An enormous dam removal project - possible the world's largest - just took one giant step forward yesterday. 

An agreement was reached among all parties involved in a decade-long negotiation to remove four dams on the Klamath River and restore the river basin. The Klamath Hyower Settlement Agreement (KHSA) was released to the public and is currently being reviewed by parties involved in the talks.

The KHSA follows the January 2008 release of the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA), which established a recommended course of action for restoring the Klamath River Basin. If it goes through as outlined in the KHSA, this dam removal effort would be the largest of its kind and one of the most ambitious river restoration projects ever undertaken in the United States.

"As a conservation group whose priority is protecting habitat for native fish and other wildlife in the Klamath Basin, CalTrout has been advocating for the removal of these dams for the past decade," said Curtis Knight, Mt. Shasta Area Regional Manager of California Trout.

"The Klamath River has been used to support farming, local power needs, and commercial fishing for over a century, all at the expense of the health of the ecosystem that supports a wide array of plant and animal species," Knight continued. "After years of complex negotiations among interest groups and the dams' owner, PacifiCorp, we have come to an agreement that will dramatically change the landscape along the Klamath. The agreement establishes use patterns that meet the basic needs of fish and the fishermen who depend on them for economic survival, native tribes, farmers, and local power users, all while improving the health of the watershed itself."

Knight concluded, "the Settlement Agreement goes a long way toward mending what, for years, appeared to be an irreparable rift among an array of stakeholders with divergent views about and priorities for the river. That we could all come together and find common ground is a hopeful sign for the future of watershed management regionally and nationally."

This is a crucial step in a long process to restore what has historically been one of the largest producers of salmon and steelhead on the West Coast.  CalTrout's SOS: California's Native Fish Crisis report assessed the status of all 32 native California trout, steelhead and salmon.  The trends were disturbing.  Without major changes, California will lose 65% of these species.  The removal of four dams on the Klamath River is just the kind of ambitious, large-scale restoration project needed to reverse the declining trend in our iconic cold water fish.

For more information about the Klamath Hyower Settlement Agreement (KHSA) and the accompanying Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA), which was released to the public in January 2008, please go to www.edsheets.com and www.pacificorp.com.