When the Shasta Dam was built, the Pit River and Winnemem Wintu tribes lost their salmon and the Sacramento River salmon lost much of their spawning grounds.

The Winnemem Wintu Tribe also lost ceremonial sites, their land base, and even their federal tribal recognition. The Winnemem Wintu and Pit River Tribes have now not had salmon for over 80 years. This has led to major health and social issues including enormous spikes in alcoholism, heart disease, diabetes, and suicide and has impacted native ceremonies and identity. The Tribes are working to bring their salmon home through fish passage and flow plans, but the proposal to raise the dam threatens fish passage, habitat, flows, and ceremonial sites.

The state’s most powerful water district, Westlands Water District, and the Trump administration plan to raise the Shasta Dam by up to 18 feet, which would inundate remaining Winnemem Wintu ceremonial sites and a wild and scenic river. It could also hurt plans to reintroduce salmon to the McCloud and Upper Sacramento Rivers and to restore flows in the Sacramento River.

This plan would cost $1.3 billion dollars but would only increase water deliveries by an estimated 51,300 acre-feet. That is less than 1/10th of 1 percent of California’s annual water budget. Most of this water would go toward irrigating poisoned Westland Water District’s lands in the arid Western San Joaquin Valley. These contaminated lands’ selenium and pesticide laden wastewater is drained into aquifers of the San Joaquin River, which supplies drinking water for 25 million Californians. This massive pollution has led to calls for agricultural land retirement in this desert region. The new inundation of uncapped mines and mine tailings could also contaminate salmon habitat and drinking water with toxic chemicals like mercury and cadmium.

This plan threatens Tribes living along the Sacramento River and the Trinity River, fishermen, and the state’s plans to restore salmon on the Sacramento River, along with the state’s drinking water supply.

The dam raise will reward rich corporate interests, while condemning California’s salmon and endangering people. We have to stop it.

Don’t let Westlands and Trump flood ceremonial sites and endangered California’s salmon. Sign our petition opposing the dam raise.