Joint Klamath Press Release: One Step Closer to Klamath Dam Removal

P R E S S R E L E A S E

Karuk Tribe · Klamath Tribes of Oregon · Yurok Tribe · Klamath Water Users’ Association · Upper Klamath Water Users’ Association · American Rivers · Trout Unlimited · California Trout · Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations · Salmon River Restoration Council · Northern California Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers

November 13, 2008

ONE STEP CLOSER TO KLAMATH DAM REMOVAL
PacifiCorp, Feds, States sign Agreement in Principle to Remove Klamath Dams

Sacramento, CA – Today Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski, California Oregon Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and PacifiCorp Chairman & CEO Greg Abel,, signed an Agreement in Principal (AIP) that defines the path to what would be the largest dam removal in US history.

PacifiCorp, federal officials, and state agencies plan to work with local stakeholders including Tribes, irrigators, conservation groups, commercial fishermen, and local governments to reach a final agreement within months.

The Agreement presumes that the removal of the lower four Klamath dams will begin in 2020.

The signing of the AIP is welcome news to the Tribes, conservationists, commercial fishermen, farmers and ranchers who see dam removal as the missing element of the more comprehensive Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA) released earlier this year.

The KBRA includes a plan to reintroduce salmon to the Upper Basin, provide dependable irrigation deliveries to Project Farmers, a means to reconcile water rights disputes, and ensure affordable renewable power for farm and ranching communities.

“We can remove dams, restore the fishery, and have prosperous farm communities all in the same basin,” asserted Yurok Chair person Maria Tripp. “We are proud to see PacifiCorp joining our effort to provide long term stability to all of the Klamath Basin’s diverse communities.”

“PacifiCorp is making a private property rights decision,” explained Luther Horsley of the Klamath Water Users’ Association, “we support this agreement as part of a larger plan to provide water and power security to local irrigators.”

“This careful effort to balance the complex needs of numerous interests within the community is exactly the type of approach PacifiCorp takes every time we sit down to the settlement table, said Greg Abel, PacifiCorp Chairman & CEO. “This flexible framework ensures that our customers will be protected at every step along the way, while remaining consistent with our strong commitment to respecting the environment. We will continue to work diligently with everyone at the table, including the irrigators, environmentalists, the Tribes and local elected officials with the goal of reaching a final dam removal agreement that is in the economic interests of PacifiCorp customers."

For more information:

Craig Tucker, Spokesman Karuk Tribe
(916) 207-8294
Troy Fletcher, Policy Analyst, Yurok Tribe
(707) 498-8486
Jeff Mitchell, Council member, Klamath Tribes,
(541) 891-5971
Greg Addington, Executive Director, Klamath Water Users’ Association,
(541) 892-1409
Becky Hyde, Spokesman, Upper Klamath Water Users’ Association, (541) 891-5950
Glen Spain, Regional Director, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations,
(541) 689-2000
Steve Rothert, Spokesman, American Rivers,
(530) 277-0448
Chuck Bonham, Spokesman, Trout Unlimited,
(510) 917-8572
Mark Rockwell, VP-Conservation, NCCFFF, (530) 432-0100


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Editor’s notes: the Agreement and joint press release from the signatories can be found at http://www.doi.gov/news/08_News_Releases/111308.html and http://www.pacificorp.com



S. Craig Tucker, Ph.D.
Klamath Campaign Coordinator
Karuk Tribe of California
NEW NUMBER home office: 707-839-1982
Tribal office in Orleans: 530-627-3446 x3027
cell: 916-207-8294
ctucker [at] karuk.us

http://www.karuk.us