Posted on February 16, 2022
Federal funding through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, better known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, would “make great strides” in addressing the drought crisis in the Klamath Basin. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will invest $162 million in federal funds to restore the Klamath Basin ecosystem and support water resilience and infrastructure.
“The transformative investments in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, collaboration with states, tribes, and local governments, and the input from every impacted community will help us innovate in the face of adversity and restore balance to this river system,” U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said in a prepared statement. “Together, we must work to respect tribal treaty rights and trust resources, ensure predictable and sustainable water supplies, and restore this once abundant ecosystem for the benefit of all its inhabitants.”
The Department of the Interior held a series of engagement sessions with Klamath Basin stakeholders, Northern California tribes, and state officials earlier this year to address ongoing drought conditions, limited water supply, and struggling salmon populations.
Between Jan. 24 and Feb. 4, the service held virtual nation-to-nation consultations with six tribes within the basin: the Yurok Tribe, Resighini Rancheria, Klamath Tribes, Karuk Tribe, Quartz Valley Tribe and Hoopa Valley Tribe, according to the Department of the Interior. On Feb. 1 and Feb. 10, the department held virtual meetings with federal and state officials, tribes and local stakeholders of the Klamath Basin to discuss water quality priorities and dam removal.
Removal of PacifiCorp’s four dams along the Klamath River will open 420 miles of salmon-spawning habitat as well as improve water quality and reduce critical temperature conditions that cause and increase disease in fish. Dam removal is anticipated to begin in early 2023.
Craig Tucker, a natural resources consultant for the Karuk Tribe, noted that the federal funds will not go towards dam removal.
“When we negotiated dam removal, Republicans ran the government and if we needed federal dollars to do it, they would not have funded it,” he explained. “We think by and large that a big chunk of the responsibility lands on PacifiCorp, which is funding nearly half of the costs associated with dam removal. California’s water bond that passed a few years ago will fund the other portion of removal.”
The Integrated Fisheries Restoration and Monitoring Plan will guide habitat restoration efforts.
“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been working on the IFRMP for several years, we think it will be the restoration blueprint to inform where the priority is for restoration. That will guide prioritization for how we spend this money and I think everyone agrees that we really have to deal with water quality issues in the Upper Klamath Basin,” Tucker said. “… I think the message to Klamath communities is to work together and come up with a plan. We see this as kind of a perfect time to really exploit the opportunity afforded by dam removal.”
Resighini Rancheria Tribal Chairperson Fawn Murphy said the funding will support “critical restoration efforts that will benefit all in the Basin.”
“We appreciate the leadership of Secretary Haaland to include Resighini Rancheria in these important discussions that significantly impact us as a federally recognized tribe of Yurok people. The Klamath River is central to our identity and cultural lifeways, and it is our inherent responsibility to be good stewards,” Murphy told the Times-Standard. “Our ability to fish and continue to use the river as our ancestors always have has been greatly impacted by the dire situation of poor salmon runs and water quality issues on the Klamath.”
The restoration projects “can’t come soon enough,” Tucker added.
“It’s really difficult for the agricultural community and the fish community to work together on solutions when the drought is really pressing everybody into disaster mode,” he said. “Everybody’s in a state of crisis and the drought just makes it so much worse.”
Even still, Tucker remains optimistic.
“We talk constantly about the dire straits we’re in and how bad it is, but I will say that I am starting to feel optimistic,” he said. “We’re about to pull off what will be the biggest salmon restoration project in history and then it looks like we will be able to follow behind with significant funding for habitat improvements. I’m left feeling a little optimistic, we got a real shot at putting the Klamath back together.”
Isabella Vanderheiden can be reached at 707-441-0504.
