"Dam removal is needed on the Klamath River. However, the proposed Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, or KBRA – the focus of a recent op-ed in The Bee ("Time for Congress to act on Klamath pact," Jan. 31) – will actually lower flows for salmon, subvert environmental laws and take away tribal water rights, while wasting millions of dollars in subsidies.

This water sharing agreement should not be attached to dam removal. It is time to separate Klamath dam removal from Klamath water rights.

The KBRA will cost $970.45 million. Not one dollar goes toward dam removal; most of the money goes to subsidies for farmers and corporations using public lands and water. Flaws in the agreement explain the refusal of the 112th Congress to ratify the agreement.

Furthermore the KBRA does not settle the Klamath's water issues. It actually encourages fighting and litigation as the agreement promises a lion's share of the water to farmers on the public Klamath Project while leaving less water for off project farmers, the river and lake. The agreement's failure to provide the water that fish need is at the heart of the Hoopa Tribe's opposition to the deal. "

Get the Story:
Hayley Hutt: Klamath pact will hurt flows and fish (The Sacramento Bee 2/13)

Related Stories:
Hayley Hutt: Water bill terminates Hoopa Valley Tribe's rights (11/14)