A significant 30-day journey comes to an end
By Lee Juillerat for Ashland.news
It’s almost time to celebrate.
Young members of tribes that live along the Klamath River and its tributaries are nearing the end of their 30-day First Descent paddle that began June 12 at the headwaters of the Wood River and will end Friday, July 11, at Requa, where the river reaches the Pacific Ocean.
To prepare for the journey, the youth learned how to paddle whitewater with kayak instructors from the Paddle Tribal Waters program operated by the non-profit group Rios to Rivers. The program includes young kayakers from the Klamath, Yurok, Karuk, Quartz Valley and Hoopa Valley tribes.
Among the highlights for the paddlers happened last Monday, day 25 of what’s also being called the Source-to-Sea, a 310-mile journey. That’s when the team of 13- to 18-year-old paddlers reached and passed the confluence of the Trinity River, the Klamath’s largest tributary. A day earlier the young kayakers had been joined by several family members near the riverside community of Weitchpac.
During these final days the group is being joined by indigenous youth and others from river basins in the U.S. along with others from New Zealand, and Chile and Bolivia in South America, where efforts are being made to remove existing dams and to prevent the construction of new dams. The gathering of groups is being done, according to Rios to Rivers, with the organization overseeing the descent, as “a symbol of global solidarity.”
Billed as the First Descent, the journey is celebrating the removal of four Klamath River hydroelectric dams – the John C. Boyle, Copco 1 and 2, and Irongate – the nation’s largest dam removal project, that has allowed a nearly free-flowing river.
The team, however, have to portage the two remaining dams, the Link River and Keno dams. Studies are underway to determine whether the Keno dam’s fish ladder can be modified to allow fish to continue upstream or if the dam should be removed. The Keno dam provides no electricity but controls river water levels and provides water for nearby irrigators. The Keno dam has a fish ladder, but it apparently cannot be negotiated by salmon and other species, which prevents them from continuing upriver to Upper Klamath Lake and tributaries that feed the Klamath River.
The kayakers’ arrival at Requa Beach, the mouth of the Klamath River, on Friday, will kick-off three days of celebrations and activities.
On arriving at Requa Beach, the young kayakers will be greeted by their families. Following a cultural closing ceremony with songs and prayers, the afternoon will include lunch, a series of celebrations, and the introduction of the kayakers, who will share their experiences on the river.
In addition, youth representatives from Chile and Bolivia will speak on “global river justice,” and representatives from various tribal councils, including the Klamath, Karuk, and Hupa, will give brief presentations on their tribal perspectives about the Klamath River and dams, which prevent salmon and other fish from traveling upriver.
After a day-long celebration in the town of Klamath, California on Friday, an international Free Rivers Symposium will be held Saturday and Sunday, also in Klamath. Tribal leaders, environmental activists, scientists and other experts from several nations are then expected to issue the Klamath Accord, calling for the removal of harmful dams around the world and the end of construction of new ones.
“This is a turning point – a testament in resilience, cultural renewal, and the urgent need to protect our rivers for generations to come,” according to Rios to Rivers. “More than a celebration, this journey is a powerful statement – a call to action to continue the fight for river restoration by removing the two remaining dams at the Klamath’s headwaters” referring to the Link River and Keno dams.
Email freelance writer Lee Juillerat at [email protected].
