Jackson County Board of Commissioners votes to oppose Klamath dams removal

by Aileen Hymas

Wed, March 30th 2022 at 6:15 PM

Updated Wed, March 30th 2022 at 9:28 PM

In this photo provided by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, is the Klamath River just below Iron Gate Dam in Siskiyou County, Calif., on July 8, 2021. Baby salmon are dying in the thousands in one river and an entire run of endangered salmon could be wiped out in another as blistering heat waves and extended drought in the U.S. West raise water temperatures and imperil fish from Idaho to California. (Travis VanZant/CDFW via AP)

FILE - This Oct. 1, 2002, file photo shows hundreds of Klamath River salmon rotting near Klamath, Calif., after restoration of irrigation to farmers upstream produced low and warm water conditions that spread disease among the fish. A severe drought is creating a water crisis not seen in more than a century for farmers, tribes and federally protected fish along the Oregon-California border. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation says it won't release water into the main canal that feeds the massive Klamath Project irrigation system for the first time in 114 years, leaving many farmers and ranchers with no water at all. The agency also says it won't release water from the same dam to increase downstream water levels in the lower Klamath River, where tribes say 97% of juvenile salmon are dying from a bacterial disease caused by poor water conditions. (AP Photo/Joe Cavaretta, File)

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In this photo provided by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, is the Klamath River just below Iron Gate Dam in Siskiyou County, Calif., on July 8, 2021. Baby salmon are dying in the thousands in one river and an entire run of endangered salmon could be wiped out in another as blistering heat waves and extended drought in the U.S. West raise water temperatures and imperil fish from Idaho to California. (Travis VanZant/CDFW via AP)

JACKSON COUNTY — Tuesday, March 29, the Jackson County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to continue their oppositional stance toward removing the Klamath dams.

While discussing the environmental impact statement from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Commissioner Colleen Roberts chuckled into her zoom camera, saying that her staff had reviewed the document's 989 pages, but the meeting then skipped over the document's details. Roberts mentioned only her recommendation that the board support a "no action alternative" to leave the dams standing.

FERC's environmental impact statement outlies the low, warm water flows in the Klamath River causing toxic algae blooms, the harm to salmon on the brink of extinction, and depletion of sustenance and culturally significant resources to the Yurok, Karuk and Hoopa tribes, among other impacts. Built between 1903 and 1963, the 6 Klamath Hydroelectric project dams were created to limit flooding and produce power.

The dams do not contribute to irrigation.

Roberts said removing the dams would negatively impact fire suppression. Currently, fire crews will sometimes access the dams' reservoirs if battling a wildfire in the region.

"I look at our water situation, especially for putting out fires," said Roberts. "It's just ridiculous."

The board submitted a letter April 27, 2018 to FERC outlining their position, which Roberts referenced before the commissioners took their vote.

In the letter, the commissioners say they "believe that these dams create a Beneficial Use Asset to fight catastrophic wildfire in the high desert areas of Southern Oregon and Northern California."

The Klamath River Renewal Corporation overseeing the removal of the dams said in a press release that CAL Fire and Oregon Department of Forestry have supported KRRC's fire management plan to install early fire monitoring and fire crews that are not currently available in the Klamath Basin.

“CAL FIRE believes the system of actions proposed in the fire plan are adequate to manage construction-related fire risks, comply with all applicable laws, and will not adversely affect CAL FIRE’s ability to provide an adequate and effective firefighting capability in Siskiyou County and beyond,” wrote CAL FIRE Chief Thomas Porter.

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