Environment,    kbra,    Klamath River,    klamath river dam removal,    Opinion

Siskiyou County Politics & Klamath Dam Removal: A Comedy Dream Team?

By Tom Chandler 2/16/2012

While Siskiyou County ranks pretty far down the list of California counties in terms of economic output, its comedic potential remains unchallenged.

For some time, I've been trying to write a comprehensive piece about river access, dam removal and salmon recovery in Siskiyou County -- and the vicious, detached-from-reality politics surrounding them -- but it's like trying to drink from a fire hose pumping "crazy" instead of water.

Instead, I decided to feed the Undergrounders the crazy in bite-sized chunks, starting with today's post, which amounts to a singular appetizer: A Bold, Constitutionally Based Declaration From An Angry Voter That Just Happens To Be Wholly Wrong.

(Warning: those with nut allergies or an aversion to constitutional abuse may want to stop reading.)

Today's nugget comes to us in a letter to the editor to the Siskiyou Daily News, where the writer takes a bold new tack in challenging the removal of the Klamath River dams.

Ownership.

You, as representatives of We The People, need to first fulfill your obligations to the U.S. Constitution that you all took an oath of office to uphold. As public servants, you are to uphold the constitutional rights of We The People, which includes the people of Siskiyou County, California. Not serve special interest groups.

As for the removal of dams within the borders of Siskiyou County, you will have to prove to us, the people of Siskiyou County, proof of private ownership of these dams by Pacific Corp. We are demanding the notarized Deed of Trust proving such ownership.

Wow. I never saw that one coming. But why is dam ownership even in question? He continues:

For the background of the dams within Siskiyou County, they were originally built within hard economic times by the Bureau of Reclamation to help create employment and produce power for the communities within our county.

Frankly, it gets better (see below), but one little tiny fact kinda ruins things early.

The dams weren't built by the Bureau of Reclamation (this direct from the Bureau).

They were privately built and are privately owned.

Shasta River Chinook Salmon

Oh.

This is important because some people are wondering why Siskiyou County is trying to force a private company (PacifiCorp) to retain private structures which it no longer wants -- dams which will require $450 million to retrofit to existing standards, and will then operate at a $20 million annual loss.

It's an odd stance to be taken by a county government riddled with property rights extremists.

In fact, an objective observer might suggest it was a fairly socialist act [Gasp, Commies!].

You might dismiss this letter as the work of a single, factually challenged individual, but it's not; it's a "fact" that is rapidly gaining traction in this county, uttered by people who will also tell you -- with a straight face -- that the endangered Coho Salmon isn't native to the Klamath watershed, so its ESA listing is unconstitutional (we'll mine that rich comedy vein soon).

In other words, there are damned few facts supporting the dams, but in Siskiyou County, that's when the real patriots stand up and start inventing their own.

After his early stumble, our letter writer keeps blasting away at shadows, using lots of Clearly Important Capitalized Words for ammo:

Public property belongs to We The People of the United States of America. Public property within Siskiyou County is under control of We The People of Siskiyou County. We are now taking it back.

Siskiyou County voted “no” on dam removal. Our dams will not be removed! That is our choice, not yours!

Siskiyou County public property is protected by our Siskiyou County Sheriff-Coroner Jon Lopey. He is an elected public official; a public servant. Yes, he will do his job and protect the rights of the citizens of Siskiyou County.

Now any state or federal agent coming to the dams within Siskiyou County will need to ask our sheriff-coroner’s permission.

Notice how "public" property isn't really public, unless your concept of "public" extends only to the residents of this county (and it's pretty clear the residents of the southern end don't really count).

Also note the reliance on Sheriff Lopey to protect us from the meanies, despite the fact that county governments are extensions of the state government, and that state and federal "agents" have every right to enter this county without his permission.

Coming soon: Navigability and Is the Coho native?

See you in the comedy zone, Tom Chandler.
AuthorPicture

Tom Chandler

As the author of the decade leading fly fishing blog Trout Underground, Tom believes that fishing is not about measuring the experience but instead of about having fun. As a staunch environmentalist, he brings to the Yobi Community thought leadership on environmental and access issues facing us today.

25 comments
Write a Comment
It's amazing how quickly a joke can turn into received truth on the Interwebs.
Reply
0
0
Like the "Coho aren't native" routine, I first heard this one and thought it was a joke. Since then, I've heard it a couple times. My guess it won't gain the traction of the Coho falsehood (which is up next).
Reply
0
0
Tom, Is this particular canard widely believed? Or just a random one-off? I ask because, reading the letters to a newspaper as part of my day job, I can assure you the typical hometown writer with an opinion does not enjoy a corps of fact-checkers at his or her disposal. And it's not at all rare for a writer to grab a piece of misinformation and run the field with it. Some might even argue it's an ... more editor's job to prevent people from embarrassing themselves and spreading falsehoods, though I fear the Siskiyou Daily News probably lacks the resources for much due diligence.
Reply
0
0
Excellent post... looking forward to future installments. From looking at these comments I'd say that lot's of us are interested in the Klamath. I, for one, find it hard to keep up with things going on there.
Reply
0
0
It's always refreshing and depressing to know that we don't have all the idiot politicians here in Mississippi
Reply
0
0
Brian, we have a common trickle in common. Namely that blue line that runs from Carson Pass on down through Truckee and into Pyramid Lake. None the less, taking subs from farmers is a farce, I understand that. It's just that people with money and power, who have taken a voice in Siskyou county parading around as "concerned citizen farmers" are rallying the uniformed to see the dam removal as "big ... more government" encroaching on their land. Their view is purely superficial. One of the loudest voices against the dam removal is a carpet bagger ex airline pilot that wants his pastures to look pretty in April. Siskyou county is one of the poorest in California that has been jerked around by numerous corporations throughout the years, and it's about time that something happens there sensible and without politics. Search Klamath Dam Removal and read the local papers. Read all the ugly vitriolic hatred against the feds and make up your own mind about who is against the dam removal. It's pretty clear who wants this to fail.
Reply
0
0
Matt, the vast majority of the farmers who get their water from the Klamath actually support the dam removal settlement. Check the Klamath Water Users website for confirmation. The farmers who oppose it get their water elsewhere for the most part, but they don't like the looks of it. Easy for them to say, since their water isn't at stake. PS great post Tom.
Reply
0
0
What's really mind boggling so to speak is that the evidence of how dam removal and river restoration can provide a big boost to the local economy is all around them if they just cared to look. The Klamath is actually sandwiched between two such watersheds. Take a look at the Trinity. The BOR finally after 40 or so years put a little water back into the river and look what happened to the salmon and ... more steelhead populations in that river. They rebounded big time and now the fishery is doing very well. Yeah the river is much more crowded now than it was before they put the water back into the river, but the increased fishing pressure has been a real boost to the local economy in Trinity County. Just to the north of the Klamath is the Rogue River watershed. Two major dams were removed and one on a key spawning tributary was notched to allow for fish passage. The Rogue salmon and steelhead fishery is getting better and better and it's estimated that this will provide an annual boost of up to 5 million dollars into the local economy of the Rogue Valley. Think Siskiyou County couldn't use a boost like that?
Reply
0
0
Too bad I can't edit my terrible english. Oh well, blame it on the l.a. county school district education.
Reply
0
0
I've been following this story for a while now, and it seems the biggest objectors to the removal are the farmers. And there rallying cry is "get big government out of siskyou county". Okay, but how about the feds stop subsidising farming first?
Reply
0
0
Entertaining story. And timely, for me. Just yesterday I had some business associates stop by who spend a lot of time in the Klamath Lake area. They are sweet folks, very intelligent, and also very conservative. They live on a nearby river, and in spite of their voting record, have developed a sort of liberal soft spot after decades of watching how human society interacts with a river. They are a ... more fairly common brand of almost-environmentalist that always seems to revert to the Republican party line no matter how sensitive they might have been ten minutes before. Anyway, the wife mentions the "fact" that the San Francisco-based gay/enviro agenda is forcing the removal of Klamath dams, against the wishes of the people who live on the river. "The tribes are divided, too. All the whites hate the idea. Some of them are old enough to remember what it was like before the dams," she insisted. "There was no water in the summer, and what there was was warm. The river smelled so bad the Indians had to move their village back from the river during the hot months. The salmon aren't going to be able to survive!" She and her husband are classic rural Oregonians. Good to the core, with a few cultural bigotries built in. I didn't know what to say when they seemed to press me for agreement. Finally I said, with effort to avoid any air of condescension, "Boy, experience has taught me to be wary of those types of claims." I had to stop there, because the more I thought about it, the more I realized how little I really know about the Klamath River. It reminded me that I have been too disconnected with the modern story. Your posts will be very welcome, and any other references you can provide for further study would be much appreciated.
Reply
0
0
And how much of "We the People"s money will be spent on the frivolous lawsuit? Have they shot the wolf yet?
Reply
0
0
Nice write-up. Make sure Pie n Politics over in the erudite Scott Valley have a look. Looking forward to future installments.
Reply
0
0
We cover that in an upcoming installment. Given the severe cutbacks to county services (you know, the things that actually help people), it's astonishing that the supes are determined to pursue a lawsuit they won't win in the interest of stopping a project that would boost the local economy. Bizarro County, USA.
Reply
0
0
And I heard on the local (Medford) news stations this AM that the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors is actually going to SUE the Federal Government over the removal of the dams. You just can't make this stuff up.
Reply
0
0
deja vu brother
Reply
0
0
This obvisiouly confirms my suspicions that many in this country are woefully uninformed or just plain ignorant..As an outsider who has enjoyed visiting Siskiyou County many times I find it depressing that such a menatility exists. For the common good of the fisheries and landowners I hope some sense of rational can prevail.
Reply
0
0
But Black Helicopters really ARE coming and they're going to take both our guns and our land and give them to the United Nations! No, really!
Reply
0
0
Proof that aliens have landed at Shasta Mountain and suck the brains of its local populace!
Reply
0
0
Both a Sheriff and a Coroner. You gotta be careful right there; he could shoot you and rule it death by heat stroke. Thanks for making my town's idiotic politics (and gadfly commentary) look downright tame.
Reply
0
0
This WASN'T the comedy zone? Looking forward....
Reply
0
0
You can't write this stuff... Oh, someone did.
Reply
0
0
Idiots deluxe.
Reply
0
0
Aaaah,yes, The State of Jefferson,A Crazy up every dirt road....Watch out when you hear the" Deliverence" theme.......
Reply
0
0
Ya gotta love the Random caps Patriots.
Reply
0
0

Discover Your Own Fishing and Hunting Adventures

With top destinations, guided trips, outfitters and guides, and river reports, you have everything you need.

Help