by Felice Pace
Lately there has been lots of media reporting, comments and commentary about the amount of sediment being released from PacifiCorp's Klamath River dams in preparation for dam decommissioning and removal. Concerns have been expressed about how that sediment may be impacting the River's ecosystems and fisheries. Below I show that the amount of sediment being released from the dams is dwarfed by the amount of sediment released during major storms from the Basin's thousands of miles of unpaved and poorly maintained logging roads.
The amount of sediment to be released from PacifiCorp's dams has been estimated at 5 to 7 million cubic yards. That sounds like a lot of sediment. Consider, however, that, according to a Forest Service research report, during the 1996-97 New Year storm event an estimated 1.3 million tons of sediment was released from the approximate 8,000 miles of unpaved logging roads on the Klamath National Forest alone.
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One of multiple road failures with sediment delivery to streams that occurred on KNF logging roads during the New Year 2016 storm event. |
The Klamath National Forest (KNF) is one of five national forests that are located within the Klamath River Basin. The KNF comprises an estimated 15% to 20% of the total Basin area. From this I calculate that a major storm event is likely to release 6.5 million tons of sediment to the Klamath River, that is, about the same amount of sediment that is being released from the dams in preparation for decommissioning.
Let that sink in. The sediment impact to the Klamath River from dam decommissioning is likely to be about the same as the sediment impact delivered to streams and thence to the Klamath River during any major storm event. To get a better understanding of the sediment impact from forest roads see the Forest Service research report at this link.
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Road blowout sediment deposited onto National Forest Road 46N64 in the Walker Creek Watershed near Seiad Valley |
Of course it happens that the release of dam sediment is occurring during the rainy season and during a storm event. But I expect that high and flood flows will easily flush most of the fine sediment to the ocean in a short amount of time. Most of the juvenile salmon and steelhead are still in the tributary streams where they were born. As a result, Klamath fisheries will not be significantly impacted by the sediment released from PacifiCorp's dams.
Those who claim otherwise are the same people who have always fought dam removal. They have a axe to grind and are projecting impacts that are not now occurring and are unlikely to occur in the future.
Forest roads are a problem
While concerns about the sediment impacts of dam removal are unfounded, the Klamath River and significant tributaries like the Scott River are sediment impaired. Recovery of Klamath River basin aquatic ecosystems and fisheries depends on removing those sediment impairments. The only way to do that is by addressing the #1 source of the sediment, that is, unpaved logging roads.
As a results of President Clinton's Jobs-in-the-Woods Initiative (a program which I promoted at the Clinton Forest Conference and subsequently in numerous trips to Washington, DC), the Forest Service has "stormproofed" thousands of miles of its forest roads. However, "stormproofing" is a misnomer; absent regular road maintenance, it is impossible to keep unpaved forest roads from generating large amounts of fine sediment and releasing a portion of that sediment to streams.
The Forest Service only has funding to maintain about 25% of its forest roads to its own standards. Sooner or later, unmaintained and poorly maintained unpaved roads release significant sediment to streams. That typically happens in large storm events.
The conclusion is inescapable: It we are going to restore the Klamath River Basin's aquatic ecosystems and fisheries we must remove the sediment impairment. The only way to do that is to get rid of the 75% of unpaved forest roads that the Forest Service does not have the funds to adequately maintain. In addition, regional water boards should require annual and post-storm road monitoring on private industrial timberlands and require that sediment delivery problems identified during those inspections are quickly fixed.
Those tribal, state and federal leaders who claim they want to fix the Klamath must be made to understand that the only way to accomplish that task is to get rid of the forest roads which the Forest Service can't afford to maintain and which bleed nuisance sediment into our streams during even moderate storm events.
Those of you who want a healthy Klamath River should ask those leaders what they are doing about the Klamath's sediment impairment. What you will learn is that they are doing nothing to eliminate or even reduce the Klamath's sediment problem.
Magical thinking will not restore the Klamath. Therefore, we must push national, tribal, state, local and Forest Service leaders to effectively address the Klamath's sediment impairment by removing the unpaved and poorly maintained logging roads that are preventing the recovery of Klamath River ecosystems and fisheries.
Where are our tribal leaders?
Tribes should be leading the effort; but are they? Not that I can see.
This is a challenge to leaders of the Yurok, Karuk, Shasta, Klamath, Quartz Valley and Resighini tribes. Two questions:
- What have you done lately to address the sediment from unpaved logging roads that is preventing ecosystem and fisheries recovery, and
- What do you commit to doing in the future to reduce the nuisance sediment from unpaved logging roads?
5 comments:
What if we figure out a way to fund road maintenance or push the feds to give land management agencies more money for it.
People want to be able to use THEIR land, unfortunately we can't snap our fingers and be back in pre-colonial days where our entire lives where spent out on the land, now we have limited time to go out and so we need more rapid methods of access such as road systems.
Not to mention the fact that these roads are used for access during fires.
How many private timber company roads are also responsible for sediment?
What about the run off from other private properties and public transportation on highways and county roads?
Seems to me like your organizations are always pushing for a colonialist based preservationist ideal where humans don't exist on the landscape and the only time you agree with anything the tribes want is when you can use us as a mascot to serve your end goal...
Good comments!
The first thing I would say is that we in the public land environmental community have been working in DC for decades to get more funding for national forest road maintenance. To maintain all those roads to standards year after year would require a massive amount of funds. So it ain't gonna happen.
Concerning "THEIR land" I do not believe any humans have the right to "own" land. You can not own your Mother. Wanting to own things is the heart of the environmental problems we have.
If you will look deeply into what the old ones thought and said, I think you will see that "owning" land was inconceivable to those folks.
For most of human history, humans didn't need roads in order use "their land".
My "end goal" is a healthy River. Federal tribes are federal creations and not the way things were done before European Colonization. I respect and support traditional ways of making decisions.
For some, the "colonization" story has become another way to put others down.
I never said anything about 'ownership' but the land belongs to the people.
Public lands policy holds it in trust.
That's interesting, I've never seen your/associated groups lobbying for anything to do with roads aside from closing them.
You might think I'm being rude or putting you down but look at the pretentiousness with which you tried to tell me about my own culture.
You're right in that we wouldn't have federally recognized tribes and still sadly federally unrecognized tribes if things weren't the way they are.
Coyotes always gonna coyote.
I would say this is a reach. Yes sediment from said roads will eventually an does find it ways to creeks - rivers. It's not like they are using there logging equipment to push sediment into said stream (unlike what they are doing above iron gate where they are literally pushing an dumping with heavey equipment sediment/ sludge directly into creek / river). Why are they just "Logging roads " ? Don't hunters use them ? Back country hikers / campers an alike ? Wildland fire crews ? Local that live off the grid ? USFS has spent millions on decommissioning road to only have next years fire command go in with dozers to re open decommissioned road. Alot of those more recent wash outs / slides aren't necessarily do to road failure. Once agian the wonderful USFS with all ther wisdom An power burning millions of acres to the ground is to blame. Its whole hillsides / mtn sides sliding down because there is nothing to hold it in place besides some dead grass everything else was scorched ! But way to play the blame game on the loggers like you always have. Probably a nice stick built house you live in though huh ......your welcome. Also YES great question for the Tribes ! My response would be depends on how an where the money flows an if they get any of it or not. Not like they need it. If they can afford multi million dollar casinos an add onto them they shouldn't really be getting anymore of or tax dollars...Also don't the tribes or KRRC own the Dams now ? Or took over an assumed all responsibility of them ? You stated Pacific Corp but was my understanding they no longer had vested interest in Dams other then Buffet owns Pacific Corp an Kiewit Construction so agian depends on $$$$ an which way its flowing.
I call them "logging roads" because that is what they were built for. Many are behind gates that are locked year around and so are not accessible to recreators, hunters, etc.
I agree that the decommed roads should not be reopened during wildfires. Most of these roads are mid-slope and no firefighter in his right mind would try to use them to fight/control a fire. Firelines along such roads get jumped time and again most often from spot-overs or spillovers from fires that the Forest Service lit to burn out to the firelines they've constructed.
I live in an 80's tin can Fleetwood mobile home. I did build a beautiful wood home once upon a time. I have never been against logging, I just want it to be done well and well managed which would protect our watersheds.
Despite the political shenanigans to benefit the ruling class - and, in fact, because of them, I still call these PacifiCorp's dams.
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