Fish benefit of a Klamath pact questioned

Interesting report in the Bee on the ongoing "stakeholder" talks in the Klamath Basin. If you're reading between the lines, it still seems like a long way to go for a possible solution to the problems facing the river.

$1 billion lawsuit claims Klamath dams produce hazardous waste

Here's the latest legal maneuver by Klamath Riverkeeper and the tribes in the Klamath Basin to put pressure on PacifiCorp to remove the dams on the river. The claim is that the series of dams along the river promote the growth of toxic algae. One billion dollars is quite a number.

Report backs more water for Klamath

The long awaited report from the National Research Council supports more water flowing down the river for salmon, and acknowledges that politics and not science have been one of the primary motivations behind recent flow policies. It also supports the Hardy flow study, suppressed for years by the government agency that commissioned it.

But will it make any difference? With decisions like the recent one made by the FERC (see below), the best hope for the river seems to be the stakeholder talks underway between the tribes, irrigators, fishermen and environmentalists.

You can download a PDF summary of the report on this page.