Removing four dams from Klamath River is first step

Opinion piece on the recent passage of OR Senate Bill 76 from Sustainable Northwest President Martin Goebel.

The new law that was enacted last month to create a funding mechanism to remove four dams on the Klamath River should be seen as an important first step in an historic restoration effort that cooperatively allocates water for multiple uses in the basin.

The stability of the foundation for settlement that this new law provides ultimately depends on the work of a broad-based, bipartisan coalition of local farmers, fisherman, tribes and conservationists representing diverse interests yet all committed to crafting a win-win solution. They deserve our
ongoing support.

Their success can serve as a model for future efforts in the Willamette Valley, and throughout the West, as we'll all need to resolve more and more competing demands on water.

Historically, the Klamath has supported ranches and farms that provide sustenance for hundreds of rural families. It has supported the third-largest salmon fishery on the West Coast, which has been culturally and economically important for many generations of Native American tribes. Klamath fish also provide jobs for commercial fishermen in coastal
communities along Oregon and California that depend on the ocean-going salmon runs. And the area's abundant recreational activities offer year-round tourism and opportunities for urban dwellers to share the amazing
riches of this region.

While these varied stakeholders and rural communities that depend on the Klamath River will be most directly affected by restoration, revitalizing the economic and environmental health of this region is something that can benefit all Oregonians.

The Klamath basin is a natural treasure of national significance and this restoration effort ‹ one of the largest ever in the West can demonstrate a new spirit of cooperation that promotes the economic viability of rural
communities that share and steward these resources.

Oregon has demonstrated great leadership in moving this first tangible piece of the settlement agreement forward. Now it's time for both California and the federal government to take on their responsibilities and invest for the health of the fishery and the Klamath's communities.

Martin Goebel is president of Sustainable Northwest. He can be reached at info@sustainablenorthwest.org.