Press Release: March 28, 2002:

Headgates Open but Tribal Fisheries Remain Closed

Contacts: Allen Foreman, Tribal Chairman, 541-783-2219
Bud Ullman, Tribesí water attorney, 541-783-3081
Don Wharton, Native American Rights Fund (land issues) 303-447-8760
Joe Browder, Washington D.C., 202-546-3720
Doug Barber, The Ulum Group, 541-434-7023

Headgates Open But Tribal Fisheries Remain Closed

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Klamath Falls, Ore. - Water deliveries for irrigation in the Bureau of Reclamation's Klamath Project resumed today after a year in which deliveries were partially suspended. But the Klamath Tribes' fisheries remained closed, with the closure now extending into its seventeenth year. "We are happy for the people who are getting water," said Klamath Tribal Chairman Allen Foreman. "But while the headgates are opening and the farmers are returning to their fields, our fisheries remain closed and our livelihoods compromised. Justice will be served only when both we and the farmers can return to our livelihoods."

Klamath tribal fisheries were closed in 1986 because fish populations were declining at an alarming rate. The fish were listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1988. Pollution of Upper Klamath Lake and its tributaries, and agricultural water withdrawals from the Lake and streams are some of the reasons for the decline.

Interior Secretary Gale Norton and Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman were in Klamath Falls to participate in the opening of the headgates. Last week Secretary Norton announced that in addition to providing water deliveries to the Project, on behalf of Secretary Veneman and other members of the Klamath Working Group appointed by President Bush, she would open talks with the Klamath Tribes aimed as resolving land and water issues in the Klamath Basin. The talks will include resolution of tribal water rights issues and the possible return of significant parts of the Tribes' former reservation which was taken by the United States under the now discredited "termination" policies of the 1950's.

"We are encouraged by Secretary Norton's commitment to address restoration of the Tribes' livelihood with the same vigor she has shown the Project water users," Foreman said. "Her recognition of tribal property rights and the United States' obligation to respect them is commendable. We look forward to working with her in this large and worthy task."

In a letter published in the Portland Oregonian Norton reiterated her commitment to talks with the Tribes and her expectation that resolution of Klamath Basin resource issues will require "many months of work." She explained that a central goal is to "settle land and water conflicts so that everyone can live together in the Basin, served by a functioning watershed and a healthy environment." Foreman assured Norton of the Tribes' support in the work, saying, "The Secretary will have the Tribes' full cooperation in the complex and challenging work ahead."

Copies of a "Chronology of the Klamath Reservation" and "The Case for Klamath Tribal Lands Restoration" are available from Doug Barber at 541-434-7023 or dbarber@ulum.com

THE KLAMATH TRIBAL COUNCIL
P.O. Box 436
Chiloquin, OR 97624
Fax: (541) 783-3706
1-800-524-9787 or (541) 783-2219