KWSO News Sep. 19, 2018

The four Columbia River Tribes have set a Zone 6 Fall Commercial Gillnet Fishery. It opened this morning for three nights, closing at 6pm Saturday. If you have questions, talk to the tribal fisheries department.

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (AP) — The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is withholding $500,000 allocated for a water quality study of Oregon’s Upper Klamath Lake, citing potential budget cuts. The Herald and News reports the bureau’s Klamath Basin Area Office Manager Jeff Nettleton told the Klamath Tribes that the funding will be reprogramed to other activities to avoid losing that money. Klamath Tribal Chairman Don Gentry says in a statement the recent decision is a “giant step backwards.”

There is a Suicide Prevention and Awareness Event this Saturday at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds from 9:00-3:00pm. Admission is free but they are requesting a can food donation for entry to support homeless veterans. Also part of the event – a Car Show, free breakfast and lunch for veterans, Entertainment and a Kids Area. The Madras VFW will be sponsoring a 22 Poker Run – Ride to Stop Suicide – at the same time. Registration for that will be taken at the Fairgrounds Entrance.

The executive board in charge of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians has signaled its support for Washington’s carbon emissions fee initiative. The organization is holding its annual fall conference this week in Worley, Idaho. Initiative 1631 would impose a 15-dollar per metric ton fee on carbon, beginning in 2020. It would also increase the fee by two-dollars-a-year until the state reaches its greenhouse gas goals. Theresa Sheldon from the Tulalip Tribes says Native organizations would be eligible to collect as much as 10-percent of the fees raised to fund their own climate change projects.

Sheldon says a First American political action committee has been formed to support the initiative and to accept donations for the campaign.