FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bush Admin Uses Klamath Settlement Talks to Duck Responsibility

Conservationists call on Bush Administration to halt manipulation of dam settlement negotiations; urge Congress to act to restore balance to the troubled Klamath Basin

With Congress investigating Vice President Cheney's involvement in 2002's catastrophic Klamath River salmon kill, and whether those actions were illegal, the Bush administration today used settlement talks over the future of Klamath River dams as a shield against accountability.

With Congress investigating Vice President Cheney's involvement in 2002's catastrophic Klamath River salmon kill, and whether those actions were illegal, the Bush administration today used settlement talks over the future of Klamath River dams as a shield against accountability. Oregon Wild called on the White House to stop manipulating the talks - as well as the Klamath River's resources and communities - for political purposes.

"We had high hopes for the Klamath settlement talks when we joined the process in 2004, but three years have passed with nothing to show but an endless cycle of excuses, delay, and claims of breakthroughs that never materialize," said Steve Pedery, Conservation Director for Oregon Wild. "It's clear that as long as the Bush administration runs the talks, they will be an excuse for doing nothing to actually solve the problems of the Klamath Basin."

The 2002 Klamath River fish kill, and ongoing kills of baby salmon in the Klamath River each spring, have led to economically devastating restrictions on commercial salmon fishing off the coasts of Northern California and Oregon.  The Natural Resources Committee in the US House of Representatives today held a hearing into the management decisions that led to these fish kills.

In 2004, Oregon Wild, together with other conservation groups, Tribes, state and federal agencies, county governments, and others entered into settlement negotiations with Pacificorp over the future of their dams on the Klamath River.  Oregon Wild entered the talks to advocate for the removal of the lower 4 dams and restoration of salmon runs.

In January, the Bush administration derailed the settlement talks by presenting the participants with a "settlement framework" that contained no commitment from Pacificorp on dam removal, yet expanded the talks to include measures such as weakened Endangered Species Act protections for bull trout and other fish in and around Upper Klamath Lake, guaranteed water deliveries for Klamath agribusiness without similar commitments for the survival of salmon, and permanent commercial agricultural development on National Wildlife Refuges in the Klamath Basin.  Before allowing the talks to go forward, the administration demanded that all participants support these provisions.

When wildlife advocates refused, the administration chose to abandon the original dam settlement talks and start a new process where those concerned about National Wildlife Refuges and endangered species were excluded.

"What began as a negotiation over the future of dams and salmon in the Klamath Basin has been hijacked," observed Pedery.  "Instead of real negotiations, we have the Bush administration forcing through backroom deals and political favoritism that actually put salmon at greater risk."

Oregon Wild strongly believes that Congressional oversight is the only way to get the settlement talks back on track.  The Bush administration and Klamath Basin agribusiness interests have opposed such oversight, and continue to oppose federal legislation that would address the three primary problems facing fish and wildlife in the Klamath Basin--excessive water diversions from area lakes and streams, dams on the Klamath River, and commercial agricultural exploitation of the area's spectacular National Wildlife Refuges.

"The biggest tragedy of the Klamath Basin isn't the fish kill, but that the Bush administration has had six years to resolve the region's problems and has done nothing but make matters worse," Pedery concluded.  "Congress needs to put a stop to the administration's excuses and get to the bottom of Cheney's potentially illegal activities, then get on with solving the problems of the Klamath Basin." 

###