Courtesy of www.indybay.org
Hoopa, Calif. -
The Hoopa Valley Tribe
will not endorse the latest draft of the Klamath River
Basin Restoration Agreement (KRBRA) released on January 15th because the
agreement lacks adequate water assurances for fish. Despite being in the
minority among the negotiators, Tribal Chairman
Clifford Lyle Marshall said Hoopa would never waive its fishery-based
water
rights, as demanded by federal and other negotiators, in a deal
providing no assurances for fisheries restoration.
"What began
as dam removal negotiations got turned into a water deal. PacifiCorp left the room two years
ago and negotiations with the company have since been separate from this
negotiation. The terms of this so-called restoration agreement make the
right to divert water for irrigation the top priority, trumping salmon
water needs and the best available science on the river," Marshall
said. "Such an upside down deal threatens the goal of restoration and
the Hoopa Tribe's fishing
rights," Hoopa Councilman
Joe LeMieux said. "We cannot waive the rights of generations to
come. Dangling a carrot like this will not work for Hoopa."
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