A new deal has been reached to remove the four hydroelectric dams that clog the Klamath River and revive the largest dam removal project in U.S. history, the federal government announced today. According to a joint press release, the federal government, the states of Oregon and California and PacifiCorp — the energy company that owns […]
Klamath River
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R.I.P., KBRA
With Congress home for the holidays and hope of legislation to enact the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement coming before the Dec. 31 deadline evaporated, stakeholders will gather for a conference call Monday. But don’t expect another extension or a unified path forward. “No,” said Karuk Tribe Natural Resources Policy Advocate Craig Tucker. “Pretty much, the […]
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Draft Klamath Legislation Drops Dam Removal, Includes ‘Poison Pill’ Land Giveaways
Oregon Congressman Greg Walden released a draft of long and eagerly anticipated Klamath legislation Thursday but it quickly drew the ire of local stakeholders. Legislation is desperately needed to salvage the historic 2010 Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, which saw diverse stakeholders come together in a compromise aimed at resolving the decades-long Klamath water crisis and […]
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Conservancy Group Turns to Crowdsourcing for $5 Million Klamath Tributary Buy
The Western Rivers Conservancy has launched an ambitious crowdfunding campaign to purchase a 10,000-acre tract of of land that contains a significant Klamath River tributary. Blue Creek runs into the Klamath River 16 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean, just inside Humboldt County’s border before the river flows into Del Norte County past the town […]
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New Law Says Gold Dredgers Need Clean Water Permits
Local tribes, environmentalists and fishing groups are applauding a bill signed today by Gov. Jerry Brown that will require recreational gold miners to obtain Clean Water Act permits before using dredges and other techniques to search for the precious metal in California rivers. There’s been a moratorium on suction dredge mining since 2009, though loopholes […]
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Yurok Tribe no Longer Supports Klamath River Agreement
NOTE: This post was updated with comment from Huffman. The Yurok Tribe has announced it will withdraw its support of the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, the massive, multi-agency restoration plan originally signed in 2010 that’s sat untouched by Congress for the last five years. The Karuk Tribe and Oregon Klamath Tribes will also withdraw at […]
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Connecting Freshmen to the Klamath
A small group of Humboldt State University’s largest-ever freshman class got a VIP-worthy introduction to the county last week through one of the North Coast’s most important resources: the Klamath River. More than 60 students cut their summer breaks short to head up to Arcata early this year as part of an experimental new program […]
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On the Klamath dams front
Former Oregon state senator Jason Atkinson has co-produced a new documentary about the conflict between users of the Klamath River and how they finally hashed out the historic Klamath Basin Comprehensive Agreement to take out four dams and restore salmon and other habitat. The agreement awaits Congress’ approval. The film, by Atkinson and filmmaker Jeff Martin, […]
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Feds Act to Avoid Fish Kill
In response to the recent discovery of a deadly parasite infecting salmon in the Klamath River, the Bureau of Reclamation began today sending another round of emergency flows down the Trinity River with the hopes of staving off a massive fish kill. After initially refusing to release additional water from Lewiston Dam into the Trinity, […]
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SECOND UPDATE:Trinity Will Get More Water; Suit Filed
SECOND UPDATE: On Monday, Aug. 25, around 5 p.m., the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority filed for a temporary restraining order in Fresno Superior Court to stop the increased flows. Dan Nelson, executive director of the water authority, said Tuesday that the issue is much the same as last year when his agency and the Westlands […]
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The Condors Are Coming
The Yurok Tribe could be releasing some California condors into the wild somewhere along the lower reaches of the Klamath River within the next three years, according to the Associated Press and a news release from the Yurok Tribe (see below). It’s been about a century since the huge, ponderous condor — called Prey-go-neesh in Yurok — soared […]
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Painting Into The Night
They started in the daytime and painted into the night, light flickering from a campfire merging with spotlights to show their handiwork. And the scene emerging on the large canvas was no surprise: an expression, oft repeated, of the keenest desire of many in our region, including members of local tribes, to see the Klamath […]