Facebook Twitter Email
MONDAY, APRIL 1, 2002

"What a year" read yesterday's headline in a local paper covering the Klamath Basin dispute that has pitted farmers against fish and has left tribes in the area with little.

Secretary of Interior Gale Norton and Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman on Friday went to the Oregon-California border on Friday to release water to non-Indian farmers in the region. After having been denied, for the first time ever, the precious resource last year, they cheered the action.

Members of the Klamath, Yurok and Hoopa tribes reacted differently. While Klamath chairman Allen Foreman has welcomed the high-level attention to the issue, he and others noted that they have gone without adequate water for fish they depend upon for decades.

The Klamath Tribes of Oregon have primary rights to the water but those have yet to be quantified. Down in California, the Yurok and Hoopa tribes depend on the fish who in turn rely on the water.

But for now, the farmers are getting all the attention. They lead protests last year against the shutoff and eventually Norton ordered a review of the decision process.

Her department quickly acted to reverse the decision, leaving consultation with the tribes to occur after the fact. Tribal members turned out to protest the Bush administration's actions, holding signs reported to have said "Bush kills fish," "Interior is polluted" and "Tribal rights."

Get the Story:
What a year (The Klamath Falls Herald and News 3/31)
There are lessons to learn, Tribes say (The Klamath Falls Herald and News 3/31)
Long-term issues confront all parties (The Klamath Falls Herald and News 3/31)
The water is flowing, but questions remain (The Klamath Falls Herald and News 3/31)
The ties that bind one family (The Klamath Falls Herald and News 3/31)
No disaster, but not much of a year (The Klamath Falls Herald and News 3/31)
What’s changed: A bond is asunder (The Klamath Falls Herald and News 3/31)
‘Let the water flow’ (The Klamath Falls Herald and News 3/30)
Water brings hope, concern, bitterness (The Klamath Falls Herald and News 3/30)
A busy agenda amid tight security (The Klamath Falls Herald and News 3/30)
Klamath ceremony frees water for farmers (The Oregonian 3/31)
Irrigation Water Flows Again, Cheering Farmers (The Los Angeles Times 3/30)
Indians Protest Over Klamath Basin (AP 3/29)

Relevant Links:
Resource Allocation in the Klamath Basin: An Assessment of Natural Resource, Economic, Social, and Institutional Issues - http://eesc.orst.edu/klamath
Klamath Tribes - http://www.klamathtribes.org
Klamath Basin in Crisis - http://www.klamathbasincrisis.org

Related Stories:
Norton to release Klamath water (3/28)
Tribes praise Norton on Klamath (3/20)
Klamath Tribes criticize farm aid (3/19)
Tribal bias charged in Klamath dispute (3/14)
Klamath panel criticized for report (3/8)
Non-Indian farmers due water (2/28)
Klamath Tribes blast fish report (2/22)
Klamath chairman debates USA Today(2/11)
Interim Klamath report online (2/7)
Anti-Indian group files Klamath suit (2/6)
Klamath report being evaluated (2/5)
Report questions Klamath decision (2/4)
Norton wants water for non-Indians (1/29)
Racism and the Klamath basin war (1/16)
Eagles returning to Klamath refuge (1/15)
Who is Gale Norton? (1/14)
Bush pledges help for Klamath farmers (1/7)
Tribes 'terrorized' by white men (12/20)
Klamath water dispute subject of review (11/6)
Klamath farmers file new lawsuit (10/12)
Meeting held over Klamath water (9/27)
Denying farmers water was right, says tribe (9/5)
Klamath protesters stage barbecue (8/30)
Calm as water shut off in Oregon (8/24)
Klamath farmers prepare for water shut-off (8/23)
Protest held over Klamath water (8/22)
Klamath water war continues (8/14)
Norton asks for review of Klamath decision (8/2)
Violence feared among Klamath farmers (7/27)
Norton releases water for angry farmers (7/25)
Ore. farmers seek water diversion (7/20)
Court upholds sacred site protection (9/12)
Norton won't convene 'God squad' (7/16)
Ore. town helps feisty farmers (7/12)
Authorities let farmers break law (7/9)
Farmers break into Ore. canal (7/6)
Farmers protest water for tribes, fish (5/8)
Water use upheld for tribes, salmon (5/1)
Tribes, groups discuss water project (4/24)
Klamath steelhead proposed as threatened (2/21)