The last day of the conference began with a presentation by Mike Connelly, executive director of the Klamath Basin Ecosystem Foundation, who talked about how we need to include the social and cultural sciences into the discussion along with ecological and biological ones to come up with real solutions. Then we heard from tribal members and farmers in a panel on People from The Watershed. Ron Reed from the Karuk Tribe spoke eloquently about the effects of decreasing salmon runs on the Karuk People, citing the fact that only 1,000 salmon were harvested at the tribal fishery last year. When you consider there are more than 3,500 tribal members, this just isn’t enough fish. He talked about the fishery at Ishi Pishi Falls, that when there are low summer and fall flows from the Upper Basin, the salmon are not forced into pools where they can be dip netted and instead travel safely up the middle of the river. He also talked about the need to address water loss in the Lower Basin due to increased plant uptake resulting from fire suppression.

     In a following panel on “On-the-Ground Accomplishments” Jim Villeponteaux from the Salmon River Restoration Council detailed many of the incredible ongoing efforts in the Salmon River watershed to restore and protect the anadromous fishery. These efforts included watershed education, invasive plant eradication, road sediment source surveys, fuels reduction, water quality monitoring, etc.

     That afternoon, we were randomly divided and told to gather around make-believe campfires (a numbered paper plate) and tell our stories. Personally, I can say I learned more during this exercise than the rest of the conference put together. I learned that one Klamath County Commissioner envisioned a day when salmon once again spawned in the Williamson and Sprague Rivers. I learned of the five dams that PacifiCorp operates on the Klamath River, JC Boyle alone is responsible for about 80 megawatts of the total 115 megawatts. If we decommissioned Irongate, Copco I and II (which have no fish passage), enhanced fish passage on the remaining dams, used the power from JC Boyle to maintain power subsidies to Upper Basin Farmers ( 0.5¢ per kilowatt hour versus the market 6.0¢ per kilowatt hour) while they used it in the summer, then used the profits from market power sales in the winter to pay for dam decommissioning and restoration, we might actually see the return of the historical crown jewel of the Klamath, the Spring Chinook runs that were once the backbone of our anadromous fishery.

     Most of all, I learned that I had many preconceptions about the farming communities in the upper subbasins of the Klamath system that needed changing, and vice versa. This summer we are going to begin to right this wrong by taking a field trip to Upper Basin farms and hearing what’s happening on the ground up there. Klamath County Commissioner Steve West and Siskiyou County Supervisor Marcia Armstrong are also coming to the Mid Klamath to see what’s going on down here.

          This conference gave me hope that there will be an end to the conflict that divides us, that like Ron Reed says, there is enough water in this basin, when used carefully to meet our needs, but we must first begin by looking into each others eyes and understanding what we have endured coming to this crisis we find ourselves in today.

Will Harling is a program coordinator with the Mid Klamath Watershed Council

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