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Klamath Program to be Aired Before Public
Eureka Times-Standard
September 06, 2004
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will tap five communities in the Klamath River basin in the coming months, trying to find some consensus in an effort to put in place an ambitious federal plan.
The Conservation Implementation Program is fashioned after one on the Colorado River, and aims to restore the Klamath's ecosystem and recovery of endangered suckers and threatened coho salmon. The bureau said the plan will also help meet tribal trust obligations -- including improvement of chinook salmon stocks -- and allow continued irrigation.
Finding consensus on the Klamath River is not unlike finding water on the moon, however. Long a watershed used by diverse and sometimes conflicting interests, the river system became a lightning rod in 2001, when Reclamation shut off water to upstream farms to protect salmon and suckers. The next year, Reclamation delivered full irrigation supplies to farms, and up to 68,000 salmon died in the river.
Both events created an uproar and generated major political interest in the river, which was once the third largest salmon producer on the West Coast. Dams, logging, fishing and other activities also affect the Klamath.
Taking a page from the contentious Colorado River struggle, the bureau earlier this year released a draft plan for the Klamath's recovery. If there is any consensus, it's that most agree the Klamath's complicated problems will never be solved unless the basin is considered in its entirety.
Five meetings will be held to garner ideas from various parts of the basin.* Sept. 16 at the Miner's Inn, 122 East Miner St. in Yreka.
* Sept. 29 at the Arcata Community Center in Arcata.
* Sept. 30 at the Klamath Community Center in Klamath.
* Oct. 21 at Chiloquin Auditorium, 501 Chiloquin Blvd. in Chiloquin, Ore.
* Oct. 22 at the Klamath County Fairgrounds, 3531 South Sixth St., Klamath Falls, Ore.
All meetings are from 6 to 9 p.m. The draft conservation plan can be found online at www.usbr.gov/mp/kbao/docs/CIP-ProgramDoc.pdf or by calling 541-883-6935.
Written comments should be sent to Christine Karas, Deputy Area Manager, Bureau of Reclamation, Klamath Basin Area Office, 6600 Washburn Way, Klamath Falls, Ore., 97603.
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, and as defined under the provisions of "fair use", any copyrighted material herein is distributed without profit or payment for non-profit research and for educational use by our membership.
