Activists Call for Tearing Down Dams in Oregon

By Joe Bauman Deseret Morning News

Klamath Basin Native Americans and environmental activists took their fight against dams to Salt Lake City Tuesday, demonstrating outside offices of Rocky Mountain Power.

About a dozen demonstrators outside One Utah Center called for the removal of four dams on the Klamath River, which winds through southern Oregon and northern California. The building at Main Street and 200 South is headquarters for Rocky Mountain Power, which serves Utah, Idaho and Wyoming.

Rocky Mountain Power’s connection to the Klamath Basin controversy is that its parent company, PacifiCorp, does business as Pacific Power in Oregon, Washington and California; the utility operates Klamath River and Klamath Lake power projects. PacifiCorp in turn is owned by MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co.

The protesters are on their way to the Omaha, Neb., home of Warren E. Buffett. One of the companies the billionaire investor owns is Berkshire Hathaway, which controls the majority of stock in MidAmerican.

Native Americans held signs calling for removal of the dams. One placard said “CLEAN WATER IS GOOD BUSINESS.” Some chanted during the protest. When someone shouted “Save the Klamath!” from a nearby building, they cheered.

Parked in front of the headquarters on 200 South were two large dugout canoes on trailers, which are part of the tour to Omaha.

“We’re concerned with four dams on the lower Klamath River,” said Soren Jespersen of the Friends of the River organization, based in Sacramento. The oldest of the dams was built about 80 years ago, he said, and others are outdated.

“We’re on a pilgrimage to Omaha to tell Warren Buffett,” he said. The protesters want to tell him his subsidiary is operating dams that are killing salmon and threatening tribal cultures and rural communities, he said.

“We think Warren’s a good guy. He recently donated a big chunk of change to the Bill Gates Foundation. He lives in the same house he grew up in, and we think he’ll welcome us with open arms.”

Helping to hold one large sign that featured a salmon were Luana Hillman and her nephew, Ike, both of Orleans, Calif., who are of the Karuk Tribe. The aunt wore a traditional hat, which was like a basket, as well as necklaces of beads and shells.

“It’s killing our fish, killing our way of life,” Luana Hillman said. Algae that builds up behind the dams is toxic to some species in the river system, she added.

Ike Hillman, 21, said impounded water grows hot behind the dam, and when it is released it heats up a four-mile stretch below it. That’s bad for fish, he said.

The four dams only create enough power for about 70,000 homes, he said. “It’s not worth it” with other sources of power available.

Frankie Myers of the Yurok Tribe said the two canoes are about 15 and 40 years old, and they were carved with traditional methods from redwood logs. They are considered to be living things with souls, and the fact that tribes were willing to transport them shows the depth of their commitment to the issue, he said.

“We really hope that the people at PacifiCorp hear our message to remove their dams,” he said. The dams are harming fisheries in the river, he added.

Besides other values, he said, “The Klamath River has a huge impact on commercial fishing.”

Dave Eskelsen, spokesman for Rocky Mountain Power, said the Klamath projects are undergoing their periodic license renewal procedure before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The protesters represent parties to negotiations that are part of the renewal process.

FERC has the responsibility to balance needs of the electricity production against other people with interests in environmental, cultural and recreational issues. Sometimes the parties come to understandings that are approved by FERC. At others, FERC has to hold what is in effect a litigation-type hearing on matters where no agreement is achieved.

“There’s no set deadline” for licensing renewal negotiations, he said. Typically, FERC grants operating licenses on a year-to-year basis during negotiations. Often the process lasts five years; in this case, it has been going on since 2000.

“We respect the positions of all those parties, including the folks in Salt Lake City today,” Eskelsen said. “We’ll continue to work with them on possible settlements.”

E-mail: bau@desnews.com

(c) 2007 Deseret News (Salt Lake City). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.