Average number of adult wild salmon returning to the Klamath River Each Year: 880,000
Average number currently returning: Way below 100,000
Opportunities to remove dams: 1 every 50 years

Klamath Dams Have to Go for the Klamath Salmon:
The Klamath dams are currently up for Re-licensing by Pacific Power, an energy company from Portland, Oregon. This process occurs once every 50 years. These dams have outlived their usefulness. They block 350 miles of salmon habitat and cause toxic conditions in the Klamath River, while little power is produced. Klamath native and non-native people are working within the FERC process to Bring the Salmon Home, to the upper Klamath basin.

Dams Hurt Communities and Fish
The people of the Klamath River remember when the salmon fed four tribes and supported thriving coastal fishing communities. River people are still very dependent on clean water and fish. Currently all species of Salmon and many of the other fish species in the Klamath are experiencing record lows. Furthermore, the Klamath reservoirs had the worst toxic algae reported in the west coast for 2005, and yearly fish kills plague the Klamath River.

Spring Chinook and Dams
The Spring Chinook Salmon, the main salmon run that used the upper basin once numbered at over hundreds of thousands of salmon a year, and helped to feed four large tribes. Last year numbers on the Salmon River, the main Springer stronghold, were less then 100.

Dams Create Toxic Algae
The dams are creating toxic algae (see toxic algae page) within the reservoirs that are over 100 times what the World Health Organization calls a moderate health risk. Furthermore, the dams create warm toxic water that goes directly into the Klamath River, which could hurt both fish and humans.

Pacific Power is Not Green
In fact Pacific Power’s green image is a farce. Pacific Power says they are “green” and have a “Blue Sky’s” option. However really Pacific Power’s wind resources are only 0.2% of their total energy resource. This represents 123 megawatts of power. Klamath dams produce only 161 megawatts of power. This power could be replaced with only a small amount of green power, which would give some weight to Pacific Power’s claims of being a green company.

For more information about the Klamath Dams see:
BRING THE SALMON HOME
Background information for the Klamath River DAM REMOVAL Campaign
http://www.pelicannetwork.net/klamath.bringhome.htm