Merkley, Wyden Push Zinke to Fulfill Agreement with Klamath Tribes

Interior Department is withholding nearly $500,000 of funding that would support critical water quality research in the Upper Klamath Lake

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today [September 5, 2018] pushed U.S. Department of Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke to reverse his decision to withhold from the Klamath Tribe almost $500,000 in already allocated funding for critical water quality research in the Upper Klamath Lake.

“The loss of this previously approved and dedicated funding source for understanding the impact of water quality on the health and wellbeing of the C’waam (Lost River sucker) and Koptu (shortnose sucker) will undermine ongoing efforts to prevent their extinction,” the senators wrote about the funding, which has supported research for the past four years.

Noting the tribal significance of—and water quality threats facing—the C’waam and Koptu fish in the Upper Klamath Lake, the senators continued, “Any progress on water challenges in the Klamath Basin, either in the short or long term, will be contingent on the willingness of stakeholders to trust one another. The decision to reprogram these funds at the eleventh hour has the appearance of an overtly political decision that will undermine efforts to reach a long-term solution in the Klamath Basin.”

The senators requested Zinke adhere to direction from Congress in the Fiscal Year 2018 spending bill and restore the $472,550 in  funding immediately.

Press release provided from the Klamath Tribes.