Klamath Tribes praise call for National Academy of Sciences review

August 3, 2001
Chiloquin, Ore. "The Klamath Tribes wholeheartedly support an independent review of the science underlying protection for the fish in Upper Klamath Lake. “We have complete confidence in the National Academy of Sciences," says Allen Foreman, Tribal Council Chairman of The Klamath Tribes. Tribal scientists did much of the basic research that led to the Endangered Species listing for c’wam and qapdo, known to non-Indians as "suckers." "We have no doubts that peer review by the Academy will show that degraded habitat and low water levels in the Klamath Basin threaten the survival of these fish that are a critical part of our culture and our heritage," Foreman says.

"This action calling on the expertise of a prestigious scientific panel such as the Academy shows the importance Interior Secretary Gale Norton places on the Klamath Basin. We are grateful to Secretary Norton for caring enough to take this step. In the 1970s, the National Academy of Sciences was instrumental in defining the scientific issues around water use in the Florida Everglades. We are confident the Academy can make a similar contribution to scientific understanding in the Klamath Basin.

The Federal Government has promised too much water to too many people in the Klamath Basin. As a result, the farmers are suffering and the fish are suffering. This step by Secretary Norton will help move us closer to a solution that includes marshland restoration, decreased demand for irrigation water, and recognition of the federal government’s treaty obligation to return the c’wam and qapdo to a harvestable fishery."