New member

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

That's OK, as long as it tastes good, right?
Hey,
Your avatar looks like me trying to paddle downstream on the lower portion of the Klammath River, near the mouth when the afternoon wind comes up.
(Three strokes foward and two strokes backwards)

[mtpocket]

The lower portion? Would that be through the reservation? If so, the Indians may get a good laugh also.

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

Yep,
Yurok.
Maybe they could teach me to put a motor on it.
BTW- No redwood dugouts until you get farther upstream.

[mtpocket]

I'm not familliar with Yurok. Hell, I'm not familliar with California. I just recognized the name of the river because I spent some time up around Copco and Iron Gate one summer. You must be on the west fork. They might not approve of a motor on their water, but if you hurry through? I would love to go upstream and see those redwood dugouts you mention.

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

Well,
From the area that you are describing, you'd have to go quite a few clicks downstream to see those dugouts. You're just below the dam, up where the interior valley farmers snatch all the water, which leaves the fish runs without enough water and tons of dead fish. It was a mess last year!

[mtpocket]

Dean, I love the avatar.

I know nothing about the dead fish or the farmers taking all of the water. Sounds like things are a little out of control. I didn't spend enough time there to learn many local issues. I was just there for two weeks during the summer of 1999, and that was a rough two weeks. I was sent there to give seminars on Kinetic Energy. It was like talking to school children. The students were employees of two local power companies, no names mentioned, you know who they are. The employees were on the clock for the seminar and couldn't give a ____ if they learned anything. I enjoyed the area, with the lakes and rivers, but I have no wish to return to do business. I don't travel on business much anymore and am happier because of it.

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

A local group of Yurok Indians recently went to Ireland to protest at one of those companies headquarters. The feds stepped in this summer and released tons of water into the Trinity River, which dumps into the Klammath way upstream to help out the fish with increased water flows. The main problem the fish face, isn't the lack of water flow, but water temperature.
Those increased flows on the Trinity River made for some wild canoeing this past summer. I mentioned in another thread how my girlfriend and I had no problem swamping a canoe this past summer, that's why.
Glen gave me this lighthouse avatar.

[mtpocket]

I have seen this problem locally but only once. It happened when the cooling towers at a plant failed to be put into service as prescribed by state and local law. A hefty fine followed. In Indiana, we are allowed to increase the river temperature by .1 degree F. That is the differential between the inlet and outlet. In addition, we have laws governing the discharge temperature. If too great, as in summer months, we have to increase flow from other sources such that a lower temperature is maintained. These other sources can be from wells on site or reserve cooling water tanks, etc. If this cannot provide compliance, we start buying power off the grid and shutting our generation units down. At no time do we kill fish. We have also seen chemical spills make their way into our water ways that resulted in many casualties. Those were also followed by a hefty fine. Containment areas have helped, but some companies have cut corners and paid the price. Sad thing is that the companies recover, the fish and wildlife do not.
Anyway, I will get off my soapbox. After all, this is all riding on the back of a thread entered by a new forum member. Welcome aboard Luc Tremblay