Klamath students study basin pat ratliff 051806

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Students study Basin

By Pat Ratliff, Klamath Courier, May 17, 2006

KLAMATH FALLS - Last Tuesday, thirteen Colorado State students and their instructors Mark Smith and Libby Earthman were in Klamath Falls to study the Klamath Basin.

The students were first given a presentation by Christine Karas, from the Bureau of Reclamation office in Klamath Falls.

Later that day, the students heard two presentations by Barb Hall of the Klamath Bucket Brigade at the Winema Lodge near Tulelake.

Halls' first presentation concerned the economic impacts of the 2001 water shut off, followed by a second presentation on Klamath Project water rights and the adjudication process. Information used was also distributed to the students in handouts. The students were also given copies of the Range Magazine special on Western Water Wars and a newspaper supplement on the water crisis from 2001.

The presentations, which were scheduled to last about one and one half hours turned into a three hour meeting, with many questions from students after the presentation.

"I really enjoyed doing this presentation." Barb Hall told the Klamath Courier, "It was a chance to tell outsiders about what happened here in 2001, the Project, and how it affected my neighbors. The college kids were nice and very interested. They asked some very good and very tough questions."

In late 2003, the Klamath Bucket Brigade turned its attention to education rather than farm and ranch relief from the 2001 Water Shut Off. The nonprofit organization started a website, www.klamathbucketbrigade.org which allows the visitor a 'one-stop' site for links to historic, scientific, water quality issues, instream water supply data, plus much more. Hall reports that the site received its 1 millionth hit this previous March; something unheard of for other educational sites. She also reports that the Bucket Brigade receives numerous requests for additional information about the Klamath River Basin from college students around the nation.