Do me (and yourselves) a favor — especially if you live in California or Oregon.

Tell your senator that you support a healthy Klamath River, and want them to support legislation that restores the Klamath’s salmon and steelhead runs.

Now For The Backstory

The dam removal effort on the Klamath River is approaching crunch time, and you wouldn’t believe some of the stuff opponents are saying.

Most of the opposition is coming right from my troubled little county (Siskiyou County), and you’ll see wild claims posted on blogs and in newspaper opinion pieces that can only lead you to conclude the American Educational system is in serious trouble.

To whit:

  • Coho salmon aren’t native to the Klamath River (huh??)
  • Removing the dams will decimate the salmon population
  • Salmon couldn’t surivive in the river without the dams
  • Hatcheries and management have actually allowed salmon to thrive on the West Coast the last 30 years
  • Fish & Game kills more salmon than the dams

Frankly, I could go on and on, but rather than spoil anyone’s appetite, I’ll just say it’s getting wild up here.

People keep screaming about private property rights, conveniently forgetting that the dams are privately owned (by PacifiCorp), and retrofitting (instead of removal) will cost more than 2x as much as removal — and then the things would run at a $20 million annual loss.

At some point in the near future I’ll wade into this giant pile of manure (waders suggested), but for now, click here, donate 20 seconds of your life to the Klamath, and be thankful you don’t have to read some of this insanity every day in the paper like I do.

See you signing a petition, Tom Chandler

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