Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement, an agreement that, pending approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, will remove four dams from the Klamath. In removing these dams, salmon will be able to access over 400 miles of habitat that has been off limits since the dams were constructed. According to the agreement, dam removal will begin January 1, 2020 with a “target date of December 31, 2020 for completion of Facilities Removal at least to a degree sufficient to enable a free-flowing Klamath River allowing volitional fish passage.”
While dam removal is the single biggest action that can be taken to help save the remaining Klamath River salmon, salmon are not safe yet. Adequate summer flows, among other problems, are still a major issue that will need to be addressed in the future. This dam deal is only the start of ensuring the mighty Klamath’s salmon recover and thrive. Moving forward from this momentous occasion, EPIC will be there. As much of the Klamath watershed consists of national forest land, EPIC will be there doing what we do best—reducing the bloated forest road network, reforming or stopping bad projects that would degrade the steep forested slopes of the Klamath and its tributaries, and keeping the Forest Service accountable for the impacts projects such as the massive Westside timber sale would have on salmon and rivers.
