Governor Brown visits Klamath Basin
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Governor Brown visits the Klamath Tribes water quality lab in Chiloquin, Ore. (submitted photo)
Governor Brown tours a home with a domestic well gone dry with Klamath County Commissioner Kelley Minty Morris. (submitted photo)
Governor met with Klamath Tribes, drought-impacted water users, and homeowners in the Klamath region
Updated June 9, 2022, to include a statement from Klamath Tribes chairman Clayton Dumont.
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - Governor Kate Brown visited the Klamath Basin this week, where she visited the Klamath Tribes, including the newly elected Tribal Chair Clayton Dumont, Tribal Council Members, and members of the Klamath Tribes Youth Council. Governor Brown also met with Kingsley Airmen, Klamath Water Users Association, and Klamath County Commissioner Kelley Minty Morris.
During her visit with tribal members, the Governor visited the Tribe’s fish rearing ponds and water quality lab and discussed water issues, wildfire, and child welfare with Tribal leaders.
“I want to thank Chair Clayton Dumont and the Klamath Tribal Council members for their hospitality. I was especially grateful for the opportunity to learn about the efforts the Tribe is making to preserve the C’waam (Lost River sucker) and Koptu (shortnose sucker) fish, which are important traditional food sources for the Klamath Tribes,” said Governor Brown. “Ongoing water challenges in the Klamath Basin are incredibly concerning for both the Tribe and other water users in the basin, and I appreciated the opportunity to hear directly from the Tribe on these issues. I am grateful for every opportunity to strengthen Oregon’s long-standing government-to-government relationship with the Klamath Tribes.”
“The Klamath Tribes were honored to host Governor Brown and her staff. She has been a strong ally for us, our homeland, and the many life-forms that reside here. We will miss her when her term expires,” said Klamath Tribes chairman Clayton Dumont.
Chairman Dumont added, “Her visit was highlighted by forthright discussion of serious impediments that the Klamath Tribes continue to struggle against as we strive to restore the ecological health of our home. These included: under enforcement of clean water laws, lack of capacity for enforcement of tribal water calls at the Oregon Water Resources Department, the growing mining of groundwater in the Basin and the alarming decline in the water table. In addition we were able to thank her for the State’s help bolstering the Klamath Tribes’ forestry efforts. We look forward to putting our increased resources to use returning our forests to pre-termination era health and reducing the man-made scourge of catastrophic wildfires.”
Drought impact meetings
While in Klamath County, the Governor visited Kingsley Air National Guard Base and met the Kingsley Fire Team, which supports the base and the City of Klamath, and thanked them for their service. She also met with representatives of the Klamath Water Users Association and homeowners impacted by drought.
“We had a very good discussion with Governor Brown during an hour-long meeting,” said Ben DuVal, KWUA President. “She was very engaged and we appreciated her time and focused attention.”
The Governor also visited a home with a domestic well that had run dry with Klamath County Chair Kelley Minty Morris. The Oregon Department of Human Services, Oregon Office of Emergency Management, and the Governor’s Regional Solutions Office have worked with Klamath County leaders to fund water deliveries to homeowners whose domestic wells have run dry.
“The Governor was very engaged and knowledgeable about the dire domestic well emergency in Klamath County,” stated Commissioner Morris. “She committed to helping wherever she could to ensure our community members have basic drinking and domestic water.”
Governor Brown tours a Klamath Basin home with a dry domestic well. (submitted photo)
Continued Governor Brown: “It is another difficult drought year in Oregon, and I am committed to helping Oregonians impacted by drought with state resources, and to working with our congressional delegation and the Biden-Harris administration to secure federal assistance. What is clear is that everyone who lives in the Klamath Basin faces the impacts of severe drought, and the path forward is for all of us to work together to find collaborative solutions.”
