Bud Uhlman, Klamath Tribes attorney, blames
Klamath irrigators for racism,
water quantity and quality problems, and a destroyed ecosystem.

KBC Responds With Facts

3/31/04 by KBC (jdk) (For audio, go HERE for free download of Real One Player.  Look carefully to find the FREE download.) Audio of Bud Uhlman, go HERE   Don Gentry audio, go HERE

The following website:  http://www.philosopherseed.org/native_american.htm  contains story about speeches, and also audio, of Bud Uhlman, tribal attorney, and Don Gentry of the Klamath Tribes. The 9th annual Environmental Justice Conference, organized by the Coalition Against Environmental Racism, was held in Eugene Oregon over the week end of January 23-25, 2004.

HERE for complete transcript of Uhlman's speech
                                   
                  FACTS FROM KBC in response to Uhlman's speech

Tule Lake was up to 40' deep, rerouted to provide farmland---a deep lake is not arid. Also, people were given a chance to win a homestead, and everyone was invited to apply. Later WWI and WWII veterans were given a priority. There were requirements, such as, they had to have farm experience, however all races were welcomed to apply, and then names were drawn from a pickle jar

More water goes into the Klamath River now since the Project was built than pre-project. Go to Science Page, Naturalized Flow study. Before the Klamath Project, Link River occasionally went dry

 The National Academy of Science  said that the water was poor quality to begin with, and change in agriculture and wetlands is not going be fix such a vast lake.

All of the runoff water from the farms goes directly to the refuge; if farms get water, the refuges get water. And with many studies, no, not even one, bird or animal death or illness has been discovered from agricultural pesticides on the refuges.)

Tule Lake before Klamath Project was built

This was not one huge "wetland". And it was not "arid." Ferries and boats traveled this vast deep lake.

Rich Piaskowski, BOR (Bureau of Reclamation) at the Klamath Science Conference, said, "..in Lake Euwana, sucker movement did not correspond with PH levels. A rise in PH had no effect. He said suckers passed in 233 to 1500 CFS. The minimum flow of 233CFS is sufficient for suckers. Most of the tagged fish died, and he said that the tagging could be killing them. Barbara Adams from USGS told about suckers with respect to water quality in UKL. They tagged 100, 36 died, and many of the rest got lost. "Suckers are not always located in the places with the best dissolved oxygen." Tamara Wood, USGS, studied water quality--the dissolved oxygen dynamics in UKL. She studied wind speed, temperature and oxygen. They found that in 2002 the oxygen into the lake was turned off by the weeks of heavy smoke from the forest fires. She was asked about lake levels effecting the suckers, "I don't think the relationship is there.")

History has it that the fishery was closed because of over-harvesting. And over 90% of sucker habitat is blocked by the Chiloquin Dam.

President Clinton signed into law that the Klamath Lake had to be held at a higher-than-ever-historically level the day he left office....on low water years there was never a fish kill.  On high water years there have been fish kills.  The only over-appropriation we can see is the elevated amount of water that is being required of our stored water and our aquifer to be diverted into the ocean for 'ESA' and 'Tribal Trust'

The community of white people does not condone harassment of tribal members. Neither do we believe that tribal members condone harassment of white people. 

The Bureau of Indian Affairs contracted Dr Hardy to go against the irrigators in the adjudication, and those studies (documented flaws throughout) are what is now demanding artificially elevated flows that are impossible to maintain,  putting the full responsibility on the Klamath Project. Regardless of the NAS final report that there is no correlation between lake levels, river flows and fish survival, those Hardy levels and flows are the government's excuse to downsize the Klamath Project and Upper Basin via a mandatory "water bank" And Tribes were at the table during the Hardy meetings.  Irrigators were not allowed at the table. )

For more information on Hardy Flaws, go HERE
More on Hardy, Naturalized Flow studies, Chiloquin Dam, go to SCIENCE PAGE
More on talks with Tribes/DOI/Klamath Rangeland Trust/The Nature Conservancy/Hatfield Committee/and some irrigators, go to TALKS PAGE