• The Klamath Basin Alliance, Inc. has learned that the secret Water Settlement Meetings include purchase of a massive 90,000-acre reservation for The Klamath Tribes. (35.2 pg 136 and the charts in the back page 4 of 4 of the settlement document)

• Last February the Basin Alliance was assured that these settlement meetings were not discussing a land deal for the Tribes.

• Based on these assurances Basin Alliance agreed to put it's petition on hold for the Klamath County to oppose creation of a reservation for The Klamath Tribes.

• The Klamath Basin Alliance has now learned we were misled. State, County and Federal officials have been engaged in a sneaky backroom deal to create this reservation with our Federal Tax dollars.

• The Klamath Basin Alliance believes this land may ultimately be traded for our National Forest.

• Even if land is not traded, the Tribes will likely get even greater control of the National Forest by having an adjacent reservation.

• There are also many key access roads, a transmission line, the Williamson River, and Highway 97 going through the proposed reservation. There may be severe ramifications if this deal is accepted regarding the future of these infrastructures as well as natural resources in the proposed area.

• This deal is ominous for the Klamath Project Patron. It requires project patrons to permanently limit their diversions (pg E12) while giving no real assurances and what assurances there are have a lot of loopholes.

• There is a myth going around that there will be a guaranteed block of water for agriculture in the settlement. This is completely untrue.

The punch line of the entire document is:

21.5. Reservation. (Pg 119)

By entering into this Agreement, NMFS "(National Marine Fisheries Service)" and FWS "(US Fish and Wildlife Service)" are not prejudging the outcome of any process under the ESA and NMFS and FWS implementing regulations, and NMFS and FWS expressly reserve the right to make determinations and take actions as necessary to meet the requirements of the ESA and implementing regulations.

This is correct. The US Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service can still shut agriculture down whenever they think the fish need more water under the ESA.

But, it gets even worse. The Klamath Tribes have claims to all the water in the Klamath Basin, in the Klamath Adjudication process. The Klamath Project water users would be required to support all efforts for The Tribes to gain control of all the water. In exchange, The Tribes would promise not to enforce these rights against the Klamath Project. The key word here is promise.

15.3.2 (B) ii (pg 65)

ii. Recognizes the tribal water rights at the claimed amounts and with the priority date of time immemorial.

• If the full Tribal claims are drafted as proposed, these claims will eliminate virtually all water use outside the Klamath Project. If The Tribes find a loophole in the agreement not to enforce these claims against the Klamath project, the Klamath Project will be shut down as well.

The settlement tries to tie groundwater and surface water together (15.2.4 pg 57-60) so even irrigators who use water out of wells are threatened by these massive claims by the tribes. Elsewhere in the US, Native American tribes have even tried to prevent homeowners from using their domestic water wells.

What can be done?

• Every irrigator needs to read the entire 250+ document, not just the sanitized executive summary.

• Irrigation district patrons call every board member to make sure your board members are opposing this.

• Any elected official including irrigation district board members who supports this proposal should be immediately recalled from office.

Also, recommended for reading is "Going to Pieces" - a book written by Elaine Devary-Willman and Kamie Christensen Biehl’s on Tribal expansion and corruption in the United Sates. This book can be purchased online at www.citizensalliance.org.