"I’m disappointed that an organization called the Basin Alliance..."

Letter to the editor sent to Herald and News by Becky Hyde, 1/25/07.

As an irrigator my hope is that people who care about the Klamath Basin’s future will continue to work toward solutions that bring stability to our agricultural, tribal and business community and offer a healthy place to live for people who have recently retired here.  I’m disappointed that an organization called the Basin Alliance would continue to spend energy trying to bring humiliation over a transfer of land out of the hands of the Klamath Tribes that happened over fifty years ago. (Called termination.)  There is no “deal on the table” to return Federal lands to the tribes. I’m frustrated when the Basin Alliance tries to tie its banner onto basin agriculture. The Klamath Tribes hold the senior water right in this basin, and you can ask just about anyone who actually relies on irrigation water and is in the adjudication, why it would be important for agriculture to maintain respectful relations with the Klamath Tribes.

Thanks, Becky Hyde—Beatty, Oregon

(KBC NOTE: Becky Hyde from the Upper Klamath Basin has been instrumental in supporting the Chadwick Consensus groups, the tribal land return, and dam removal propositions as solutions to the Klamath water crisis.)