<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.18882">
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><?xml:namespace
prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"
/><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Lines are drawn over
Klamath dam deals<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Eureka
Times-Standard-2/11/10<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt">By John
Driscoll<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The Hoopa Valley
Tribe's unanimous vote Tuesday not to sign two agreements that look to remove
four dams on the Klamath River and restore its fisheries adds to a number of
environmental groups' decisions not to back the deals. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt">In a statement,
the tribe said it was unable to resolve its concerns over the Klamath Hydropower
Settlement Agreement and the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement during talks
with the U.S. Department of the Interior, and so could not support the final
deals. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt">”The settlements
undermine tribal water rights, do not assure dam removal, and rely on unfunded
and unspecific fishery restoration goals,” Hoopa Tribal Chairman Leonard Masten
said. “We cannot stand behind deals that require the subordination of our
rights, and that may never result in dam removal.” <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The two
agreements set a course for dam removal -- expected to begin in 2020 -- and look
to improve conditions for salmon in the river while reducing but securing
irrigation deliveries to Upper Klamath Basin farms. Portland, Ore.-based
Pacificorp owns the dams and had applied for a new 30- to 50-year license to
continue operating them when it agreed to consider a settlement.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The agreements
are expected to be signed at a ceremony on Feb. 18, though those plans are not
final. Members of the 28-party group that helped draft the deals but chose not
to support them can change their minds and sign on within 60 days. The
agreements also must be backed by federal legislation. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt">The Yurok, Karuk
and Klamath tribes have all voted to back the agreements, as have a number of
commercial and sport fishing groups, environmental organizations, farming
representatives, and Humboldt County. The governors of California and Oregon and
the Obama administration are supporting the agreements. Environmental groups
Friends of the River, the Northcoast Environmental Center, Oregon Waterwatch and
Oregon Wild have chosen not to sign the deals. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Friends of the
River has claimed the agreements are not likely to stand up, are vulnerable to
lawsuits and depend for funding on passage of an $11 billion California water
bond for water projects. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt">”Millions of
dollars in taxpayer subsidies and liberal liability protection for Pacificorp is
simply too much to pay for just the possibility that the dams will be removed,”
said Friends Conservation Director Steve Evans. “The settlement partners need to
develop an agreement that fairly apportions costs and liability to all partners,
including Pacificorp, and that guarantees dam removal by 2020.”
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt">Supporting group
American Rivers, an environmental organization with years of experience in dam
decommissioning efforts, said the deals may not be perfect, but they are a
strong means of reviving the river and improving the economies of the basin's
agricultural, fishing and tribal communities. He said the deals represent years
of hard work by a variety of interests, and that it is always easy to find fault
with a collaborative effort. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt">”I am sure some
of these folks had lots of advice for quarterback Drew Brees during the Super
Bowl last Sunday,” said American Rivers California Director Steve Rothert. “We
choose not to criticize from the sidelines, but rather to do the hard work
building agreement among dozens of formerly warring parties.”#
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><A href=""><FONT
color=#0000ff>http://www.times-standard.com/ci_14379910?IADID=Search-www.times-standard.com-www.times-standard.com</FONT></A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; FONT-SIZE: 14pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>