KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. — The Klamath Water Users Association says today it has reached a written understanding with local tribes and the U.S. Department of the Interior about the needs of the Klamath Basin and the Association’s members.
The Klamath Water Users Association (KWUA) says it signed an agreement to collaborate for environmental restoration of the Basin where farmers and ranchers, Native American tribes and the federal government need more water than the Klamath Basin supplies.
KWUA says those water users have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) “to streamline and prioritize restoration projects in the Klamath Basin.”
The agreement signals a shift to collaboration from competition by the groups for water that nature provides. When that supply is low, then tribal interests and federal government rules to protect habitat and species such as the pallid sturgeon cause restrictions on the availability and usage of water for other needs, such as agribusiness, leading to competing demands for a limited resource.
Today, KWUA says, “In the spirit of collaboration and mutual support, Klamath Water Users Association (KWUA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Klamath Tribes, the Yurok Tribes, the Karuk Tribes (Tribes), and the U.S. Department of the Interior (Interior) to further the common goals of achieving sustainability and resilience for the Klamath Basin.'”
It says the MOU offers a plan to identify and procure funding for restoration projects and other efforts to improve water quality, stability and reliability.
KWUA Board of Directors President Tracey Liskey said, “The next few years will be critical to securing funding and completing restoration efforts in the Klamath Basin, so this agreement will help us work together and streamline the various interests and objectives we all have.”
The Association notes, “There are many laws and initiatives at the state and federal levels, including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, that have created sources of significant funding for restoration activities and efforts to address water supply challenges.”
It continues, “To leverage these resources, all participants agree to meet within the next 30-days to identify restoration projects that can be started and finished within two years using existing federal or state funding. Then within 60-days, the group will send to the Departments of Interior, Commerce and Agriculture a joint letter identifying the prioritized projects.”
KWUA Executive Director Paul Simmons said, “By agreeing to common objectives and shared goals for the Klamath Basin restoration, we can move forward together — as a unified front — to secure critical funding needed for our region.”
KWUA says that through the MOU, (Department of) “Interior leadership has agreed to identify potential sources of funding for the priority projects and work with relevant agencies at the state and federal levels to secure additional funding and streamline review and permitting processes for the projects.
It says that once initial short-term priority projects are identified and submitted to federal agencies, “all participants agree to follow the same process to prioritize longer-term projects that could be started and/or completed over the next three to five years.”
The KWUA Board of Directors voted in December to approve the MOU, signed by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on January 29.
