What does the Bucket stand for? It represents the efforts and charity of thousands of concerned citizens and so much more. It stands on the sidewalk in front of the Klamath County Government Building, showing that this community came together in support of our family farms and businesses.

In 2001, the Bucket Brigade was thousands of people coming together from all over this great nation: farmers and ranchers, elected officials, business owners, Native Americans, and many other concerned individuals and groups objecting to a flawed decision. A decision based on fatally flawed science that brought great harm to not only the citizens of the Klamath Basin, but also threatened all America.

We were “ground zero” for the war for western water. As stated by a newspaper article out of California, the Klamath Basin cannot lose this battle or we all lose.

The Bucket was made and donated to the Klamath Basin by people who were profoundly shocked, then galvanized by the water cut off. They and others from all over America donated hundreds of thousands of dollars in relief and aid to the Basin. Never was the Bucket used to pursue a conflict with the Tribes. The fight is with the Endangered Species Act, bad science and those who would use them to take away private property rights.

The Bucket was welcomed by thousands as it traveled from the Klamath Basin to Homestead, Fla., as a symbol of hope and unity. It was welcomed by citizens of every community through which it traveled, as a hope for a solution to the similar problems that were encountered in every state.

The Bucket stands for freedom - not so much for “our” side against “their” side, but for us, for all of us, in the name of long-standing liberty and freedom. It stands for the unity that thousands of American's felt when such an oblivious injustice was done to our farming and business community. It stands for the generosity and support of thousands of Americans who came to the aid of this basin. It stands for the American God given right to stand up and fight for what the majority believes to be right.

In addition, it also stands to remind us all that the 2001 Water Crisis is not over. The Klamath Reclamation Project farmers and ranchers are still not guaranteed their water because of continuing litigation, biased and incomplete scientific studies, and special interest groups that place groundless accusations against the Klamath Project for all the woes of the Klamath River and salmon recovery.

The Bucket must continue to stand to show those who are determined to sacrifice us and our way of life for some other future, to reconsider what the past has shown and what the present means to us all. We are not going away.

The Bucket belongs where it was dedicated until the battle is over.

Bill Ransom

Chairman of the Klamath Bucket Brigade, Inc.