This is an urgent action alert from Regina Chichizola, klamathrights@gmail.com. I will post more information as the campaign to save Trinity and Klamath River salmon builds momentum:
Last week federal officials at the Department of the Interior announced that, unlike in previous years, they will not preventively release Trinity River water from Lewiston Dam to avoid a Klamath River fish kill. They instead will only release water once the fish are sick and dying. This unscientific process will take at least four days and will likely lead to a large-scale salmon die off. Water will instead go to the Central Valley to allow farmers to irrigate the dry eastern valley.
It is unacceptable that junior water right holders hundreds of miles away are getting water while the salmon die. Juvenile and spring run adult salmon are already dying in the Klamath and there still one month of summer until the fall run enters the river. There is no doubt that if water is not released from the Klamath's largest tributary, the Trinity, we will have a repeat of the 2002 Klamath River fish kill.
This same week those of us located on the Klamath River, watched the river turn bright green with toxic algae and the party responsible for the algae, Warren Buffett’s PacifiCorp, again applied algaecides behind their dams without public comment or notification. This practice has been proven to releases the algal toxin, Microcystin, which is a potent liver toxin. PacifiCorp’s dams create this toxic algae and all science to date shows that only dam removal can stop the blooms.
PacifiCorp has stated they support dam removal repeatedly. However on August 15th PacifiCorp will apply for a Clean Water Act permit from California to keep the dams, and will not even include an analysis of dam removal in their permit application.
After ten years of fighting for dam removal are we supposed to just accept this? Well PacifiCorp thinks so.
Dead fish, toxic green rivers, chemical use in the river, is this now the government is protecting the fish and the people? Crops can go fallow, dams can be removed but if we lose the salmon it may be forever. Those government agencies that are allowing parties like PacifiCorp and Westlands Irrigation District to kill our rivers have names and sit in air-conditioned offices.
This is why on August 19th we are going to these offices in Sacramento to demand water for the Trinity River and dam removal on the Klamath River. We will go to the Bureau of Reclamation and to State Water Board and let them know there will not be business as usual while the rivers are dying. Please join us!
For more information please go to Save the Klamath Trinity on Facebook, sign the petition; Stop a Klamath Fish Kill: Release Trinity Water on Change.org or go to klamathriver.org or email klamathrights @gmail.com.
Busses will be going to Sacramento from Hoopa and Orleans and hopefully Klamath and Arcata. A benefit will happen in Orleans this Friday. It is time for us all to get together to fight for the rivers. Please join us.