dam removal doesnt make sense linden hankins 102811 klamath

Our Klamath Basin Water Crisis
Upholding rural Americans' rights to grow food,
own property, and caretake our wildlife and natural resources.

www.heraldandnews.com

Dam removal just doesn’t make sense

Herald and News Letter to the Editor by Linden Hankins October 28, 2011

I have been watching the continuing debate about the removal of the dams on the Klamath River with a growing sense of stunned awe and disbelief. It’s rather like watching a train wreck in slow motion. One thinks: “This can’t be happening.”

I just read the latest issue of our dearly beloved Herald and News and there was a sentence that must be quoted: “Removal of the dams is necessary to implement the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, a water settlement that aims to provide sustainable water supplies and power rates to irrigators, improve habitat for fish, and help the Klamath Tribes acquire a parcel of private timberland, the Mazama tree farm.”

Now to enlightened people, perhaps there is some sense to be made of that statement. To scientists, politicians, and some self-interested individuals, that sentence might have some logic to it. But a class of third-graders would have some questions, such as: “Teacher, I thought that the farmers couldn’t afford to pay more for their irrigation. If they take out the dams, won’t there be less power for the pumps?” or “Teacher, I thought that they wanted to make the river better for the fish, but when they take the dams out, isn’t that going to mess up the water for a really long time?”

I don’t know what the teacher would tell those students; probably something like what we are getting from the people who are plotting the brilliantly constructed demolition plan for the Klamath dams.

If I have to pick between the geniuses and the kids, I’m going with the third-graders.

Linden Hankins

Bonanza