Wednesday August 31, 2022
KRCR —
On Friday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission released its final environmental impact statement reviewing the Klamath River Renewal Project, which includes the removal of some of the Klamath River dams. In the EIS, the FERC recommended approving the surrender of the dam license, as well as decommissioning and removing the dams with staff modifications and mandatory conditions.
There are seven dams that make up PacifiCorp’s Klamath Hydroelectric Project, four of which will be removed in an effort to restore the Klamath River, which the EIS shows has declined in health since the dams were installed between 1903 and 1962.
Among other organizations, the Yurok Tribe has been working to get the dams removed for decades, particularly over the past 20 years since roughly 70,000 adult salmon were killed in 2002 due to the unhealthy river conditions.
One Yurok Tribe member, Amy Bowers Cordalis, has been a big part of the tribe’s efforts to push for the dam removal, as well as those of the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, which she is on the board of. She also currently serves as the Yurok Tribe’s legal counsel.