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<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria-Bold;color:black'>PRESS RELEASE<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria-Bold;color:black'>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 24, 2009<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>Contact: Scott Harding, Executive
Director, Klamath Riverkeeper<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>(541) 488$B!>(B3553,
scott@klamathriver.org<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:Cambria-Bold;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
font-family:Cambria-Bold;color:black'>Klamath Riverkeeper Joins Suit to Stop
Harmful Recreational Gold Mining<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>Lawsuit targets California Fish and
Game for using tax dollars to fund illegal mining program<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>Oakland, CA – Klamath Riverkeeper
has joined a recent lawsuit against California Fish and<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>Game for using taxpayer dollars to
fund an illegal recreational gold mining program.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>$B!H(BCalifornia is spending taxpayers$B!G(B
dollars to issue permits that allow recreational gold miners<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>to harm the Klamath$B!G(Bs imperiled
fisheries in the name of a few flakes of gold,$B!I(B says Scott<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>Harding, the Executive Director of
Klamath Riverkeeper.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>Weekend and hobby gold miners once
used low$B!>(Bimpact pans, shovels, and picks to search for<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>gold but in recent years there has
been a proliferation of suction dredges on the Klamath<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>River and its tributaries. A suction
dredge is a gas or diesel$B!>(Bpowered vacuum placed on a<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>floating platform in the river or
stream. The miner uses the vacuum to suck up the river<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>bottom, sort the gold out in a
sluice, and dump the leftover gravel, sand, and silt back into the<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>river.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>The practice of suction dredging has
been shown to disrupt spawning beds, force fish into<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>areas of dangerously warm water,
muddy river water, alter the course of stream channels, and<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>hurt or kill aquatic organisms
living in the river bottom. At times, ten or more suction dredges<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>can be found in one river mile on
the Klamath.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>The California Department of Fish
and Game has previously admitted in court that its current<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>suction dredge mining regulations
violate the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>and Fish and Game Codes $B!x!x(B5653 and
5653.9 (the statues which authorize the Department to<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>issue permits for suction dredging
under certain, limited conditions) because the activity<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>causes deleterious harm to fish –
including endangered species, such as the coho salmon.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>California$B!G(Bs taxpayers heavily
subsidize the suction dredge mining permit program. The state<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>spends $1.25 million more per year
on the suction dredge mining permit program than it<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>receives in permit fees, amounting
to a $400 subsidy for each of the 3,200 miners that obtain<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>permits.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>$B!H(BWe find it hard to believe that the
State of California is using taxpayer money to fund a<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>recreational gold mining program
during a severe fiscal crisis and during a sustained fisheries<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>emergency. It makes no sense.$B!I(B says
Harding.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>The lawsuit seeks to halt suction
dredge mining until the Department of Fish and Game<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>completes an existing court$B!>(Bordered
revision of its suction dredge regulations that brings it<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>into compliance with CEQA and
relevant Fish and Game Code provisions.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>Recreational mining businesses, such
as the New 49$B!G(Bers in Happy Camp, CA, are bringing<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>hundreds of suction dredgers to the
Klamath and its tributaries each year. California$B!G(Bs<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>regulations of the mining practice
are more lax than in other states, making it a popular<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>destination for hobby miners.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>In addition to the environmental
impact of this influx of miners, social tensions have emerged<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>as well. In retaliation against the
Karuk Tribe for joining this lawsuit, the New 49$B!G(Bers recently<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>petitioned the California Department
of Fish and Game to eliminate the Tribe$B!G(Bs traditional<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>practice of dip net fishing on the
Klamath River. The Karuk have been dip$B!>(Bnetting salmon for<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>thousands of years.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>The suit was originally filed in
Alameda County Superior Court on February 5, 2009 and<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>amended to on March 20 to add
Klamath Riverkeeper as a plaintiff. Other plaintiffs include the<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>Karuk Tribe, Center for Biological
Diversity, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>Association, Friends of the River,
Institute for Fisheries Resources, California Sportfishing<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>Protection Alliance, Craig Tucker,
David Bitts, and Leonn Hillman. Arguments for a<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>preliminary injunction will be heard
this spring.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>Klamath Riverkeeper is a 501(c)(3)
non$B!>(Bprofit organization dedicated to restoring the<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>Klamath River and its tributaries,
fisheries, and communities. Klamath Riverkeeper has<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>offices in Orleans, California and
Ashland, Oregon. For more information please visit<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-autospace:none'><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:blue'>www.klamathriver.org</span></b><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>. For photos
of suction dredging on the Klamath, please email<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Cambria","serif";
color:blue'>scott@klamathriver.org</span></b><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Cambria","serif";color:black'>.</span></b><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Cambria","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Byron Leydecker,
JcT</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Chair, Friends
of Trinity River</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>PO Box 2327</span></i><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>Mill Valley, CA
94942-2327</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 383 4810
land</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'>415 519 4810
cell</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><a href="mailto:bwl3@comcast.net"><b><i><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'>bwl3@comcast.net</span></i></b></a><b><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><a href="mailto:bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org"><b><i><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'>bleydecker@stanfordalumni.org</span></i></b></a><b><i><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'> </span></i></b><i><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;color:gray'>(secondary)</span></i><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://fotr.org/"><b><i><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;color:blue'>http://www.fotr.org</span></i></b></a><b><i><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:gray'> </span></i></b><b><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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