Klamath collaboration deserves support

By Erica Terence of Klamath Basin, Oregon. Erica is the Executive Director of the grassroots group Klamath Riverkeeper, a non-profit organization working to protect water quality, fisheries and river-dependent communities in the Klamath watershed.

For loud and proud enviros like me, it's much easier to fight bad projects than to make good ones happen. Collaboration, settlement and good faith negotiations tend to make my people nervous. But in my work to restore the Klamath River ecosystem and economy, I have learned that the price of status quo can be much greater than the cost of cooperation.

My lesson came through my work on a bi-partisan process that brought together farmers, tribes, fishermen and conservationists – many former enemies – to craft a fair solution to water sharing in the Klamath Basin. This took compromise and nobody got 100% of what they want; it’s just not possible with so many demands on limited water resources. The result was a locally-created agreement that settles water wars of the past and helps both fish and farms. The agreement is now legislation called the Klamath Economic Restoration Act that needs Congressional support.

The bill wasn’t created in D.C. committees by people who have no stake in the outcome, rather it was created by those who will be most affected by it – a grassroots coalition of Klamath Basin residents.

We’re grateful for Senator Merkley’s early support and sponsorship of the bill, and we look forward to the experience and leadership that Senator Wyden can bring to this effort. I believe our gridlocked Congress could learn a lot from the Klamath settlement process. It is possible to prevent problems from getting worse, and next year we should hold our elected officials accountable for failing to compromise – this inaction is costly. What’s at stake in the Klamath Basin is a natural resources economy worth a minimum of $750 million per year between agriculture and commercial fishing alone (that doesn’t include any tourism, sportfishing or strong subsistence tribal economies).

The cost of doing nothing in the Klamath has been estimated at $150 million when short term fixes and Band Aid disaster relief for farming and fishing economies are combined. In contrast, the cost of implementing the Klamath legislation – $35 million a year in new spending over 15 years – fixes the root causes of ongoing problems.

Beyond dollar figures, the revolving Klamath conflict has resulted in unemployment, disproportionate health problems and loss of cultural identity for the people who live here. The pain from these indignities is seen and felt everywhere, from the river reaches where native people harvest fish to feed their families to the checkout counter at the grocery stores in Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Collaboration should be rewarded; we cannot afford to do nothing.