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GROUPS SPONSOR DAY OF ACTION AGAINST PACIFICORP: Tribes, Fishermen, Citizens Demand Removal of Klamath Dams

September 18, 2008 -- Portland, OR – On Thursday, September 18, hundreds of fed up Klamath River community members will march from Holladay Park to PacifiCorp’s headquarters to demand the removal of the lower four Klamath River dams. Members of Klamath Basin Indian Tribes, commercial and sport fisherman, and concerned citizens and business owners will highlight PacifiCorp’s leading role in the destruction of the wild salmon runs, the rapid decay of water quality on the Klamath River, and the diminishing quality of life of Klamath River communities.

The group will hold a press conference at 1 pm in front of PacifiCorp’s offices at 825 NE Multnomah in downtown Portland.

“We are here to let PacifiCorp and Warren Buffett know that there will be no business as usual for PacifiCorp as long as there is no business as usual for Klamath River communities,” said Chook Chook Hillman of the Karuk Tribe and member of the Klamath Justice Coalition.

Earlier this year Mr. Hillman confronted the ultimate owner of PacifiCorp’s Klamath Dams, billionaire Warren Buffett, at the Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders’ meeting in Omaha, NE. After camping out in line overnight, Mr. Hillman was able to be one of only a dozen or so investors able to address Mr. Buffett before a crowd of 30,000 Buffet supporters. “I asked Buffett why he has donated money to solve issues of poverty and disease in the third world while he is creating those very conditions in my back yard,” said Hillman. “He dodged the question,” Hillman noted.

See Mr. Hillman’s confrontation with Mr. Buffett at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9WRNxFWfU0

The Klamath Dams block over 300 miles of salmon spawning habitat, heat water temperatures to levels lethal to salmon, and create reservoirs full of toxic blue-green algae. Tribes, environmentalists, fishermen, and farmers have all asked PacifiCorp negotiate terms for dam removal as parties seek to develop a comprehensive approach to restoring the river and the rural economies that depend on it.

Although PacifiCorp has on several occasions suggested that they are willing to negotiate a dam removal agreement, the dam removal advocates attending Thursday’s Day of Action remain dubious of the company’s sincerity.

“PacifiCorp has repeatedly taken actions to delay the relicensing process and denied any responsibility for the fish kills and toxic algae blooms we see on the Klamath. PacifiCorp should work with Tribes, farmers, and fisherman to remove these fish killing and costly dams,” said Georgianna Myers, a member of the Yurok Tribe.

The Klamath Justice Coalition and their partners hope the event will provide an opportunity to educate the public about the impacts of the dams, highlight the fact that economic reports from Federal and state agencies show dam removal to be cheaper than relicensing, and hold PacifiCorp and Warren Buffett accountable for destroying the Klamath fishery and polluting the Klamath River with toxic algae.

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A film describing the dams impact and the effort of communities to work together to solve the problem can be view in parts at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-HVvX7EzTc

More information can be found at the following websites:

www.salmonforsavings.com

www.klamathriver.org

www.berkshireshareholder.com

http://www.yuroktribe.org/Klamath.htm

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September 18, 2008, 9:40am. Via Blackberry from Portland OR -- This morning at 8:20 local activists hung a banner over Interstate-84 in solidarity with tribes of the Klamath River, who have called for a Day of Action against Pacificorp, which has stalled the removal of its four outmoded dams, which are choking life from the waters and communities of the Klamath Watershed. Warren Buffet, the owner and wealthiest person on the planet, has repeatedly refused to remove the dams—disregarding indefensible costs to the environment, as well as the cultural, physical, and economic well being of indigenous, agricultural, and other local communities in Southern Oregon and Northern California. Not only do the dams prevents salmon from spawning upriver, but they have also brought about large growths of algae toxic to fish, plants, and humans.