CPM represented various Yurok and Karuk tribe members and Klamath Riverkeeper, a nonprofit public benefit corporation, in an action to prevent the ongoing pollution and contamination of the Klamath River, one the greatest rivers in California. Home of the historic Yurok and Karuck tribes, for hundreds of years, the Klamath River has been integral to the cultural, religious, and economic lives of these tribes. Over the past eight decades, dams were built on the Klamath. These dams, currently owned and operated by PacifiCorp, harmed the Klamath River environment by disrupting water flows, raising water temperatures, and ultimately contributing to growth of a toxic blue-green algae called microcystis aeruginosa, a species of cyanobacteria. Toxins released from the algae’s blooms significantly reduced the Klamath fishery population, limiting the catch of both the tribe members and commercial fisherman and jeopardizing their economic survival. Likewise, the development of the algae generated a potent liver toxin and tumor promoter known as microcystin.
