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California commission recommends ripping out Klamath Dams
Seattle Times ^ | 10/29/07 | Al-AP

Posted on 10/29/2007 8:33:08 PM PDT by BurbankKarl

GRANTS PASS, Ore. -- California Energy Commission analysts urged Oregon, California and Washington to deny any requests from PacifiCorp to increase electricity rates to help pay for upgrading Klamath dams.

A Monday letter signed by California Energy Commission executive director B.B. Blevins asks the public utility commissions in each of the three states to authorize cost recovery only for decommissioning the four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River. Indian tribes, fishermen and conservation groups want the dams removed to open up spawning habitat for struggling salmon runs.

"The Energy Commission has a responsibility not only to provide reliable energy supplies, but to provide for the environment," said Chris Tooker, an energy policy analyst for the California Energy Commission. "It takes that balancing mandate seriously. The whole reason we are involved in the Klamath issue is to help educate the participants."

PacifiCorp is seeking a new license to operate the J.C. Boyle, Copco 1, Copco 2 and Iron Gate dams on the Klamath for the next 30 to 50 years. Though the dams only produce enough power for 70,000 households, PacifiCorp says it's power that does not emit greenhouse gases.

The utility has said it would be willing to spend $300 million on fish ladders and other improvements to meet a federal mandate to provide salmon a way to reach hundreds of miles of spawning habitat blocked for the past century. It has also said it would be willing to remove the dams if their ratepayers don't have to pay for it.

(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: California; US: Oregon
KEYWORDS: dams; energy; hydro; klamath; pacificorp
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To: Ben Ficklin

What value is recreational lakes and fisherys when the general public cannot afford to utilize those “public” lands because of user fees and the cost of even getting to the area?
Recreational amenities are targeted for use solely by affluent users and the amount of money they bring. Average people do not generate the same revenue projections.
Neither do farmers and ranchers. And apparantly, even energy production has lesser value than recreation.
Even water storage in resevoirs seems to not be of any value to kalifornia because kalifornia don’t own the water rights. So they endorse this wacko plan.


41 posted on 10/30/2007 4:47:52 AM PDT by o_zarkman44 (No Bull in 08!)
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To: Ben Ficklin

There is no credible evidence of which I am aware that removing the dams would result in net economic benefits.


42 posted on 10/30/2007 4:48:42 AM PDT by Iconoclast2 (Two wings of the same bird of prey . . .)
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To: Iconoclast2
I'm sure you can find a lot of info on that subject on the internet.

Myself, I went to Canada. Spent 6 days and fished three.

Sometimes putting the water to higher beneficial use has nothing to do with fishing. Growing bent grass on a San Diego golf green is worth more than growing hay in the Imperial Valley.

43 posted on 10/30/2007 5:23:02 AM PDT by Ben Ficklin
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To: dalereed
Kill the salmon!

I understand they're great smoked!

44 posted on 10/30/2007 5:49:21 AM PDT by Clovis_Skeptic
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To: BurbankKarl; SierraWasp; Jeff Head; steelie; fish hawk; tubebender; iconoclast

So what are these green idiots going to do when we have drought springs/summers/falls like this year?

There will be no water to release for flows if there are no dams during a dry spring, summer and fall. If there are no normal flow or water releases from dams, the salmon can’t make it upstream. Hell they will not be able to enter the river due to the sand bars at the mouth of the Klamath.

Which is why Coho were never native salmon on the Klamath. They were hatchery fish from Oregon not some damn sacred native fish/gods. Coho need high water flows each fall and good flows throughout the next year as they slowly mature and go downstream. They need about 1 year of regular river flows to get downstream after they are hatched.

Last but not least, this is why I no longer belong to Cal Trout, Trout Unlimited or Oregon Trout. These elitist sobs want no dams, no farmers, no ranchers, no lumber people or anyone making an honest living off the land. Yet they eat, use electricity, drive suvs and use wood products like the rest of us. We are seeing the same elitism with the striper fishers of the Delta.


45 posted on 10/30/2007 8:16:08 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (("Ron Paul and his flaming antiwar spam monkeys can Kiss my Ass!!"- Jim Robinson, Sept, 30, 2007))
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To: Excuse_My_Bellicosity
If these greenies want to go live in the sticks like Ted Kazinsky, who the hell is stopping them? Don’t drag us along on the ride to hell.

In a just world, those that oppose power plants would be the first to lose power in a blackout. Those that oppose drilling for oil in ANWAR would pay more for gas than the rest of us. Those that oppose managing forests to minimize fire danger would be the only ones to have their houses burn in a wild fire. Those that oppose fighting the war on terror would be the only ones killed in the next terrorist attack.

Like or not, these people do drag us along into their hell.

46 posted on 10/30/2007 8:31:10 AM PDT by Cracker Jack (If it weren't for the democrats, republicans would be the worst thing in Washington.)
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To: Cracker Jack

The value of the dams locally are great. They provide power for twice the population of Siskiyou County. They provide premier white water rafting opportunities at the border. They provide a bass fishery. They provide a hatchery that feeds the commercial fishery. They provide $700,000 of tax base annually to the county. They provide lakes for people to live around.

Irrigated agriculture is our principal economy at $125 million annually in raw product which circulates another 5 times in the economy. Why should one area be economically destroyed so that people downstream can benefit.


47 posted on 10/30/2007 9:04:53 AM PDT by marsh2
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To: Grampa Dave; calcowgirl; All; Everybody; everyman; common man
"...this is why I no longer belong to Cal Trout, Trout Unlimited or Oregon Trout."

And I admire you for these decisions since I know what an avid fly fisherman you are!!! I'm sure you had many good friends and acquaintences in those formerly fine organizations.

Now... What can you and all of us do about Ducks Unlimited and related organizations trying to act green while actually disrupting what they're supposedly trying to protect, and especially our productive citizens as you pointed out, through their militant selfish ignorance and bias???

48 posted on 10/30/2007 9:07:12 AM PDT by SierraWasp (GovernMental EnvironMentalism is making a monstrous mockery of the proper role of CA government!!!)
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To: Grampa Dave
The people behind, and many of the people directly involved with, the environmental movement and pushing this agenda care not a whit about the Salmon, the Suckers (other than to make suckers of all of us), the fishermen or the tribes (other than to use them), the ranchers, the farmers, or this nation and its liberty and foundational principles.

In fact, they are diametrically opposed to those last three things and will tell whatever lie, create whatever junk science, bribe whatever judge (with money or influence or notiriety), spin whaterver tale, and create whatever deceit is necessaery to push and further their own sick ideological ends.

They have taken firm root within the myriad of senseless and ill conceived laws and regulations...within the priagvte and public sector..and we will be decades peacefully weeding them out...and then only if men and women of principle stand to be counted and get into position to make a difference.

I pray we do not reach a point where our only recourse is the non-peaceful approach...but that is exactly what happened to the founders of this Republic...and although the tyrants and enemies they fought were dressed and spoke a bit differently, and although the technology was 200 years older, yet the same type of anti-liberty, officious, king's-men elitism types of attitudes were prevalent then as they are now.

49 posted on 10/30/2007 9:09:06 AM PDT by Jeff Head (Freedom is not free...never has been, never will be. (www.dragonsfuryseries.com))
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To: calcowgirl; AuntB; Issaquahking

Hope you didn’t forget AuntB and Issaquahking in your GovernMental EnvironMental Schwartzensocialist GANG-GREEN trashing the economy poingoingoing!!! (disgusted at relentless, ruthless and remorseless Commonist people grimace!)


50 posted on 10/30/2007 9:14:43 AM PDT by SierraWasp (GovernMental EnvironMentalism is making a monstrous mockery of the proper role of CA government!!!)
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To: SierraWasp

OMG, not this again.......


51 posted on 10/30/2007 9:24:02 AM PDT by AuntB (" It takes more than walking across the border to be an American." Duncan Hunter)
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To: B4Ranch

LOL


52 posted on 10/30/2007 9:25:49 AM PDT by AuntB (" It takes more than walking across the border to be an American." Duncan Hunter)
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To: Jeff Head; Grampa Dave

number 9

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1918219/posts?page=9#9


53 posted on 10/30/2007 9:28:49 AM PDT by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: george76; Grampa Dave; calcowgirl; AuntB; Issaquahking; All; Everybody; everyman; common man
"The Nature Conservancy"

Ok, I see!!! Between this phony baloney land-grabbing for re-selling to governments at top R.E. Developer prices after intimidating taxpaying landowners into becoming "willing sellers," and the N.R.D.C. who's most notorious attorney Robert Kennedy, Jr. is "EnvironMental Advisor" to Goobernaytor Schwartzensocialist who appoints to this CA Energy Commission... It should be coming as clear to everyone else on this website as it has been to me for over a decade, exactly what's being made to happen right here and a lot of other places too!!!

54 posted on 10/30/2007 9:29:01 AM PDT by SierraWasp (GovernMental EnvironMentalism is making a monstrous mockery of the proper role of CA government!!!)
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To: SierraWasp

I pulled the plug on Ducks Unlimited before I even knew that I was an anti envirorist. Some of the local rhetoric was so anti farmer/rancher, I said, “No Thank You!”

Some young conservatives, I know belong to California Waterfowl.

I don’t know how they lean.

The best way for us as individuals is drop our membership and donations to these organizations which are proxies for the Enviral Nazis. Then verbally hammer them at meetings where they display. For a long time I had the international round circle and the strike through mark on my old Cal Trout and Trout Unlimited stickers on my OJ Simpson Bronco. Eventually, the basic stickers wore out or faded out.


55 posted on 10/30/2007 9:31:28 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (("Ron Paul and his flaming antiwar spam monkeys can Kiss my Ass!!"- Jim Robinson, Sept, 30, 2007))
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To: Jeff Head

When do enviral greenies stop lying and creating false science to push their lies?


56 posted on 10/30/2007 9:33:10 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (("Ron Paul and his flaming antiwar spam monkeys can Kiss my Ass!!"- Jim Robinson, Sept, 30, 2007))
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To: pepsionice
GREAT COMMENT & REPLY!!!
57 posted on 10/30/2007 9:34:31 AM PDT by SierraWasp (GovernMental EnvironMentalism is making a monstrous mockery of the proper role of CA government!!!)
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To: Grampa Dave
Last but not least, this is why I no longer belong to Cal Trout, Trout Unlimited or Oregon Trout.

Thank you!

58 posted on 10/30/2007 9:36:43 AM PDT by AuntB (" It takes more than walking across the border to be an American." Duncan Hunter)
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To: SierraWasp

The Nature Conservancy is another no thank you. I got into that when the group helping the McCloud River became controlled or part of the NC. My eyes got fully opened to NC here on Free Republic during the Klamath River/Lake mess.


59 posted on 10/30/2007 9:37:32 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (("Ron Paul and his flaming antiwar spam monkeys can Kiss my Ass!!"- Jim Robinson, Sept, 30, 2007))
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To: AuntB

I wonder how many of us got sucked in by these liberal organizations before we realized what Green Fscists, they really were/are and will be.


60 posted on 10/30/2007 9:38:57 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (("Ron Paul and his flaming antiwar spam monkeys can Kiss my Ass!!"- Jim Robinson, Sept, 30, 2007))
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