Klamath board to hear tribes presentation

July 13, 2005

Klamath Falls Herald and News

The Klamath County Board of Commissioners will hear a presentation from representatives of the Klamath Tribes at 2 p.m. today.

Commissioner Al Switzer said Tuesday that the Tribes will discuss their efforts to regain major portions of the former Klamath Indian Reservation.

The meeting at the Klamath County Government Center is open to the public, but no public testimony will be received, and no decisions will be made, Switzer said. He characterized the meeting as a "work session," as opposed to a public hearing or action agenda.

The meeting will not be televised, but audio tape recordings of the meeting will be available at a later date.

Abolished in 1961, the Klamath Indian Reservation contained about 1.2 million acres in central Klamath and Lake counties. About 730,000 acres of former reservation land is in federal ownership, mostly in the Fremont-Winema National Forests.

The Tribes have been pressing for several years for a return of former reservation lands still in federal ownership. Last January the Tribes announced a new effort to regain former tribal lands. That effort includes negotiating with agricultural interests in the Klamath Basin regarding water rights.