Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Farmers evaluate Klamath agreement to remove four dams Depending on their water source, farmers and ranchers near the California-Oregon border have differing views of a recent decision by Oregon-based hydroelectric power company PacifiCorp to remove four of its dams along the Klamath River. For Klamath Project irrigators, the agreement comes as a critical step, whereas irrigators downstream in the Scott River and Shasta River valleys see it as a potential threat to their own water supplies. PacifiCorp, the state of California, the state of Oregon and the federal government agreed in principle on Nov. 13 to remove the dams, to give threatened coho salmon and other fish species access to 300 miles of habitat in the river and improve water quality. The agreement would dovetail with a plan by 26 Klamath Basin stakeholders released in January-- the proposed Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, a comprehensive solution for the region's water needs that expressed support for dam removal. Stakeholders include irrigators represented by the Klamath Water Users Association, as well as environmentalists, tribes, fishing groups and government agencies....

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