[env-trinity] Thompson Legislation/Rallies

[Byron]

Klamath solutions unveiled

Eureka Times-Standard - 4/25/06

By James Faulk, Staff Writer

 

 

EUREKA -- Several people gathered outside the Humboldt County Courthouse on
Monday to show solidarity with a San Francisco event where Rep. Mike
Thompson announced his intention to call for aid to local fishermen and a
permanent solution to the problems in the Klamath River. 

 

Rep. Lynn Woolsey and Thompson announced the bill in front of hundreds of
salmon fishermen at a rally on San Francisco's Pier 47. 

"The Bush administration's gross mismanagement of the Klamath River has led
to this year's and last year's shortened salmon season," Thompson, the
bill's author, said Monday in a prepared statement. "Yet, the administration
isn't offering any assistance to the affected fishing communities nor do
they have a plan to restore the salmon. That is why tomorrow we will be
introducing legislation that would offer $81 million dollars in federal
assistance. It will also contain measures to revive the Klamath salmon and
hold this administration accountable to ensure they cannot manipulate the
river for political gain ever again." 

 

Supervisor Jimmy Smith, a long-time county voice on fishery issues, said the
gathering was meant to show that there is local support for those who are
suffering because of problems on the Klamath River. 

 

"It shows that we want to support the entire coastal community, as well as
the upper river -- the tribes and the in-river fisheries and make them a
part of it," Smith said. "And it also shows that we support a solution that
is basinwide, whatever it takes to make that river well again so that it's a
productive place for all the fisheries and for the fish." 

 

His companion on the board, 5th District Supervisor Jill Geist, agreed. She
said she has been working with all stakeholders along the Klamath River to
help devise a solution to the river's ills. 

 

"Those of us who are up here are not able to get down and show our support,
so this is a token of our support and our hearts and wishes are down in the
Bay Area right now with Mike Thompson," Geist said. "This is an issue that
tremendously affects us here on the North Coast." 

 

Andre Cramblit, a member of the Karuk Tribe, recalls his experience on the
Klamath River during the 2002 fish kill.  "It was really an emotionally,
spiritually and personally devastating experience," Cramblit said. "So I'm
here to explain my support and let people know that there's other
perspectives on this salmon issue." 

 

Thompson's bill has three parts -- it would provide $81 million in emergency
appropriations for impacted commercial fishermen and related businesses in
the region; it would direct the Department of Commerce to complete a Klamath
salmon recovery plan within six months of the bill's passage, and after the
completion of the plan $45 million would be allocated for conservation
projects; and the Department of Commerce would be required to report to
Congress on the progress of the Klamath on a yearly basis. 

 

Thompson said the bill will officially be introduced today. It has 35
co-authors and has a good chance for success, he said. 

"There's precedent for this to happen," Thompson said. "It's the second year
in a row that the fishing community has been terribly impacted because of
the administration's water policy and there's a need in the community for
this type of help." 

It's not just about fishermen, he said -- it's about the tax base of the
community, the economic base of the community. 

It's about paying health insurance and making house payments, he said.

 

 

Byron Leydecker

Chair, Friends of Trinity River

Advisor, California Trout, Inc

PO Box 2327

Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327

415 383 4810 ph

415 383 9562 fx

 <mailto:bwl3 at comcast.net> bwl3 at comcast.net

 <mailto:bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org> bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org

 <http://www.fotr.org> http://www.fotr.org

http:www.caltrout.org 

 

 

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