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http://www.heraldandnews.com/articles/2003/10/17/viewpoints/letters/letters.txt
Letters to the Editor
Published October 17, 2003
A deal's a deal
In 1936, The Klamath Tribe began deliberating the
sale of its reservation. Seventeen years later,
1,659 out of the 2,133 members, voted to sell their
land. Today, their descendants want the land back.
They are not offering to purchase the land. They
want Congress to give it to them.
Secret negotiations are taking place between the
Tribes, the federal government and a group called
the Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust. The purposes are
to obtain all the water rights within the Upper and
Lower Klamath, and to return to the Tribes the
Winema National Forest and part of the Fremont
National Forest.
If the water rights and the forest come under the
proprietorship of a special interest group, water
for irrigation could be cut off. The land could be
closed to all hunting, snowmobiling, horseback
riding, hiking and biking. Property values near the
forest could plummet because of loss of access.
Currently, under federal management, the forest
provides jobs and livelihoods for hundreds of
residents. These could all be lost.
As a special interest group, the Klamath Tribes is
unique. It is an independent nation, not subject to
environmental rules or regulations. The Tribes could
clear cut the land if it wished, and no one could
stop it.
A deal is a deal. Money exchanged hands. One may not
like what great-grandfather did, but it is done. The
land belongs to all the people of this country, both
tribal and nontribal. It should stay that way.
Terri McCann
Sprague River
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NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section
107, any copyrighted
material herein is distributed without profit or
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research and educational purposes only. For more
information go to:
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