Tribes lay claim to Conger property

May 4, 2007

Klamath Falls Herald and News

Citizens worried about the loss of open space in Klamath Falls aren't the only ones against development of Conger Heights, a piece of city-owned land above the Link River.

City of Klamath Falls and Klamath Tribes officials started working in the 1990s on a plan to transfer the property above the Link River canyon to the Tribes because of its role as a sacred native site, said Joe Hobbs, vice chairman of the Klamath Tribes. The area, also called Eulalona, was a fishing village and has cultural and spiritual significance.

Progress on the deal stalled in 2001 during the Klamath Basin water crisis when city officials told the Klamath Tribes it was not a good time politically to talk about the land transfer.

Efforts in the last few years by Hobbs and others to restart talks failed, so when news came out that the city planned to sell the land to fund city parks, Hobbs said he was perplexed and alarmed. He and other tribal members protested the sale along with those wanting to preserve open space in Klamath Falls .

“As far as I was concerned, we had a deal,” he said, referring to the original plans to transfer the land to the Tribes.

Sale on hold

Following the protests and the possibility of other funding options, the city council last month voted to put plans to sell the site on hold.

Now Hobbs wants to know why the city isn't talking about the transfer plans.

But City Manager Jeff Ball said the city never guaranteed the property would be given to the Tribes.

“It got put on the table and it's still on the table,” he said.

Property ceded

The Tribes ceded the property when the Treaty of 1864 established a 2.2-million-acre reservation. Hobbs said the Tribes did not want to hand over the site, but were pressured by non-Tribal settlers in the region.

At the direction of the Tribal Council, Hobbs said he worked to regain the site from the city.

Original negotiations stated the city would transfer the property to the Tribes and the Klamath Arts Council. Ball, who was city attorney at the time, said the Klamath Falls City Council did agree to deed the land to the Tribes and the arts council.

Change in agreement

But, he added, problems started when the Tribes requested a change to the final agreement. Tribal officials learned a federal statute would not allow them to have joint ownership of the property. Hobbs said the arts council agreed to cede its interest in the deed, and Ball said he took the revised agreement back to the City Council.

“When I look back on that, I should have just sent it in,” Hobbs said.

The city council was still considering the plan in 2001 when the water crisis occurred and all irrigation water was shut off. Hobbs said he called the city to see where the deal was in the process and was told it was not the right time politically to deal with the situation.

Hobbs said he was told the issue would be dealt with once “things cool down.”

Following up

Previous follow-ups during the years since the shutoff yielded similar responses from city, Hobbs said, despite the fact the Tribes and irrigators have made progress in building better relationships and trust.

Ball said since the City Council never agreed to the new plan, which gave the land solely to the Tribes, the city is not obligated to hand the property over. He also said the current city council is split on the issue.

“I don't know what the council will do now or in the future,” he said.

Hobbs said he hoped the city would reconsider arrangements made in the past and involve the Tribes in any process concerning the property.

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