Federal Conservation Agencies Support Klamath River Restoration
by Mary Jane Williamson
Alexandria, VA—January 30, 2007—The Klamath River fish populations scored a major win with the submission of fish passage prescriptions for PacifiCorp’s four lower dams on the Klamath River. The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and the Department of Commerce (DOC) jointly submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) fish passage prescriptions for the relicensing of PacifiCorp’s dams on the Klamath River.
In August 2006, the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) and 11 other conservation groups requested that MidAmerican Corporation, parent company of PacifiCorp, strongly consider the removal of the four dams. The removal of the outdated dams would result in the opportunity to restore the ocean-going salmon populations that are now in a state of collapse while also restoring more than 300 miles of the Klamath River. The dams prevent salmon such as Chinook and Coho from reaching their spawning grounds.
“Even though we asked for the dams to be removed, ASA and our partners in this effort applaud the fish passage prescriptions submitted to FERC by Interior and Commerce,” said Gordon Robertson, ASA vice president. “However, these fish passage prescriptions may prove to be too costly to implement and removing the dams may be the only economically feasible solution.”
The DOI and DOC prescriptions include fish passage, both upstream and downstream, through mandated fishways and ladders which make dam removal an economically favorable alternative to relicensing. PacifiCorp’s FERC license expired on March 1, 2006. The dams are operating on license extensions until a new agreement can be reached. The fish passage prescriptions must be included in any renewal license for these dams.
Copies of the prescriptions and other documents related to the Klamath Hydroelectric Project are available at www.fws.gov/yreka. For more on ASA’s efforts regarding the Klamath River and other Government Affairs activities, visit www.asafishing.org/asa/government/.
The American Sportfishing Association (ASA) is the sportfishing industry’s trade association, committed to looking out for the interests of the entire sportfishing community.We give the industry a unified voice, speaking out on behalf of sportfishing and boating industries, state and federal natural resource agencies, conservation organizations, angler advocacy groups and outdoor journalists when emerging laws and policies could significantly affect sportfishing business or sportfishing itself. We invest in long-term ventures to ensure the industry will remain strong and prosperous as well as safeguard and promote the enduring social, economic and conservation values of sportfishing in America. ASA also represents the interests of America’s 44 million anglers, who contribute $41.5 billion annually in retail sales toward the sportfishing industry’s $116 billion-a-year impact on the nation’s economy.
