Billionaire Warren Buffett, the world’s second richest man, recently made national and international headlines when he announced that he would bequeath $37 billion - the bulk of his $44 million fortune – to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

At the same time he announced his philanthropic venture, the Karuk Tribe on the Klamath River noted that a subsidiary of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. continues to kill king and coho salmon and steelhead, host toxic algae blooms and put commercial and tribal fishermen out of work.

The Gates Foundation stated that "Warren has not only an amazing intellect but also a strong sense of justice,” according to the Associated Press.

However, the Karuk Tribe remains unconvinced. “Until Mr. Buffett removes his dams which are driving our fish into extinction, I will be forced to question his sense of justice,” commented Leaf Hillman, Vice Chairman of the Karuk Tribe.

The Tribe is currently working with neighboring Tribes, including the Yurok, Hoopa and Klamath, conservation organizations, recreational anglers and commercial fishermen to get four of the six Klamath River dams removed. The dams block access to over 350 miles of salmon habitat and instead provide habitat for the blue green algae Microcystis aeruginosa, a producer of tumor-promoting toxins.

The Portland, Oregon based PacifiCorp owns and operates the dams. A Buffett-owned company recently bought PacifiCorp after the previous owner, Scottish Power, was targeted by the Tribes’ campaign. In 2004 and 2005, tribal leaders, conservationists and fishermen flew across the ocean to Scotland to protest Scottish Power’s shareholder meetings.

The California and Oregon economies will lose an estimated $150 million this year due to commercial fisheries closures instituted to protect weak stocks of Klamath River salmon. The closures are a direct result of a Bush administration change in water policy on the Klamath River that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of juvenile salmon in the spring of 2002 and over 68,000 adult salmon that September in low, warm water conditions.

In the spring of 2003, 2004 and 2005, the majority of juvenile salmon on the Klamath have perished because of disease spurred by low water quality and warm water temperatures. The dams, which prevent migration of salmon, steelhead and other species into upstream habitat, have only served to drive Klamath River fisheries towards the brink of total collapse.

In April, the US Fish and Wildlife Service issued mandatory terms and conditions for a 40 license renewal for the dams. Theses terms and conditions include the construction of fish ladders and increased river flows. Together these conditions make removal a better deal for ratepayers, argue the Tribes.

“Not only is dam removal the right thing to do morally, it makes economic sense for ratepayers,” according to Hillman. “Spending $187 million to put ladders on these antiquated dams is a waste of ratepayer money. It would be cheaper to remove them.”

In addition, the dams have very little power production value. According to a 2002 report by the California Energy Commission, “Because of the small capacity of the Klamath hydro units…removal of these units will not have a significant reliability impact on a larger regional scale…”

However, PacifiCorp has appealed the federal government’s terms and conditions, preferring instead to push its plan to trap fish below Iron Gate Dam and truck them 80 miles to Klamath Falls, Oregon. This plan is doomed to failure, since “trapping and trucking” has only resulted in increasingly poor returns of fish everywhere it has been tried. PacifiCorp is taking its case, under the terms of the 2005 Energy Act, to an administrative law judge at one of the agencies,

The Buffet family has demonstrated an interest in Native American issues in the past. Ironically, Hillman was a finalist for the Buffet Award for Indigenous Leadership last year.

What can you do to restore the Klamath?

First, you can attend a rally. The Klamath River Tribes, commercial fishermen and recreational anglers are planning a “rally for the Klamath salmon” in Portland, Oregon at the Portland Convention Center at 12:30 pm. on August 2, 2006.

International hydropower corporations are holding their biannual Hydro Vision Conference there – and the fishermen and tribes want to bring public attention to the need to remove Pacific Corp’s dams, and the “bring the salmon home.” For more information, call Stormy Staats at (530) 598-1670.

Second, you can send a letter to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger asking him to play an active role in restoring the Klamath, starting with the removal of the four lower most dams.

Send your letter to: