"The local communities did
their part, but unfortunately
the federal government
has not yet delivered on
their end of the deal."
Curtis Knight, CalTrout Executive Director
The Dam Relicensing Negotiations (2000 to 2006)
The key issue that needed to be resolved in the FERC relicensing negotiations was how PacifiCorp, which owns all four dams, would address the requirement of the Federal Power Act to allow salmon to migrate and spawn above its dams. PacifiCorp's opening gambit was to propose a "trap and haul" solution to transport salmon around the dams in order to avoid the high cost of building fish ladders. CalTrout played a key role in these discussions and joined others in pushing hard for a solution that allowed for natural salmon passage, either via fish ladders or dam removal. PacifiCorp initially explored building fish ladders, but that solution turned out to be very expensive. CalTrout and partners contributed studies and other evidence in favor of removing the dams, and after running the numbers PacifiCorp came to the conclusion that the most economical solution for its ratepayers was to remove the dams. A subsequent Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) done by the Department of the Interior validated that dam removal was the best way to restore the upper river habitat and fisheries.
A Brief History of the Klamath Basin Agreements