Teen activists take polluted water sample at site, deliver to Bureau of Reclamation
KLAMATH FALLS— July 18th a group of youth including inter-tribal teens, orchestrated three dynamic protests to demand a thorough clean up of the polluting Klamath Strait Drain, which pumps polluted water into the Klamath River, harming down river communities and Klamath salmon.
The group first stopped at the Klamath Strait Drain pump house and took samples of polluted water from the Klamath Strait Drain and then marched and staged a salmon “die-in” downtown Klamath Falls. Finally the youth delivered the polluted water samples to the Klamath Office of the Bureau of Reclamation and had a productive dialogue with acting Klamath BOR director, Jason Cameron.
The Youth Coalition for a Clean Klamath is a diverse group of concerned youth activists from Northern Oregon to Northern California, including Yurok and Hoopa Tribal members that rely on the Klamath River for food and cultural practices.
“As a Yurok Tribal member, I am deeply affected by what happens on the Klamath River,” said Stoney McCoy, a 16 year-old Yurok Tribal Youth Council member. “ What I saw today coming out of the Klamath Strait Drain made me sick to my stomach, I will fight for as long as it takes to clean up the Klamath.”
According to the group, pollution stemming from agricultural operations in the Klamath Reclamation Project taint Klamath River water quality and undermine restoration efforts, including the recovery of threatened salmon. Klamath salmon need to return to the Upper Klamath Basin to their original mating grounds for their species’ survival. Their road to recovery needs more than just dam removal, conditions must improve dramatically for the fish to survive.
“As a Native American woman, my livelihood and my cultural depends on the river, it depends on the fish,” said Lacey Jackson, a 17-year old from Northern California. “My livelihood is constantly under attack but that’s not the narrative being told.”
Youth are demanding that the Federal Bureau of Reclamation clean up the dirty water coming from the Klamath Strait Drain and that farmers practice more water-efficient methods, to reduce waste and harm.
The group formed at the Next Generation Climate Justice Action Camp (NGCJAC), a seven-day summer camp to empower youth around Oregon and Northern California by providing age-appropriate training and mentoring. Workshops at the camp included strategic campaign planning, media outreach, legal trainings, and anti-racist trainings. The camp is sponsored by the Civil Liberties Defense Center.