The Klamath River: What I learned from a Tea Partier

I have been exploring the issues surrounding the Klamath River; and what I am discovering is amazing.  It has to do with the long-term plans for restoration of the river itself along with the communities that depend on it for sustenance.   My quest all began after I had an encounter with two local Tea Partiers the other day.  I'm always excited to meet people who care enough about politics to have strong opinions.  Fortunately for me, Ron and Regina fit the the bill perfectly.  When people care enough to share what they think about issues that interests me, it always challenges me to question what I think I know.  Somehow that interaction is very stimulating and I always wind up expanding and changing my thinking.  It's a natural high.  So what have I learned so far about the Klamath River?

First off, I've learned that I don't know very much.  This is inexcusable to me as I pass near  and over the river sometimes weekly on my way to Ashland, Oregon with my partner John on most Sundays.  My encounter with the river itself has been limited until now to scattered glances from the car that reveal a evenly flowing greenish waterway with sudsy accumulations along the banks.  Aside from wondering about the foam on the banks, I've never really given the river much thought, until now.

My new Tea Party acquaintance was concerned about the scheduled damn removal to be undertaken in the next few years on the Klamath.  He referred to three damns that produce enough hydroelectric power that, without these structures, my own Pacific Power utility bill would be painfully increased.  This got me wondering so I started investigating on the Web.  I found "The American Rivers" web.  Here is the link: http://www.americanrivers.org/our-work/restoring-rivers/dams/projects/restoring-klamath-river.html.  I discovered that there were actually four hydroelectric damns on the Klamath currently operated by Pacific Power.  Moreover, the amount of electricity that these damns contribute to the Pacific Power grid amounts to a meager 1% of the power distributed by the company.  This amount of energy could be recouped through other renewable means such as solar.  It might be said that the four damns are obsolete.  They were high tech at the time of their construction, but their advantages are far outweighed today by the loss of natural habitat for the more than 400 species of fish that at once used to thrive in the Klamath River Basin.

More later.