off the protected list had allowed some logging to go ahead in old growth forests on private land along the Klamath River in Northern California, but the ruling could put a pending logging plan on hold, said Noah Greenwald of the Centers for Biological Diversity, one of the plaintiffs in the case.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/16449447.htm


THOMPSON INTRODUCES SALMON RELIEF BILL
by Nathan Rushton, 1/5/2007
 U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson?s office announced the Congressman kicked off the 110th Congress by introducing legislation to provide federal disaster relief to California and Oregon?s salmon fishing industry.
According to a news release, the bill authorizes the appropriation of $60.4 million for the fishermen, tribes and businesses that were impacted by the federally designated commercial fishery failure in 2006....
Ann Warden, communications director for Thompson, said Thursday that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D -San Francisco) is ?very aware? of the plight of West Coast fishermen and has been very supportive of making Thompson?s salmon disaster relief legislation a priority.
In a news release from her office, Boxer blamed the Bush administration?s mismanagement of the Klamath River for why coastal communities have already had to wait too long to get the disaster relief they need.
?By introducing this legislation on the first day of Congress, we are letting our communities and families know that getting them financial assistance is a top priority this year,? Boxer said.
Thompson said it is up to the Congress to do everything it can to help the thousands of families and businesses that are suffering from the largest commercial salmon fishery disaster in our nation?s history.
http://www.eurekareporter.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ArticleID=19128


ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER HIRES NEW CHIEF
John Driscoll/The Times-Standard
The Northcoast Environmental Center has hired longtime activist Greg King to be its executive director, filling a void open since former leader Tim McKay died last summer.
King is perhaps best known from his efforts to map, explore and name the Headwaters Forest more than a decade before it was sold to the state and federal governments. But it was his skills as an administrator, writer and founder of two nonprofit groups that made the center's board of directors choose him for the job.
King expects to continue McKay's focus on the Klamath River, which he said is one of the most critical regional issues. He also thinks that growth, transportation, habitat protection and water quality will continue to be pervasive issues in the future. King said he would like the organization to do more proactive work.
http://www.times-standard.com/local/ci_5029548


LEAPING STEELHEAD AWARD AWARDED TO KLAMATH RIVERKEEPER, FISH RUN ORGANIZERS FROM HOOPA HIGH
We?re going to start with the biggest, most prestigious award first ? the ?Leaping Steelhead? award. One thing I notice in the many meetings I go to is that most of the folks are middle aged and graying, so it?s great to see young people involved in fishery conservation. I am giving this award to three young women, Regina Chichizola, Erika Chase and Kayla Carpenter, for their outstanding work on bringing public awareness to the battle to take down the Klamath dams and restore water quality on the Klamath.

Regina Chichizola, the recently hired Klamath Riverkeeper, developed increasing public awareness of the Klamath?s water quality problems and mobilized folks for rallies and meetings regarding restoring the river in 2006. She publishes a regular news update that goes to a variety of media sources and activists and has been a whirlwind of activity since taking over the Riverkeeper position last year, organizing the ?ground troops? for events like the California Water Resources Control Board I attended in October.
 
While at Hoopa Valley High School, Kayla Carpenter, a Yurok tribal member, and Erika Chase, a Hoopa tribal member, organized an annual relay run starting in 2003 in response to the 2002 adult fish kill on the Klamath. On Memorial Day weekend of 2006, the duo, friends since fourth grade, and other organizers extended the run from its original 41 miles to a 214 mile relay run to honor Klamath River salmon from the mouth to Iron Gate Dam. The relay runners called for increased water flows and the removal of the lower four Klamath River Dams as steps necessary for restoring the salmon population.
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/01/17/18348049.php


***ACTION ALERT***: SPEAK OUT AGAINST MASSIVE SOUTHERN OREGON PIPELINE
Pipeline would cross upper Klamath, and use imminent domain to cross properties.
The proposed 223-mile pipeline would run from Coos Bay to the California border.
California investors have joined with energy speculators to propose a massive Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) import terminal just north of Coos Bay and a pipeline running across southwest Oregon to the California border. A high-pressure LNG pipeline would stretch 223 miles across private land as well as the Rogue River-Siskiyou and Fremont-Winema National Forests and four BLM Districts.

LNG is natural gas that has been cooled to minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit and condensed to 600 times its normal volume. The Pacific Connector pipeline would likely consist of a 3-foot diameter pipe, and its installation would have dramatic impacts on forests, fish and wildlife, including clearing a swath of forest 100 feet or more in width along its route.   

Tuesday, January 23
Umpqua Community College, Campus Center Dining Room/Timber Room, 1140 Umpqua College Rd., Roseburg, OR 97470. 541-440-4600.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007
North Bend Community Center, 2222 Broadway St., North Bend, OR 97459. 541-756-8500.

Thursday, January 25, 2007
Red Lion Inn, 200 N. Riverside Ave., Medford, OR 97501. 541-779-5811.

For more info check out:
http://kswild.org/KSNews/ActionAlerts/lngpipeline/view?searchterm=pipeline or call
Lesley at KS Wild 541-488-5789

These events are posted on the Commission's calendar located at
http://www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx
To get involved contact the Klamath Restoration Council at klamath [at] riseup.net or call (530) 627-3446 ext. 3020. To be removed from list or subscribe go to https://lists.riseup.net/www and type in klamath list then hit subscribe or unsubscribe.

Our mission is to restore and protect the uniquely diverse ecosystem and to promote substainable management of the natural resources of the entire Klamath Watershed.
The Klamath Restoration Council is a special project of the Karuk Tribe's Department of Natural Resources.