The J.C. Boyle Dam is one of four dams that would come out on the Klamath River under a pending proposal.
Amelia Templeton
A draft environmental impact statement released today shows the winners and losers should four PacifiCorp dams come down in Oregon and California. The cost estimate of dam removal and mitigation is $291.6 million, much less than the than the $450 million state cap.
Salmon are the big winners with significant increases in harvests.
Chinook salmon. Annual production of adult salmon increases by 81.4 percent. Tribal harvests up by 54.8 percent. In-river recreational fishing up by 9 percent.
Coho salmon. Upper Klamath population reclaims 68 miles of habitat.
Steelhead/redband rainbow trout would reclaim about 420 miles of their natural habitats.
Salmon disease outbreaks would be reduced by changes in river conditions.
Losers include electric power employees, some property owners and some recreational water users. But even the loser-side of the equation includes winners.
Over the long-term about 50 electric power generation jobs would be lost, but over the long haul, the plan would support about 4,600 jobs, according to the analysis.
Electricity produced by the dams, which powers the equivalent of 70,000 homes, would have to be made up in other ways, but if the dams remain in place, ratepayers will have to pay for installing mandated fish passages.
River rafters and people who flat-water fish on the reservoir would lose, but the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges would receive more water, which could improve hunting and wildlife viewing. Almost 200,000 additional fall waterfowl could appear each year along with more than 3,600 additional hunting trips.
The environmental impact studies are tied to two agreements between tribes, fishermen, farmers, PacifiCorp and environmentalists.
Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, has until March 2012 to decide whether the dams should be removed. Then the governors of Oregon and California will have 60 days to concur with that decision.
The public has 60 days to comment on the environmental report. Public hearings also will be scheduled.