August 23, 2002
KLAMATH TRIBES SATISFIED WITH PACE OF NEGOTIATIONS

Chiloquin, OR ;
Klamath Tribes Chairman Allen Foreman today expressed
satisfaction with the pace of the Tribes¹ water and land negotiations with
Interior Secretary Gale Norton. "We believe the Secretary has shown real
determination to find solutions to the conflicts and resource management
problems that are hurting the Klamath Tribes and everyone else in the
Klamath Basin,"Chairman Foreman said.

In March 2002, Secretary Norton announced the beginning of negotiations with
the Klamath Tribes on a comprehensive solution for the Klamath Basin,
including the possibility of returning some former reservation lands to
tribal ownership. "The Secretary's staff have been extremely cooperative in
meetings with me and other Tribal representatives in Washington, have
traveled to Oregon to meet with the Tribes and with other people who have an
interest in the water and land issues, and are doing the kind of research
and analysis that will help the Secretary truly understand the complex
issues faced by everyone in the Klamath Basin," the Chairman added.

The Klamath Tribes have provided the Secretary with baseline information
about the fisheries, wildlife, water and land issues which must be dealt
with in order to restore the Tribes¹ treaty-guaranteed fishing, hunting and
gathering resources, and to recover that part of the Tribes¹ homeland that
for the past forty years has been under U.S. Forest Service management. The
Tribes are also discussing how the Klamath Tribes¹ water rights could be managed to provide more flexibility for Klamath Irrigation Project farmers, if federal water management strategies and Project operations are changed to assure the restoration of abundant fisheries.

"We are still very much at the stage of documenting the Klamath Tribes'
specific goals, and proposing how to measure success in achieving those
goals," Chairman Foreman said. "We are confident that Secretary Norton
understands the vital role that the Klamath Tribes must play in any serious
resolution of water conflicts in the Basin."

_____________________________
Doug Barber
The Ulum Group
541-434-7023 (direct line)
541-554-5653 (cell)