The California Public Utilities Commission ruled that it’s actually cheaper for Pacific Power and its ratepayers to remove the four Klamath Dams choking the life out of the Klamath’s salmon runs which block access to several hundred miles of spawning habitat — and do nasty things to the Klamath’s water quality to boot.
After retrofitting the aging dams, the CPUC noted they’d run at a $20 million annual net loss. (Details at the CalTrout site.)
I could go on and on about Siskiyou County’s willingness to hold its breath and stomp its feet over dam removal, but it’s a beautiful day outside (the first day of the year we’ve opened all the windows), and in that environment, political temper tantrums hold little allure.
They aren’t coming down anytime soon — and funding for the project is suddenly in question — but at least we’re heading in the right direction.
Save a Salmon. Eat a Dam.
Hope I live long enough to see that.
Kentucky Jim(Quote)
Maybe our grandchildren can see a free flowing Klamath. It is one of those things that makes me grumpy.
Bjorn(Quote)
Removal could begin in 2020.
As for a “free” flowing Klamath, the closest we’ll get for a while is the “green” flowing Klamath that appears every summer.
Supervisor Jim Cook would have us believe that was a good thing.
Tom Chandler(Quote)
Same thing applies to the Lower Snake River dams. In the long run, removal saves money and fish.
http://www.americanrivers.org/assets/pdfs/dam-removal-docs/lower_snake_econ_factsheet_06-05.pdf
Bert(Quote)
Supervisor Jim Cook would have us believe that was a good thing.
Wasn’t this Cook fellow recently fined by your FPPC? Seems to me he paid a 6000 dollar fine. Not that fair political practices is nothing more than an oxymoron. Not that I’m comparing nouns.
the professor(Quote)
When will your bumper sticker “Save a Salmon, eat a dam” be available for purchase on line? I want one!
Craig Nielsen(Quote)