[env-trinity] Students organize 214-mile relay run

[Josh Allen]

Students organize 214-mile relay run 

 

http://www.eurekareporter.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ArticleID=11413 

 

5/22/2006   

 

The health of the spring Chinook salmon run will be on the minds of more
than 100 runners as they trek alongside the Klamath and Trinity rivers.

Runners will include members of the Yurok, Hoopa and Karuk tribes, sport
fishermen, environmentalists, members of the Humboldt Track Club, and
many other groups and organizations.

Organized by Hoopa Valley High School students, this annual relay run
was organized in response to the 2002 fish kill, which claimed the lives
of more than 68,000 salmon returning to spawn.

In a year when dam relicensing and fish closures are making headlines,
the young organizers of the Salmon Relay Run have decided to extend the
annual relay of 41 miles to a 214-mile journey.

In 2005, organizers of the Salmon Relay Run received the Brower Youth
Award for bringing attention to the urgent need for action to save the
Klamath and Trinity rivers' salmon populations.

The students said they hope to unite the communities affected by the
fish kill, including tribes, fishermen and river enthusiasts, by
inviting them to participate in running a one- to five-mile leg of this
year's salmon relay.

The students also hope to raise awareness of the long-term effects of
the fish kill on the survival of the species and the river ecosystems,
as well as local Native cultures, spirituality, and the traditional
diets.

The runners will be calling for increased water flows and the removal of
the lower four Klamath River dams as steps necessary for restoring the
salmon population.

The run begins on Friday at the mouth of the Klamath River in Del Norte
County, beginning with a boat relay arriving at Johnson's Bar at 7 a.m.

In Weitchpec, at the confluence of the Klamath and Trinity rivers, the
runners will continue following the routes of the two surviving wild
spring salmon runs.

One group of runners will continue to the South Fork of the Trinity
River, about five miles east of Willow Creek on Highway 299, while the
other will continue north from Weitchpec on Highway 96 to Somes Bar at
the mouth of the Salmon River.

Day two will begin at 7 a.m., and will run from Somes Bar to Sara Totten
Campground, located 25 miles north of Happy Camp.

The third day will again start at 7 a.m., to end at Iron Gate Dam. 

All are welcome to attend and participate in the run and/or the rally. 

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