The dam tour continues as Travis and I plow through the Pacific Northwest leaving no one safe from an interview and certainly no concrete wall un-filmed. The Copco 1, [pictured above] is one of four dams that choke California’s Klamath river. In 2010, tree huggers, Native Americans, lip rippers and farmers managed to reach a historic compromise to share water between fish habitat and farms across Oregon and California and remove all four dams as early as 2020. It’s not a sealed deal—but the momentum is certainly building. If the Klamath is set free, it would just so happen to be largest river restoration effort in American history—kind of a big deal.
Huge thanks to the ranch owners who let us use their land to access Copco. [bk]
I think you are massively mistaken…the majority of farmers, ranchers, & landowners below, beside, above, and anywhere near the Klamath River dams in Siskiyou County are adamantly OPPOSED to dam removal. The salmon are not indigenous to the area…you must read the scientific facts before you promote yet another movie, article, blog, or otherwise full of lies. Our land is MEDITERRANEAN, BASALT, ARID…and the land is naturally rich in phosphorus…KLAMATH MEANS STINKY. Why would a river be named stinky if it were supposedly rich with water?? Please do your homework. I dare you to be a media of TRUTH…perhaps the first of the kind.
If you’re going to dare us to be a “media of truth,” then I’ll have to dare you to enlighten our readers as to how “The salmon are not indigenous to the area.” Please, by all means, share your scientific facts with us.
Hi Kelly,
It is my understanding that many folks in Siskiyou that are opposed to taking out the dams are adamant property rights advocates. I support property rights as well. Warren Buffett, who owns the dams and major portions of the land around them wants to get rid of the antiquated dams for economic reasons. Are you saying that his property rights should be taken away because you don’t like them? Let’s not forget that these dams and hatcheries may occur in Siskiyou and other counties, but the tax payers of Ca. and Or. and across the nation are paying to operate and deal with their impacts and that the dams negatively impact our nations public trust resources (clean water, salmon, etc.)
As far as telling the truth about where salmon were native too in the Klamath, please read the below scientific report and describe how it is full of lies and the historic photos of salmon upstream of the dams, before they were built, were fabricated by early settlers to the area in the mid to late 1800′s. Looking forward to your reply of “truth”.
http://karuk.us/press/AFS%20Klamath%20Salmon%20article.pdf
The salmon are indigenous! They were here before the land owners. No man really has the right to OWN land if you think about it, its all up in our little human minds! Wanting control! The rivers were here and flowing before that man was ever alive! His “rights” as you say….what about mother natures rights?
She was here long before any of us and should be aloud to run free!!!!
The salmon are indigenous! They were here before the land owners. Farm the land until it no longer produces, and destroy fish habitat until there are no more fish.
I noticed Kelly hasn’t yet responded……… She sited no sources, so as someone here to read, enjoy and learn I’ll have to go with the folks providing links.
I would really like to see the “evidence” that salmon and steelhead are not indigenous to the klamath basin. I agree that there are going to be major repercussions of removing the dams but what we are currently doing is NOT WORKING. Thanks to FSM for taking their time to enlighten us about the project.
I’ve Lived here in Humboldt County CA my whole life and as far back as I can remember EVERYONE wants to blow up that cursed damn!!
We have knottiest a decline in our fish!
As a kid we used to joke and think of ways we could destroy it our selves!
Of corse if we just blew it up there would be lives at risk, so we would have to release the water slowly.
Anyways, ask any TRUE LOCAL of Humboldt County about the Klamath damn and you’ll get a ear full about how we have all wanted that stupid thing GONE for generations now!!
Quit ignoring the truth and blow the thing up already!!