On February 26, 2019, Dr. Arielle Halpern submitted comments on behalf of the Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecology Center to the State Water Resources Control Board on the Draft Environmental Impact Report regarding PacifiCorp’s application to transfer its license to the Klamath River Renewal Project. This transfer is part of the process for removal of four obsolete dams on the Klamath River. This dam removal project will have substantial economic, environmental and cultural benefits for the river and its surrounding communities.

Dr. Halpern noted, “The Klamath Bioregion is a biodiversity hotspot and one of the four most diverse conifer forests in the world. Benefits including reducing the mortality of juvenile salmonid populations, reducing salmonid diseases, including P. minibicornis and C. Shasta. The above challenges are a result of high temperatures, low water flows, and high densities of fish attempting to access upstream habitat currently blocked by the dams. High temperatures and low flows also contribute to toxic blue green algae blooms during summer months which affect wildlife, recreation, and aesthetics”.

The full comments letter is shown below: