Klamath: Tribes, irrigators ink tentative water-sharing pact - After months of talks, Upper Klamath Basin irrigators and tribal members have reached a water-sharing agreement in principle that includes various restoration projects, stipulated in-stream flows and the permanent retirement of 30,000 acre-feet of water for restoring fisheries.

Klamath: New Klamath Tribes Community Center - A Klamath Tribes Community Center expected to open in June will be the centerpiece of a new 56-acre housing development in Chiloquin. The function of the center is to provide a meal site for elders and a rental space for events, Klamath Tribes housing manager Roberta Sexton said.

Klamath: Calls for Water and Water Shutoffs - The Klamath Tribes are the group granted the most senior water rights in the Klamath Basin, dated to time immemorial. The tribe’s June call for water, along with Klamath Project irrigators, assured minimum flows would remain in the rivers and streams above Upper Klamath Lake. Chairman of the Klamath Tribes Don Gentry said their water rights claim used scientific information to prove how much water is required for fish health and other aquatic resources such as wetlands and marshes. Comment: If the farmers turned to aquaponics would it reduce their need for water? It may seem counter-intuitive, but because water is recycled aquaponic farming could increase yields at the same time it reduces water-consumption.

Klamath: Wyden Praises Progress of Klamath River Basin Task Force - Senator Ron Wyden says he hopes to have legislation in place by the end of October that will help ease water problems in the Klamath Basin. Wyden commissioned the task force in June to fine-tune the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, or K.B.R.A., so it would appeal to a wider group at a cheaper cost...improving its chances of Congressional passage. Klamath Tribal Chairman Don Gentry notes that some ways have been found to help cut those costs.

Klamath: Tribal Members Receive Compensation For Not Irrigating - A new program is compensating Klamath tribal members for not using surface water for irrigation. A drought relief program will provide funds to some tribal members. The Bureau of Reclamation is managing the payments.

Klamath: Tribal Members Will Not Receive Relief From Drought Program - Klamath tribal members volunteering to stop using their allotment of irrigation water will not be compensated for that. The Bureau of Reclamation announced that a drought relief program won’t provide funds to Klamath tribal members for not using surface water for irrigation. Originally, Reclamation was going to pay about $250 dollars each to tribal members holding qualifying water rights dating back to 1864 on the tribe’s former reservation.

Klamath: Five Directions, tribal youth treatment center closing - Five Directions, an alcohol and drug treatment center for Native American teens run by the Klamath Tribes, is closing. “It’s truly a sad day for the Tribe,” said Shawna Gallagher, Five Directions director. “We are aware and recognize this is such a need for our people.”

Klamath: Tribes and federal government put out historic call for water rights in drought-stricken Klamath Basin - The Klamath Tribes and the federal government called their water rights in southern Oregon's Klamath Basin for the first time Monday, likely cutting off irrigation water to hundreds of cattle ranchers and farmers in the upper basin this summer.

Klamath: Support the KBRA in exchange for water talks - The leader of the Klamath Tribes told a U.S. Senate committee June 20 that ranchers facing water shutoffs in the Upper Klamath Basin would have to agree to provisions of a three-year-old basin restoration agreement to negotiate more water from the tribes.

Klamath: Congress weighs in again on Klamath water crisis, but isn't likely to act - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden's hearing Thursday on the Klamath Basin water crisis has sparked hope among supporters that landmark deals reached three years to unite many of the basin's combatants will finally get through Congress. But prospects for the Klamath Basin deals to win approval still look slim. That's despite a drought emergency, and the likely cutoff of water to hundreds of cattle ranches and hay farms this summer.

Klamath: Oregon Water Resources Dept devastating Klamath Basin economy, families - A combination of actions taken by the Oregon Water Resources Department has resulted in denying irrigation water to much of the ranching and farming community in the Upper Klamath River Basin.

Klamath: Water argument concludes - Lawyers’ arguments and rebuttals finished just after lunch on Wednesday, but Klamath County Circuit Court Judge Cameron Wogan did not rule on whether to allow some upper Basin ranchers to avoid the water shutoffs due to the enforcement of adjudication law.

Klamath: What are the motives behind water shutoffs? - Why, this year, have the Klamath Project and the Klamath Tribes exercised their adjudicated water rights at the same time, shutting off water to other ranchers, farmers and refuges?

Klamath: Descending Drought Puts Tribes and Farmers on Brink of Water War - The Klamath Tribes possess the oldest water rights in the nation, and as the Los Angeles Times reports, these Indigenous Peoples of Oregon are about to reclaim what they have been fighting for during the past several decades.

Klamath: New tribal chairman represents diversity - Allow him to reintroduce himself: His name is Don Gentry and he’s the new chairman of the Klamath Tribes. Gentry plans to maintain cultural traditions while emphasizing positive roles for tribal members in the larger community. “As the Klamath Tribes prosper, the community prospers, and vice versa,” the new chairman said in an interview with the Herald and News.

Klamath: Water quality, fisheries and tribal resources all must mesh - A long-awaited Senate hearing June 20 will address the fate of the Klamath River and larger water resource issues. The hearing comes on the heels of the Department of Interior’s recommended removal of four Klamath River hydroelectric dams built between 1918 and 1962.

Klamath: Tribal Council address to Off-Project community - The Klamath Tribes has a track record of seeking potential settlements that could resolve complex issues in a way that protects the Tribes’ interests.

Klamath: Tribes not involved in KBRA event - An event scheduled Thursday evening at the Klamath County Museum will address issues of regional water politics, but the Klamath Tribes are not officially involved and do not support the event, according to a news release.

Klamath: Don Gentry to serve as Tribes chairman - Don Gentry, who has served the past three years as the Klamath Tribes vice chairman, has won election as chairman.

Karuk-Klamath: Federal government recommends removing dams from Klamath River in southern Oregon and Northern California - The federal government on Thursday recommended that all four aging hydroelectric dams be removed from the Klamath River in southern Oregon and Northern California to help struggling wild salmon runs, and that nearly $1 billion should be spent on environmental restoration.

Klamath: Reservation Invitational All-Indian Basketball Tournament Turns 60 - Over the weekend the Klamath Reservation Invitational All-Indian Basketball Tournament was held for the 60th time on the Klamath Tribes Reservation in Chiloquin, Oregon.

Klamath: Tribal water rights save rivers and communities - Recent news of the Klamath Tribe's victory in a water rights battle after 38 years of court proceedings came as no surprise to the Hoopa Valley Tribe. Hoopa knows that tribal water rights and tribal trust are the most powerful tools for restoring the west's salmon rivers. The Endangered Species Act only prevents extinction, but tribal trust goes further by requiring restoration of abundance.

Klamath-Karuk: Oregon backs Tribes water rights; effect on Lower Klamath Basin unclear - The state of Oregon this week backed the Klamath Tribes' claim to have the oldest water rights in the upper Klamath Basin. Karuk Tribe Klamath Coordinator Craig Tucker said the effect on the lower basin of the Klamath River will depend on how the Klamath Tribes use their water rights.

Klamath: Tribes electing council members - Klamath tribal members will face multiple choices when they vote for members of the Klamath Tribal Council, including chairman, vice chairman, secretary, treasurer and six at-large members. Ballots will be mailed out March 19. Under the process outlined by the election department, the deadline for returning ballots is April 17. Election results are expected to be announced May 3.

Klamath: C'waam ceremony takes added significance - A yearly ritual, celebrating the return of the c’waam, took on added significance during Saturday’s ceremony alongside the Sprague River. “After 38 years we’ve reached a decision on our water rights. Our treaty rights have been confirmed,” said Jeff Mitchell, a Klamath Tribal Council member, referring to recent court decisions adjudicating Upper Klamath River Basin water rights.

Klamath: Watermaster prepares for adjudication - With the arrival of water adjudication in the Klamath Basin come inevitable questions of how and when enforcement will take place. Greg Addington, executive director of the Klamath Water Users Association, said that a no-call agreement had been reached with the Klamath Tribes, a binding deal with the state stipulating the Tribes will not call for Upper Klamath Lake levels that would trump pre-1908 water rights.

Klamath: Ore. backs Klamath Tribes water rights - The state of Oregon has backed the Klamath Tribes' claim to have the oldest water rights in the upper Klamath Basin.

Klamath: Oregon gives ("gives"?) tribes top claims to water in much of Klamath Basin - After 38 years of work, Oregon regulators decided Thursday that the Klamath Tribes have top claims to water in much of the Klamath Basin, the state's fiercest battleground for water allocations between fish and farmers.

Klamath: KBRA divide floods commissioners - Klamath Basin residents again voiced opposing opinions on the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement when Klamath County commissioners opened the debate at their weekly public meeting. Of the nearly 70 speakers Tuesday, the number of people for and against the KBRA was nearly split down the middle. People packed into the commissioners’ hearing room and the hallway beyond. Members of the Klamath Tribes and KBRA supporters protested in front of the government center before and during the hearing.

Klamath: Tribes and Farmers Consider Extending Water Agreement - A major water rights agreement in the Klamath Basin is set to expire in December 31st. Farmers, tribes, and power company PacifiCorp are getting behind an extension.

Klamath: Tribes receive share of record chinook salmon run - Tribal members are holding a ceremony Thursday at the Iron Gate fish hatchery just south of the Oregon-California border and are picking up hundreds of fresh salmon that swim into the hatchery. Tribal vice chairman Don Gentry says the tribe has been getting frozen surplus salmon from the hatchery for years, but this represents a step closer to being able to harvest salmon themselves from traditional fishing spots — something they have not been able to do for a century.

Klamath: Chiloquin Head Start kids taught the Klamath language - Most people know the children’s game as “Duck, Duck, Goose,” but “Weeq, Weeq, Las” is how Harold A. Wright was teaching the game to the 17 children ages 3 to 5 at the Chiloquin Head Start Program. It’s part of an effort to make the children, including Klamaths and non-Klamaths, familiar and comfortable with the Klamath language. “The Klamath language is coming back, and you are the next generation,” Wright told the students, many of them wearing traditional Indian outfits worn at special ceremonies, during a Thursday session.

Klamath: Tribal history - The Klamath, Modoc and Yahooskin band of Snake Indians have lived in the area around Upper Klamath Lake and into the Sprague River Valley since time immemorial. According to Tribes representatives, the time of termination, the Klamaths were one of the most financially successful tribes in the U.S., until they had their tribal status revoked by the federal government in 1954. The federal government also took millions of acres of reservation land from the Klamaths upon termination, authorities said, with unfair compensation.

Klamath: Tribes to commemorate tribal restoration - Organizers are gearing up for the Klamath Tribes’ 26th annual Restoration Celebration this weekend, and are expecting record numbers of participants and spectators this year. The event starts with an educational presentation on Thursday evening and continues through the weekend with a fun run/walk, a parade, a competition powwow and a youth rodeo.

Klamath: Council vice-chairman excited to dance in first powwow - He grew up a member of the Tribes; and he presently serves as Klamath Tribal Council vice-chairman. But for the very first time, Don Gentry will participate in a competition powwow this weekend at the Klamath Tribes’ 26th annual Restoration Celebration.

Klamath: Tea Party Blocks Pact to Restore a West Coast River - In February 2010, after five years of confidential negotiation, an unlikely alliance of American Indian tribes, environmentalists, farmers, fishermen, governors and the federal government signed the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement. Yet more than two years later, that has not happened, and it is unclear when, if ever, the agreement will be enacted. A month after it was announced, seven people gathered at Jack Charlton’s machine shop south of downtown Klamath Falls and formed the Klamath County Tea Party Patriots. Four of them were farmers wary of losing their water. The Tea Party Patriots became a local political force, eventually paralyzing the high-powered deal by defeating many of the local officials who supported it, including all three Klamath County commissioners, and sending a signal to Congress that it lacks enough grass-roots support.

Klamath: Pipeline questions and answers - Developers say the proposed $1.8-billion, 36-inch Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline would bring millions of dollars in taxes, as well as jobs and other economic windfalls to the state. But those opposed say the pipeline will affect endangered species, natural resources and land owners along its route from Klamath County to Coos Bay, where backers hope to install a $4.5-billion liquefied natural gas terminal to export Canadian gas to Asian customers. Klamath Tribes Culture and Heritage Director Perry Chocktoot told officials the pipeline would create a “highway” for trespassers onto previously hard-to-access lands. “You’re not going through just one site, but many tribal sites from here to the coast,” he said.

Klamath: New Klamath Tribes council members sworn in - Anna Bennett was sworn-in as the newest tribal council member of the Klamath Tribes during ceremonies held last week in Chiloquin. She replaces former member Albert “Bert” Lawvor Sr., who died earlier this month. All Council members were present for the ceremony conducted by Chairman Gary Frost. In accepting her duties Bennett stated, "I'm honored to be here and I will always do my best."

Klamath: New Klamath Tribes council members sworn in - Anna Bennett was sworn-in as the newest tribal council member of the Klamath Tribes during ceremonies held last week in Chiloquin. She replaces former member Albert “Bert” Lawvor Sr., who died earlier this month. All Council members were present for the ceremony conducted by Chairman Gary Frost. In accepting her duties Bennett stated, "I'm honored to be here and I will always do my best."

Klamath: Tribes searching for cultural artifacts at site - Searching for cultural artifacts, members of the Klamath Tribes scoured the ground Thursday at a site off Old Fort Road where federal agencies plan to excavate and bury massive amounts of asbestos-contaminated soil. The archeological survey of the 90-acre site is one of the final steps needed before the Environmental Protection Agency can begin an estimated $20 million project to clean up the North Ridge Estates area.

Klamath: Seven myths about the Klamath Tribes - They’ve been here since time immemorial, and yet many Klamath Indians feel like they’re defined by the federal government’s termination of their tribe and the myths surrounding it.

Klamath: Tribes land grant for preschool - The Klamath Tribes have been awarded a $500,000 grant to construct a preschool education center that is expected to serve 88 families, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The 1,600-square-foot facility will be funded by the Indian Community Development Block Grant program facilitated by HUD.

Klamath: What are the most important issues in this election? - Gary Frost, Klamath Tribes chairman, called the sheriff’s department a top concern. "The rumor last year was that by June of this year there’d be no department. In our area, you’re talking a 30 minute response time, if they even respond. Nobody shows up on some occasions. Getting patrols in our area is the biggest issue for me."

Klamath: Tribal relationships and rural issues among top priorities - Tribal relations, rural issues and the state budget were all a part of a roundtable conversation with Oregon House District 56 candidates Tracey Liskey and Gail Whitsett last week. GeorGene Nelson, Klamath Tribal Council member, asked the candidates their opinions of and experiences with working with sovereign tribes like the Klamath Tribes, specifically how they would work as a state representative to support bills for the Tribes.

Klamath: A blessing to the fish: Return of the c’waam - More than 100 people gathered for ceremonies tribal members believe help preserve and rebuild populations of the endangered fish that generations ago was a dietary staple. Lost River and shortnose sucker haven’t been fished since being federally listed as endangered in 1988, a year before the traditional c’waam ceremony was revived after a decades-long absence.

Klamath: For Tribes, Suckerfish Mean Renewed Life - You won’t find Lost River suckerfish on any menus in the Northwest. But for years, the fish was a staple for the tribes of southern Oregon. Now the tribe’s fish hatchery is in trouble, and the Klamath tribes are trying to figure out how to bring it back.

Klamath: Spring snow means return of the c’waam; Traditional tribal ceremony will be Saturday morning - This year’s 23rd annual ceremony is at 10 a.m. Saturday at the former Sprague River Dam site near Chiloquin High School. After the ceremony, lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Kla-Mo-Ya Casino followed by a powwow from 1:30 to 4 p.m. at Chiloquin High School.

Klamath: Peer review OKs dam report - The U.S. Department of the Interior Tuesday announced another step toward a determination by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar on whether removing dams along the Klamath River will advance salmon and steelhead fisheries in the Basin and be in the public interest.

Klamath: Administrative law judge agrees: ‘First in time is first in right’ - Recently, an administrative law judge verified the Klamath Tribes' claim that they're entitled to the amount of water they say is necessary to maintain hunting, fishing, trapping and gathering habitats on six local waterways, all of which have direct connections to the Klamath River.

Klamath-Modoc-Yahooskin: Tribes had 22 million acres around the lake - The Klamath, Modoc and Yahooskin tribes had about 22 million acres of aboriginal lands throughout the Klamath Basin. Although the three tribes were not traditionally allies, they agreed in 1864 to cede most of their land to the federal government and live together on a reservation, retaining their hunting, fishing, gathering, and water rights.

Klamath: The KBRA and removal of four Klamath River hydroelectric dams - Among the agreement’s most ambitious goals are the establishment of sustainable water and power supplies for irrigators, restoring fish habitats, and helping the Klamath Tribes acquire a parcel of private timberland known as the Mazama Tree Farm. And maybe the biggest goal of all (all or most of the above is contingent on it) is the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement, which would facilitate removal of four PacifiCorp-owned dams from the Klamath River.

Klamath: Siskiyou County threatens lawsuit - Siskiyou County Supervisors have sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar saying they will sue the federal government if he approves the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement.

Klamath: Legislation jeopardizes rights and resources - The Times-Standard's "Klamath draft report released; Thompson: 'Time for Congress to act is now'" article mistakenly recites that the 2010 Klamath Agreements "represent the best way forward for the Klamath River Basin and its communities." If it sounds too good to be true, that is because it is. There is no mention of the KBRA costs. Rep. Thompson's HR 3398 would bill taxpayers $800 million for the benefit of the few and at great cost to tribal rights and resources. These are additional costs above the “estimated cost of dam removal” of $291.6 million, only part of which is paid by the PacifiCorp customers who have benefited from the fish-killing dams.

Klamath: Sycan project benefits economy, environment - An ongoing restoration project at the Sycan Marsh will repair wildlife habitat and produce timber for sawmills and wood for biomass plants, said Criag Bienz, director of the Nature Conservancy's Sycan Mash preserve. The project is a partnership between the Nature Conservancy; Lomakatsi Restoration Project, an Ashland non-profit, and the Klamath Tribes' Forest Warriors, a restoration work crew.

Klamath: Sex Trafficking Rampant in Indian Country; Pimps on Prowl for Native Girls - Klamath tribal member and Portland, Oregon resident Jeri Sundvall-Williams's horrific sexual slavery ended 22 years ago, and it took an attack from a male customer, who stabbed her multiple times, to give her the courage to break free. The long stretch of Interstate-5 that runs from below Los Angeles and up to British Columbia is a hotbed of sexual trafficking, especially during big events, such as the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Pimps sometimes seek out American Indians because they can masquerade them as an exotic ethnicity—such as Polynesian, Asian or Native.

Klamath: Respect our Rights and our Expertise - The Klamath Tribes lost our c'iyaal's (salmon) and meYas (steelhead) to dam construction nearly a century ago. But now, Congress has an historic opportunity to pass landmark legislation that restores our fisheries, creates jobs, and promotes economic and ecological sustainability for Klamath Basin communities -- tribes, farmers, ranchers, fishermen, and conservationists. The Klamath Basin Economic Restoration Act represents the type of bi-partisan regional economic development plan Congress should support. We urge our congressional leaders to follow the path of collaboration we helped to blaze.

Klamath: Nearly 2,700 unique comments sent on Klamath dams - Agencies planning the controversial removal of four dams from the Klamath River received nearly 2,700 unique comments about the project by the Dec. 30 deadline, officials said. Those individual comments were in about 1,600 letters addressing aspects of the environmental documents unveiled in September, said Pete Lucero, spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in Sacramento. The federal government will respond to each of the comments in crafting its final environmental-impact statement, to be released this spring, Lucero said.

Klamath: New Year's powwow - The Tribes are hosting a free New Year's powwow to promote sobriety from noon Saturday to 1 a.m. Sunday at the Klamath County Fairgrounds Exhibit Hall 1. There will be dancing, games, vendors and a free community dinner at 5 p.m.

Klamath: Oregon water dispute similar to one brewing in Oklahoma - An ongoing water dispute in Oregon could offer a glimpse into Oklahoma's future. A legal battle over water rights is unfolding between the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations on one side and the Oklahoma Water Resources Board on the other.

Klamath: We must work together on water solutions - We have worked hard to craft a settlement with the Klamath Tribes - and they have been good and trusted partner. The problem is, some leaders in our community continue to oppose and undermine meaningful settlement efforts.

Klamath: Klamath needs stability - The Klamath Tribes will gain most of the water they have claimed for fish and rivers from a proposed order handed down in the Klamath Adjudication. Satisfying the tribes' water rights, with their senior priority date of time immemorial will likely send a crushing blow to our irrigators.

Klamath: Tribes want a future for entire community - We have a golden opportunity to bring long-lasting stability to the Klamath Basin by way of the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA), which will settle the water rights litigation between the Klamath Reclamation Project irrigators and the Klamath Tribes.

Klamath: Judge Rules in Favor of Klamath Tribes in Water Rights Case - A 36-year water rights dispute in Southern Oregon recently produced a milestone victory when an Administrative Law Judge in the State of Oregon's Klamath Basin Adjudication granted the Klamath Tribes' claims to water bodies throughout their homeland area.

Klamath: Klamath agreements benefit California - Completing the agreements is one of the most cost-effective ways for California to improve water supply reliability and protect rural jobs.

Klamath: Adjudicating water: Who gets what and why - For the first time, Upper Basin irrigators won't have free reign of their pumps. They'll be subject to senior water rights - dating as far back as the beginning of time.

Klamath: A few corrections on stripers, salmon - The Indians on the Klamath have treaty rights to fish, and the tribes self-limit the numbers of fish taken in order to sustain the runs. The dams that are proposed to be removed on the Klamath are outdated and in need of cost-prohibitive renovations.

Klamath: Meet Andrea Lang-Libercajt - Andrea Lang-Libercajt is (KTVL's) Facebook Friend of the Day. She lives in Chemult. Andrea has lived in the Klamath Basin all her life and is a Klamath tribal member.

Klamath: Deal needs to happen - Compromise includes dismantling four dams on the Klamath River.

Klamath: People of the Basin can work through issues together - On Friday the Oregon Department of Water Resources released its proposed order for the three rivers flowing into Upper Klamath Lake. What we learned was that the Tribes got most, if not all of the water they claimed.

Klamath: New Ruling Confirms Klamath Tribes Water Rights

Klamath: Tribes' claims to most water rights confirmed

Klamath: Tribes' claims to most water rights confirmed

Klamath: Group meets to discuss policing Chiloquin

Klamath: Agreements will help region move forward

Klamath: Merkley, Thompson introduce Klamath Basin Restoration Act

Fisheries: Klamath Basin water bill is landmark, but will it pass Congress?

Klamath: Oregon dam removal debate sometimes ugly

Klamath: Settlement reached to remove Klamath dams

Klamath: Ore. dam removal debate sometimes ugly

Klamath: District 4 Supervisor Grace Bennett: My personal view of the KBRA

Klamath: Violet Marie

Klamath: Settlement reached to remove Klamath dams

Klamath: Job maker, fish saver or scam?

Klamath: Our national forest mess

Klamath: Figures should count, two-thirds oppose Klamath dam removal

Klamath: Divisions persist