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Environmental Justice and the Klamath River Community
What is Environmental Justice?
Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. Environmental justice efforts work to address the disproportionate adverse environmental impacts that may exist in minority and low-income communities.
Environmental Justice on the Klamath River
Environmental justice issues are often seen as the struggles of inner city communities against polluting power and manufacturing companies. Additionally, many Native Peoples and poor communities in rural areas are also fighting the same corporations for control of local water and forest resources, and thus their lives.
The Klamath, Karuk (upriver), Yurok (downriver), and Hoopa tribes in the Klamath Basin have cultures that are deeply connected to the land. Today these tribes and other nature dependant people in the region are suffering from loss of land and fisheries, and the loss of the traditional diet, which also affects cultural practices. However, the people of this region are very strong and are fighting for their way of life. They continue to be stewards of the forest and rivers and to lead the struggles to save the Klamath River and Klamath Salmon.
How are the Klamath Water and Forest Issues Environmental Justice Issues?
- Loss of the Klamath fisheries is detrimental in terms of culture and subsistence to Native tribes
- Poor water quality in the Klamath negatively effects downriver communities
- Toxic algae caused by dam reservoirs is a public health hazard
- The draining of upper basin wetlands prevents food harvest of wocus and sucker fish by the Klamath tribes
- Poor water quality on the Klamath is responsible for closed and reduced commercial fishing seasons in southern Oregon and Northern California, further depressing communities already struggling with the transition from commercial timber harvest.
- USFS and BLM sponsored chemical spray plans on public lands affect poor and Native American communities that rely on clean water and non-toxic plants
- The toxic legacy (including Superfund sites) from mining on the Klamath is still affecting local communities
- The suppression of tribal burning and management has left the mid-Klamath forests crowded and vulnerable to catastrophic wildfire, and has caused a decline in the availability of traditional foods