After Dam Removal: What's next for the Klamath?

There was a great celebration recently at the mouth of our Klamath River. The focus was on a Klamath River recently freed of its most significant dams and the first descent of the newly freed river by a group of young native knackers. The young people were from all tribes of the Klamath River Basin. They are participants in the Rios to Ridges and the Ridges to Riffles Programs.

The young kayakers journey actually began at the source of the Wood River above Upper Klamath Lake, where the full river emerges as if miraculously from a lava flow. The Klamath River proper begins at the outlet of Upper Klamath Lake. Below is a map of the Upper Klamath River Basin, including the Wood River.

Virtually all those who have been deeply involved in native fish restoration within the Klamath River Basin understand and acknowledge that dam removal is not enough, that more needs to be done if we are going to restore Koptu (Lost River Sucker), C'waam (Shortnose Sucker) and Ama (Klamath Salmon) to abundance. However, there is currently no process whereby those who want aquatic ecosystems and the fisheries they support restored can come together to figure out what next step priorities will be. If that does not change, tribal and other government officials will decide what next steps to take without any process that consults their own citizens and others who actually live and work in this river basin.

Water Quality Problems remain after dam removal:

Toxic algae mats in the Klamath River near Seiad Valley

This is a challenge and a call. I call on the tribal governments of the Klamath River Basin to conduct a series of consultation meetings in communities throughout the Basin. Let's hear everyone's ideas on next step priorities. Then we can define together, as a river basin community of interest and place, what's next in the long struggle to fully restore our River to health and abundance.

Here a link to one activists idea about next step priorities. Please share your own ideas on next steps in the comments section below.

Who will stand up and support this call for a Basin-wide consultation process on next steps toward restoring our River's health and abundance? 

Forest Service set to rebuild salmon killing roads.

by Felice Pace

 

In a May 21st Public Safety Alert, the US Forest Service announced road closures on the Klamath National Forest due to storm damage. Some of these roads have failed time and again during large storms, delivering many tons of fine, salmon-killing sediment to our streams. Nevertheless, the agency is almost certain to reconstruct these roads using a permanent federal fund and NOT the Forest Service's own budget. 

 

The Forest Service will reconstruct failed, salmon-killing roads without a meaningful environmental review or analysis to determine if the roads are really needed. In this manner, the US Forest Service has kept over 8,000 miles of dirt and gravel roads on the Klamath National Forest alone, even though the agency only has funds sufficient to maintain about 25% of those roads. 

 

Research and on-the-ground experience has shown time and again that dirt and gravel roads which are not maintained to appropriate standards become chronic and episodic deliverers of fine sediment to our salmon streams. Yet Forest Service managers refuse to downsize the national forest road system to one that they have the funds to properly maintain. 

 

To make this point hit home, below I give an example of a road system that has failed catastrophically time and again during major storm events and which Forest Service managers have reconstructed after each failure. These roads are located in the Walker Creek Watershed on the Oak Knoll and Happy Camp Ranger Districts of the Klamath National Forest.

 

The Walker Creek Roads failed catastrophically during the 1997 storm flood event. As part of those failures a full 1/2 mile of National Forest Road 46N65 collapsed into Grider Creek, delivering many toms of salmon-killing fine sediment to one of the Klamath's few remaining salmon strongholds.

 

Since 1997 these same roads have failed during several subsequent storm events. Each time Forest Service managers have used off-budget funds to reconstruct the roads. 

 

Here's a photo showing road failure landslides in the Walker Creek Watershed after a storm event in 2017:

 

The Forest Service policy of reconstructing salmon-killing national forest roads after each major storm event is a recipe for permanently depressed salmon and steelhead runs. These roads also have serious impacts on terrestrial wildlife. And that is why it is necessary for those of us who care about our fisheries and the health of our watersheds to continue to pressure Forest Service officials to downsize the national forest road system to one which can be properly maintained. Below is contact information for Klamath National Forest managers. Please take the time to urge them to remove salmon-killing roads. 

 

.................

 

Rachel Smith, KNF Forest Supervisor

530-841-4502

rachel.smith@usda.gov

 

Natale Kelly, Scott/Salmon District Ranger

530-468-5351

natalie.kelly@usda.gov

Roberto Beltran, Happy Camp/Oak Knoll District Ranger

530-398-4391 roberto.beltran@usda.gov

/530-493-2243