Friday
February 15, 2008
Klamath Tribes
Respond to Commissioners' Recommendation
Source: Klamath Tribes
The Klamath Tribes today expressed general agreement with the County Commissioners’ recent encouragement that various water interests seek resolution of their differences. “The Commissioners’ recommendation fits well with the Tribes’ ongoing approach to these issues, even though it was made without consulting with the Tribes” said Jeff Mitchell, who is active on the Tribes’ Negotiating Team. “The Tribes intend to continue actively seeking solutions to Off-Project issues regarding water and enhancement of riparian areas.”
The Commissioners’ focused on Section 16 of the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement that was released on January 15. Section 16 of the Agreement aims at resolving water and related issues on Off-Project lands above Upper Klamath Lake.
“Recently some people have been circulating misinformation about the Agreement, and have brought in outsiders to agitate and scare people into rejecting the Agreement. So resolving Off-Project issues has been made more difficult,” Mitchell said. “As a result, we generally agree with the Commissioners’ encouragement and recommendation.”
Tribal representatives noted that they have not had the opportunity to negotiate with the people who actually manage the river banks and divert water, because these people have not been actively involved in negotiations so far. “Individual landowners will make their own decisions on this, so we intend to pursue talks with individual landowners,” Mitchell said.
The Tribes intend to immediately engage in a series of meetings with small numbers of landowners to work through the fear and mistrust that has been generated. “We look forward to those meetings, and we will follow them with a structured approach to negotiations that will involve fair and effective representation from both the Project and Off-Project sectors to seek resolution of issues that have divided the community for so long,” said Chairman Joe Kirk.
Contact:
Larry Dunsmoor
591-1287