California Dam Removal Plan Hit Snags - SF Chronicle

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Manton, Tehama County -- "The country is rolling and semi-arid here in California's northeast quadrant. Pines, manzanita, annual grasses and star thistle dominate the landscape. It doesn't prepare you for the green and lush realm of Battle Creek. This fantastically steep gorge cuts through volcanic bedrock from the slopes of Mount Lassen to the Central Valley. It's a world of rushing water and lofty cascades, of basalt walls carpeted with emerald moss; a world of lilies and sedges and great craggy oaks.

It is also the best hope for two endangered populations of Sacramento River salmon -- the winter run and spring run.

Five years ago, a consensus was reached to resuscitate the salmon runs: remove five of the eight small PG&E hydropower dams on Battle Creek and outfit the remaining three with fish ladders. It was a revolutionary concept in the 150-year history of water development in California; it would mark the first time that dams would come down rather than go up. But today the projected price tag for a Battle Creek restoration has skyrocketed, from $26 million to about $75 million, and not a single dam has been removed.

Now a disagreement among environmentalists threatens to further muddy the waters. While one faction wants to proceed with the 5-year-old restoration plan, another wants to start the negotiation process anew, claiming the only sure way to guarantee the revival of the fish is to remove all eight dams."

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