Trout groups support "Klamath Restoration Proposal"!

In an article published in Bay Area Indy Media, Trout Unlimited, California Trout , American Rivers and the Ashland-based National Center for Conservation Science & Policy offer strong support for the "Klamath Restoration Proposal" under development behind closed doors for the past two years and publicly released last week.

While these groups say they will not endorse the proposal unless PacifiCorp agrees to a separate deal to remove four Klamath River dams, their press release echoes many of the claims made about this proposal by three of the six Klamath River Basin's federal tribes and by irrigation interests that represent about 40% of total Klamath River Basin irrigation.

It is difficult for KlamBlog to understand how organizations which claim to be salmon defenders can promote a proposal which appears to fly in the face of what two National Research Council independent scientific reports say is needed on the Klamath - a whole basin water management approach. According to the IndyMedia report, these groups claims the Proposal will benefit salmon. But this assertion is contradicted by a specific scientific evaluation of the river flows that would be locked in legislatively if the Proposal becomes federal law - something necessary to secure the subsidies and "regulatory assurances" the proposal would deliver to a small group of wealthy irrigators, certain counties and 3 of the Basin's 6 federal tribes. That scientific review found that the flows these trout organizations are supporting will not lead to recovery of Klamath Salmon. In KlamBlog's view, no organization that has "trout" in its name should even think about supporting a river flows plan that won't lead to recovery. Last time we checked, salmon were still considered "trout"!

KlamBlog hopes that fishermen who are members will start asking some tough questions of the trout organizations. We also invite them - Trout Unlimited and California Trout - to publish on this blog an explanation of their support for a deal our analysis indicates is not in the interest of the Klamath River or Klamath River Salmon and which is not needed to get the dams out.

You can read the article at:
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/01/15/18472674.php