River of Renewal chronicles the long conflict over the 10 million
acre Klamath River Basin, which spans the Oregon-California border.
Competing demands for water, food, and energy have pitted farmers,
American Indians, and commercial fishermen against each other for
decades.
Remarkably, this conflict over resources has led to a
consensus for conservation in this vast river basin that was once North
America's third greatest salmon-producing river. The outcome will
likely be the largest dam removal project in U.S. history and the most
ambitious effort ever to restore the habitat of a federally protected
species.
River of Renewal shows one of the great rivers of
America in crisis while also telling the story of a "sidewalk Indian",
Jack Kohler, who discovers his roots among the Klamath River tribes. For
Kohler, the conflict is a journey of self-discovery as he uncovers the
elemental bond between California native tribes, the river, and its most
legendary denizen, the salmon.
Kohler comes to the mouth of the
Klamath River to make a film about the 1978 Salmon War. But an event
occurs that brings the conflict into the 21st century. In May 2001, a
federal judge's ruling under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to cut off
irrigation water sparks an angry protest from local farmers. Then in
2002, ignoring the ESA, the Bush Administration orders the unlimited
release of water to farmers. Later that year, 80,000 spawning salmon die
in the Klamath estuary, which leads to the collapse of the salmon
fishery off the California and Oregon coasts.
The polarization of
Klamath Basin communities gives way to conflict resolution and
consensus building. Recognizing that their livelihoods all depend on the
health of the river, stakeholders who had been antagonists agree to
share the water and to demand the removal of the four dams.
The
hopeful outcome of the conflict is a lesson in the interdependence of
economic recovery with ecological restoration, and the value of finding
common ground among competing interests.
Download the River of Renewal Viewer Guide
