The Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA) and the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement (KHSA), if implemented, could result in the removal of four dams on the Klamath River. These dams block habitat once utilized by the region's native fish, such as Pacific lamprey, steelhead, coho salmon, and Chinook salmon.

As noted by the Atkins consulting webpage (link below), according to the terms of the KHSA, "the Secretary of the Interior must determine if the implementation of these two agreements is in the public interest on or before March 31, 2012." As such, the Secretary must "evaluate two alternative management scenarios for the Klamath Basin in making the Secretarial Determination: Conditions with Dams (current hydroelectric operations into the future) and Conditions without Dams and with KBRA. The evaluation period is 50 years (2012-2062)."

In order to inform the Secretary's decision, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) suggested that important existing and new scientific information regarding fisheries in the Klamath River system should receive both expert and peer review. With regard to the benefits of each alternative on native Klamath Basin fishes, USFWS convened four native fish expert panels to review, evaluate, and synthesize influential information.

These four expert panels include: 1) lamprey; 2) resident fish; 3) coho salmon and steelhead; and 4) Chinook salmon.

Both draft and final reports for each panel can be found at the Atkins consultant website here.