Join Klamath Riverkeeper
Contact Us

Call us: (530) 627-3311


Stop by:
Panamnik Building
38150 Hwy 96
Orleans, CA 95556
fax: 530.627.3311

Our Mailing Address:
PO Box 751
Somes Bar, CA 95568

Waterkeeper Alliance Member

home > environmental justice

Fish are life: environmental justice on the Klamath

Public health issues | What KRK is doing | Factsheets & references

On the Klamath, fish are life. The river is home to native tribes with salmon-based subsistence cultures, and its salmon runs support commercial fishing families all along the West Coast. As Klamath dams and other impacts destroy water quality and decimate fish, thousands of people manage poverty, hunger, and diet-related disease. basketweaving

Klamath River tribal people have been leaders of the international movement to un-dam and restore the Klamath for over a decade.They have taken their cultural stories and traditions around the world to demand justice from dam-owners and regulators, and their work has inspired award-winning independent films and has been documented in major publications.

Many Klamath tribal people speak their native languages, practice traditional ceremonies and handicraft, and maintain millenia-old subsistence practices, harvesting freshwater mussels, salmon, sturgeon and lamprey. The lower Klamath is home to California's three largest tribes, the Karuk (upriver), Yurok (downriver), and Hoopa, as well as Quartz Valley Indian Reservation and the Resighini Rancheria. The Klamath Tribes of Oregon are based in Chiloquin.basketweaving

The commercial salmon fishing industry has been hit hard by declining runs on the Klamath, the third largest river on the West Coast. Family fishermen have seen their way of life challenged by closed seasons due to poor salmon returns on the Klamath. Responding to this economic crisis has cost the government millions of dollars in disaster relief.

Klamath public health issues

Toxic Algae: Dam-caused toxic algae impacts everyone who uses the river for recreation and fishing, but has particular impacts on tribal people who must immerse in the river ceremonially. Documented by the Karuk Tribe at levels thousands of times what the World Health Organization considers a risk to human health, the algae blooms created by PacifiCorp's warm and stagnant reservoirs annually spread downriver, prompting mandatory health warnings at public access points for nearly 200 miles to the river's mouth. Toxic algae exposure can cause rashes, nausea, and vomiting as well as tumor growth and death from liver failure in severe cases. Scientists have also documented dangerous levels of toxic algae bioaccumulating in downriver mussels eaten by tribes, and in the fillets of reservoir gamefish. After extensive study and despite lobbying from PacifiCorp, California's State Water Board has stated publicly that dam removal may be the only way to solve the Klamath's dangerous toxic algae problem.

Loss of traditional diet: Sociologist Kari Norgaard has worked with the Karuk Tribe to study how dams and other impacts have affected traditional diets on the Klamath. She found that in contrast to the 450 lbs of salmon once consumed per person per year, Karuk people are now limited to just 5 lbs of fish per person per year. At the same time, rates of diabetes and heart disease ballooned in the tribe, now 3 and 4 times the national average, respectively. She also connects loss of traditional food sources to chronic hunger and poverty rates among the Klamath's rural native population, by some measures among the worst in California. Many tribal people in the Klamath watershed also do not have access to basic power and internet services.

E. coli bacteria: E. coli bacteria in Klamath River tributaries has been documented by Klamath Riverkeeper and the Quartz Valley Indian Reservation. E. coli outbreaks are often associated with livestock use and reduced water quality and quantity. Symptoms of E. coli exposure include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. E. coli can become fatal for children, the elderly, or people with compromised immune systems.

KRK's environmental justice programs

KRK acts holistically to address environmental and public health on the Klamath. Our staff and Board of Directors are representative of the Klamath's amazing cultural diversity, and we have worked strategically with the Karuk Tribe and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations for many years.

We support the Klamath Justice Coalition, and levy our resources toward empowering Klamath people to speak up for and protect their river. Our programs offer leadership training, outreach materials, and travel assistance for tribal people who want to have an impact on the complex regulatory processes that govern the fate of Klamath salmon. We recognize tribal people as the original "keepers" of the Klamath - lack of access to organizing resources or travel funds should not prevent them from making their voice heard on behalf of the river today. If you'd like to support these programs, please donate or become a member of KRK.

Media, studies, & resources

Films

Media

Helpful links

Research & studies