[Baynative]

Against intense local opposition, the Obama administration wants to demolish three dams on the Klamath River in Siskiyou County, California. Low-cost clean hydroelectricity as well as water for irrigation would be lost if the dams were removed. Removal of the dams would also cause chaos for ranchers, homeowners, and small business who live and work in the downstream of the dams.

[ClearCase_guy]

It's not about the science.
It's not about the salmon.

[Baynative]

"Removal of the dams would also cause chaos for ranchers, homeowners, and small business who live and work in the downstream of the dams. Despite this, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has been trying to force dam removal for the supposed benefit of some salmon and steelhead spawning habitat.
Now, Prof. Paul R. Houser of George Mason University alleges that the administration’s plan is all based on junk science. In his role as science advisor to the Bureau of Reclamation, he was closely involved in the project. He has filed a formal complaint (PDF) alleging “intentional falsification” and “intentional . . . compromise of scientific and scholarly integrity.” "

[KansasGirl]

Must be a conservative area.

[Vince Ferrer]

Those dams were releasing too much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

[opentalk]

Part of agenda 21

—Hydro power dam destruction: collapse of energy infrastructure to return to a primitive existence

[Boogieman]

If they approve this plan, all those folks who will be affected need to do a little civil disobedience. It would be pretty hard to blow up a dam with, say, a thousand protesters “occupying” it.

[Joe 6-pack]

During WWII, the Abwehr infiltrated two teams into the US with the intent of harassing and sabotaging American infrastructure. Had they been able to successfully infiltrate 1,000 teams, I dare say they could not have created half as much destruction, havoc and chaos as the Obama administration.

[Dogbert41]

What about Hoover Dam? I hear that keeps Mexicans from swimming upstream and spawning too.

[Scoutmaster]

this comment has absolutely nothing to do with the validity of any obama administration plan.

i note the dams. as someone who spent many formative years in oregon and washington, watching the salmon ladders (on dams), and driving to hoover dam, and grand coulee dam, and tonight googling the 150+ dams and reservoirs on the incomplete list of dams and reservoirs in california . . . does any water west of the continental divide actually flow to, and in the amount, dictated by natural geography?

i know it's not just west of the divide. the southeastern u.s. wouldn't be the same without the tva.

but nothing riparian west of the divide appears to be natural.

[Tex-Con-Man]

This is well traveled territory... Free Republic and Klamath Falls.

[Carry_Okie]

Wayback to memory lane

[GSWarrior]

The progressives would love to blow up Hetch Hetchy too.

[tbw2]

First they turned off the irrigation, now want to blow up dams. What is it Democrats have against Klamath?

[dalereed]

Don’t forget the ultimate goal of the Sierra Club is to return everything west of the Rockies back to nature and eliminate all humans west of the Rockies!

[phockthis]

sfl

[combat_boots]

The Klamath Bucket Brigade: http://www.klamathbucketbrigade.org/

[terycarl]

GREAT!!!! once we get rid of those stupid dams, we’ll have plenty of space to install the new windmills.EUREKA, we’ve solved our energy problems and saved a fish at the same time.....in my next 5 years as president, we may devlop algae farms to replenish our oil supply....please, no applause...

[Myrddin]

Loss of fresh water for communities and farming. Loss of hydro power (renewable generation that actually works) and flood control downstream. How stupid can you be? Redundant question when Obama and his minions are involved. Their intent is to damage the country.

[SgtHooper]

We blow the dams, fish population goes crazy, and the Chinese scoop em up at the ocean.

[marsh2]

This is not Jeff Head’s territory. It is mine. This is southwest of the Klamath Falls area. The area below the dams is not heavily farmed. This is the mid-Klamath. In fact, some of the very Klamath Project farmers who were affected by the water turn off at the head gates are now in favor of dam removal. They were quite willing to stab my people in the back to trade for gains in their water and electricity price needs.

The people of the mid Klamath include the retirees and communities who live around the reservoirs behind the dams. They include resort owners and river folk who will be flooded out by uncontrolable flooding. They include fishing guides, miners, loggers and some small family farms that have been handed down since the 1850s.

Dam removal will damage infrastructure (roads, bridges,) kill fish and possibly all living things in the river for several years. (And it will walk away from any liability, leaving locals holding the bag.) It will mess up the City of Yreka’s water supply. It will leave raw stinking mudflats for the people around the reservoirs that will be a seedbed for noxious weeds. It will destroy one of the finest white water rafting areas in the US. It will remove the settling effects of the reservoirs on nutrients and organics (algae) and create a hot nutrient rich soup that will be plugged with algae. It will remove the power of the reservoirs to act as settling ponds for the putrid water that comes in from Oregon. It will reduce water flows in the summer to a much lower level. It will turn a county that is a net exporter of energy into one that is a net consumer of energy produced elsewhere.

It will also drag two agriclutural areas - the Scott and Shasta Valleys into the mess. (These are areas with small family heritage farms.) Plans are to use restrictions on their water and land use to mitigate the impact of the upper Klamath on salmon.

To top it off, the whole thing is based on manipulated science to intentionaly support dam removal: Fired federal adviser files whistle-blower complaint over Klamath dam removal http://www.redding.com/news/2012/feb/28/klamath-river-dams-fired-federal-adviser-files/ Here are his allegations: http://users.sisqtel.net/armstrng/allegation.pdf and his bio http://prhouser.com/houser.html

The Board of Sups hired a consultant and found several irregularities in the science http://www.co.siskiyou.ca.us/BOS/DOCS/KBRA/Comments_of_SiskiyouCountyandCities_to_KlamathFacilitiesRemoval_EIR_EIS%2011_21_11.pdf

There are also scientists at ESIPRI who are reviewing the integrity of the science: http://www.esipri.org/