From the mayor’s desk: Meadow Martell

I have learned, sometimes painfully, that it is important to take a step back when I hear or see actions that stir up emotions. My first reaction to push back is not always the most helpful. Sometimes it is better to take a breath and evaluate the reality of a situation.
Last week I talked about civility which is the act of politeness and courtesy in behavior or speech. Our First Constitutional Amendment protects freedom of speech. There are times when it would be better if people would take the time to get their facts correct first before they act. Last week I witnessed a group who stopped work at Pomeroy Dam. They very vocally stated that it was an illegal project that did not have a permit. Randomly halting a project of this size and complexity can have serious monetary and worker impacts.
I have been observing dam removal activites many mornings and there is a lot of attention to monitoring and moving fish. The accusations bothered me enough that I decided to do some fact checking. Dam removals come under a permit issued to Water Watch by the Army Corps of Engineers. Water Watch has successfully removed other dams in Oregon and has secured agreements for other local projects including the successful removal of the dam and fish blocking culverts at the Siskiyou Field Institute, at no cost to them. I also learned that the protesters at the Pomeroy Dam had been informed about the dam earlier in the year and had signed an agreement with Water Watch to cooperate on the dam removal in exchange for several thousand dollars of weed and brush removal on their property.
I also looked into the Klamath river dam removal because of the public statement by Noah Robinson, Republican candidate for State District 2 seat, that the Klamath River Dam removal “destroyed another beautiful area and killed all the fish in the river”. That is not an accurate statement. Thousands of salmon fry released from Fall Creek Fish Hatchery into Northern California’s Klamath River are believed to have died after they suffered gas bubble disease, thought to be the result of trauma the small fish experienced when they went through a tunnel at the dam’s base, which had been opened to allow the river to pass and dam demolition to proceed. Probably as much human error as dam problem.
It’s a wise person who takes the time to check facts before they get riled up and act.