[env-trinity] 3rd Annual Fish Fair and Salmon relay in wake of the 2002 Klamath disaster

[Daniel Bacher]

P R E S S R E L E A S E

KIDE- FM
Klamath Trinity Joint Unified School District

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contacts: Allie Hostler, KIDE FM (530) 625-4245
                        Teresa Cyr, Fish Fair Coordinator (530) 625-4223 
ext. 318
                        Melodie George, Salmon Run Coordinator (530) 
625-4218 ext. 38

Klamath Fish Kill releases stream of Political and Educational events 
Students and Teachers Organize 3rd Annual Fish Fair and Salmon relay in wake 
of the 2002 Klamath disaster

Hoopa, CA - "Fish be not dammed," say the organizers of the 3rd annual 
Salmon Run, which is taking place on May 27th. The theme for this year’s run 
is intended to call attention to the five hydroelectric dams on the 
main-stem Klamath River. These dams are up for re-licensing in 2006. The 
students who are organizing the event hope to raise awareness about issues 
related to decommissioning the dams which have caused serious harm to the 
Klamath Basin fisheries by blocking all fish passage in the upper basin and 
reducing needed water flows.

Although the fish kill happened in 2002, the Hoopa, Yurok and Karuk Tribes 
will be feeling the impacts this year and next. Salmon have a 3-4 year 
lifecycle. "The 68,000 fish that died in 2002 never had a chance to spawn, 
so we will go without fish in 2005," said event organizer Melodie George. 
George goes on to add, “The fish fair is an educational event, but it’s a 
spiritual event too. We will be praying that we will never witness another 
fish kill again.”

The run will start at the Mouth of the Klamath River in the early morning 
hours of May 27th with a jet boat relay scheduled to arrive at Young’s Bar 
Landing on Highway 169 at 8 AM. There, runners will begin their relay on 
foot carrying a symbolic salmon up the river to the South Fork of the 
Trinity, east of the town of Willow Creek on Highway 299. A separate leg of 
the relay will branch off at the confluence of the Trinity and Klamath 
rivers at Weitchpec and continue up the Klamath until reaching the mouth of 
the Salmon River. The footrace portion of the run extends more than 70 
miles.

While the symbolic fish is being passed from runner to runner, the 3rd 
annual Fish Fair will be taking place at Hoopa Elementary School. Salmon 
runners will rally at the Fish Fair at 12:30 PM while passing through Hoopa.

Two Hoopa Elementary School teachers, Teresa Cyr and the late Rhonda 
Marshall, deemed that a community event was needed to commemorate estimated 
68,000 Chinook and Coho whose lives were lost in the massive fish kill in 
the lower Klamath in the fall of 2002. The following spring, they organized 
the Fish Fair to educate students and families about fish and their habitat. 
The Salmon Run was initiated by Hoopa High School students as a service 
learning project around the same time. The combined Fair and Run quickly 
attracted support from organizations and residents throughout the watershed 
and have become popular annual events.

There will be demonstrations, storytellers, games, activities, power-point 
presentations, outdoor activities, displays, and a salmon barbeque. The 
educational event will feature speakers and representatives from local 
environmental and political agencies. The Fair begins at 9AM and goes until 
2:15PM at Hoopa Elementary School.

All interested parties or individuals are invited and encouraged to attend 
these events.
For more information contact:
KIDE FM radio (530) 625-4245
allieehostler at yahoo.com
Teresa Cyr (530) 625-4223 ext. 318
tmarshall-cyr at internet.humboldt.k12.ca.us
Melodie George (530) 625-4218 ext. 38 mkgcarpenter at hotmail.com

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