Klamath River Dam removal was on the ballot this year in the two counties most likely to be affected by that removal, Siskiyou County, California and Klamath County, Oregon.
I have talked about this in the past: Klamath River Dams Removal News, from River Dancers Rafting, so thought I’d give you an update.
Both measures were nonbinding advisory votes. Both are polling conservative rural communities about their opinions on the issue of dam removal and involvement in the decisionmaking process.
In Siskiyou County the vote was nearly 80% to 20% in favor of dam removal. In conservative Klamath County the vote was a close 51% to 49% in favor of having the county government continue to represent Klamath citizens’ interest in the ongoing negotiations and discussions.
Interesting.
Why would two such similar counties have differing views on this vital issue?
For more information check out this article in the Klamath Falls Herald and News: Vote no on 18-80 to keep county involved in KBRA
And also to educate yourself on the issue, you might be interested in the website for the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement.
The decision about dam removal is currently being considered by the U.S. Department of Interior. I’ll keep you informed.
Please share your thoughts on the disparity of public opinion between these two such similar counties.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Interesting how different the vote was, but then again, the question was different in each county so we can’t compare them directly. It seems more straightforward to me, to say yes or no to removal, as opposed to figuring out if I want the county to represent me. That’s probably not enough to account for the whole difference but it might be part of it.
The other difference could be be that Siskiyou has more people focused on river (downstream) issues while Klamath is more about the lakes?
Thanks for opening the discussion, and for keeping us informed!
You’re right about the question being different, but generally what we have observed is that people against dam removal just flat don’t want anything to do with it including being represented by anybody for any reason – one of the reasons that having Siskiyou County pull out of the group was popular with the keep the dams sector.