Riverkeeper, tribes and fishermen head to Omaha to tell Warren Buffett 'Undam the Klamath'

Klamath River eNews - April 21st, 2008

* UN-DAM THE KLAMATH FILM NIGHTS REACH COASTAL PACIFICORP RATEPAYERS
* THE TROUBLE WITH SALMON
* ENDANGERED: OREGON'S SALMON-FISHING INDUSTRY SEEMED POISED TO RECOVER -
UNTIL NOW
* PACIFICORP STRIKES DEAL WITH CONSERVATION GROUP OREGON WILD

Action Alerts

* SALMON CLOSURE 2008 NEVER AGAIN: 10 ACTIONS YOU NEED TO TAKE NOW
* ODFW TO CONSIDER AMENDING UPPER BASIN FISH PLAN TO INCLUDE ANADROMOUS
FISH - April 22nd and 23rd
* CAL WATER BOARD MEETINGS THIS WEEK IN WEED, CA - April 23rd and 24th

Announcements

*KLAMATH RIVERKEEPER PRESENTS THE FILM "SOLVING THE KLAMATH CRISIS:
KEEPING FISH AND FARMS ALIVE":

**April 21st, TONIGHT at 6:00 at College of the Siskiyous in Weed, Ca,

**May 5th, during Klamath Dams Panel at Native Week at the University of
Oregon. 7:00 pm at 100 Willamette, Eugene, OR
*KLAMATH RIVERKEEPER HEADS TO OMAHA TO TELL WARREN BUFFETT: UN-DAM THE
KLAMATH! April 29th - May 4th

_____________________________________________________

NEWS:

UN-DAM THE KLAMATH FILM NIGHTS REACH COASTAL PACIFICORP RATEPAYERS
Portland Independent Media - 04/19/08
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2008/04/374760.shtml
Klamath Riverkeeper and the Karuk Tribe reached hundreds of citizens on
the Oregon coast last week with a series of film nights aimed at
connecting fishermen and Pacificorp ratepayers to the campaign to un-dam
the Klamath River. The film nights were preceded by mailings to all of
PacifiCorp's customers on the Oregon Coast. The mailer stated, "There's
Something Fishy About Your Power Bill" and featured a tear-off postcard
telling the Oregon Public Utilities Commission to reject increased power
rates for keeping the Klamath dams.

THE TROUBLE WITH SALMON
New York Times - 4/15/08
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/15/opinion/15tues2.html?ref=opinion
The federal government’s decision to shut down commercial salmon fishing
from the California coast to north-central Oregon is a blow to local
fishermen and the coastal economy. This decision is necessary if there is
to be any hope of salmon recovery. It will mean even more if it shocks
Congress into a serious investigation of the West Coast salmon crisis,
exposes the politically driven policies of the Bush administration and
persuades a new president of the need to rebuild wild salmon populations
and the economies that depend on them.

ENDANGERED: OREGON'S SALMON-FISHING INDUSTRY SEEMED POISED TO RECOVER -
UNTIL NOW
Newsweek - 4/17/08
http://www.newsweek.com/id/132407
"This is a problem that society has created," said Jennifer Gilden,
spokeswoman for the Pacific Fishery Management Council, ..."We're
destroying the habitat for these fish, and it's the fishermen who end up
paying the price. This is not a problem of overfishing." The complete
closure of the California coast and most of Oregon's coast is the largest
shutdown in the history of the salmon fleet. Salmon trollers will be
allowed to lure only 9,000 hatchery-raised coho salmon in central and
southern Oregon. These are boats accustomed to bringing in more than
800,000 fish per year, between 2000 and 2005. The average income to
fishermen and coastal communities from the commercial and recreational
salmon fishery was $103 million between 1979 and 2004.

PACIFICORP STRIKES DEAL WITH CONSERVATION GROUP OREGON WILD
* Please note: This deal involves management of the Link River dam, which
is not one of the 4 Klamath dams currently targeted for removal.
Pacificorp had already decided not to renew its license for the Link River
dam, and this action affects its management until it is decommissioned.
Please also note that the Pacificorp spokesman featured in this article
implies uncertainty surrounding the economics of removing the 4 Klamath
dams downstream of Link River, when in fact state and federal economic
analyses have shown it will be far cheaper for Pacificorp (and its
ratepayers) to remove the dams instead of trying to contruct fish passage
around them. -mm
The Oregonian - 4/17/08
http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/news-24/1208493288184510.xml&storylist=orlocal
PacifiCorp has agreed to shut down two small hydroelectric powerhouses at
Upper Klamath Lake during late summer and early fall so they won't kill
endangered fish. The Portland-based utility agreed to negotiations after
the conservation group Oregon Wild filed notice it would sue under the
Endangered Species Act to protect shortnosed suckers and Lost River
suckers that get sucked into the turbines on Link River Dam, which
controls water flowing out of the lake into the Klamath River.

_____________________________________________________


ACTION ALERTS:

* SALMON CLOSURE 2008 NEVER AGAIN: 10 ACTIONS YOU NEED TO TAKE NOW!
Many folks have worked hard to put together this list of action items
released this week by the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's
Associations. Check out the list and take action at:
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/04/18/18493885.php

* ODFW TO CONSIDER AMENDING UPPER BASIN FISH PLAN TO INCLUDE ANADROMOUS
FISH - April 22nd and 23rd
To manage for steelhead and salmon in the Oregon waters above Iron Gate
Dam on the Klamath River, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has to
amend
their 1997 Klamath River Basin Fish Management Plan to include salmon and
steelhead. The current version of the Plan only speaks to the management
of resident fish. Regardless of whether the fish get upstream because the
dams come out or because fish ladders go in, ODFW needs to have this Plan
amended to change management. The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commision will
consider this amendment in July. If the Commission does not approve
amending the plan, it would be a bad deal for ever getting Oregon to
manage for steelhead and salmon in the Klamath River above the state line.

At their office in Central Point on Tuesday (April 22) from 7-9 PM, ODFW
will present their proposal to amend the Plan and discuss the process for
consideration by the Fish and Wildife Commision ODFW will be taking
public feedback. ODFW will also present their proposal to amend the Plan
and discuss the process in Klamath Falls on Wednesday (April 23) from 7-9
PM at the Oregon Institute of Technology Student Union (2nd floor, Mt.
Mazama and Mt. Scott rooms). Please attend if you can, especially the
meeting in Klamath Falls.

* CAL WATER BOARD MEETINGS THIS WEEK IN WEED, CA - Wednesday, April 23rd
and Thursday, April 24th
Come out and learn about how our region's water is being managed - public
commenting is encouraged. Wednesday's agenda includes an overview of
northern California water monitoring efforts. Thursday's agenda includes
an update on the Implementation of Shasta and Scott TMDLs as well as a
Stream and Wetland Systems Protection Policy Update. The complete agenda
and meeting times and places are at:
http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/northcoast/board_info/board_meetings/04_2008/

_____________________________________________________


ANNOUNCEMENTS:

* KLAMATH RIVERKEEPER TO SHOW FILM AT MT. SHASTA EARTH WEEK - Monday,
April 21st
Klamath Riverkeeper will show "Solving the Klamath Crisis: Keeping Fish
and Farms Alive," and will also be available to meet the public and
answer questions at events in Weed and Mt. Shasta.

Monday, April 21st - See a showing of "Solving the Klamath Crisis", 6:00
pm at the College of the Siskiyous Life Sciences Room 3 in Weed, CA
Tuesday, April 22nd - Environmental Policy of Siskiyou County round table
at 11:00 am, COS campus in Weed. Tabling at College of the Siskiyou
Student Center in Weed, CA, 12-4 pm.

* KLAMATH RIVERKEEPER TO SHOW FILM AT UNIVERSITY OF OREGON NATIVE WEEK -
Tuesday, May 6th
Klamath Riverkeeper will show "Solving the Klamath Crisis: Keeping Fish
and Farms Alive," as a part of the University of Oregon's Native Week.
The film will be a part of the panel on Klamath Dams. Film at 7:00 pm, at
100 Willamette in Eugene. For more information contact malena at
klamathriver.org or shanlon at uoregon.edu.

*KLAMATH RIVERKEEPER HEADS TO OMAHA TO TELL WARREN BUFFETT: UN-DAM THE
KLAMATH! April 29th - May 4th
The Klamath dams are owned by PacifiCorp, who is owned by corporate giant
Berkshire Hathaway. Berkshire Hathaway's majority stockholder Warren
Buffett, also known as the Oracle of Omaha, is now the wealthiest man in
the world. This spring local Native Tribes, fishermen, concerned river
residents, and local environmental groups will travel to PacifiCorp’s
headquarters in Portland, Oregon and Omaha, Nebraska for
Berkshire-Hathaway's annual shareholders meetings. We will hold PacifiCorp
and Buffett accountable for their involvement in the perpetual destruction
of habitat, water quality and local economies and to demand the removal of
the Klamath dams. Contact Regina at KlamathRiver.org to support this
effort.



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