Removing four hydroelectric dams and restoring habitat on Northern California's Klamath River would significantly boost the watershed's chinook salmon population and the commercial salmon catch, according to several dozen federal reports released Wednesday.
The U.S. Interior Department will rely on the documents to decide whether the dams should be torn down. Removal of the structures would open upper portions of the Klamath to struggling salmon populations that have been blocked from historic spawning grounds for nearly a century. "The reports issued today represent the most complete body of information to date on the science involved in Klamath River dam removal and the project's potential for job creation," said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.
The dam decommissioning is part of a pact reached last year by farmers, environmentalists and tribes who have fought for years over the river, which once had one of the nation's most abundant salmon runs.
Under the agreements, PacifiCorp utility customers in Oregon and Northern California, along with the state of California, would pay for the removal. The federal government would fund up to $1-billion worth of water management, habitat restoration and monitoring programs.
EDIT
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-klamath-salmon-20110922,0,6500733.story