Inherently, a return to our foods, lands and waters mandates the responsibility to protect them

wák î’sh shútä! protect me

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wák î’sh shútä! protect me ⋆

Current Threats to Our Health in the Upper Klamath Basin

Over-Allocation of Water

The Upper Klamath Basin remains one of the most over‑allocated, over‑promised, and ecologically stressed watersheds in the United States, and the most recent updates show that the core problem has not changed: there are more legal claims to water than the Basin can physically provide, especially in drought years. This over‑allocation continues to harm C’waam, Koptu, C’iyaals, wetlands, springs, and the ecosystem that Klamath, Modoc, and Numu peoples are responsible for protecting.

Proposed Swan Lake Pumped Hydro Project

The Swan Lake North Pumped Storage Project remains unbuilt, under federal review, and not approved for construction under its amended design. The most recent federal filings confirm that regulators are still preparing a new Environmental Assessment and have not granted final authorization for the project to proceed.

Expansion of GTN Pipeline

The GTN Pipeline Expansion (GTN XPress) continues to move forward despite strong opposition from Tribes, states, climate advocates, and community groups across Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. The most recent developments show a clear pattern: federal regulators and courts have allowed construction and expansion to proceed, even as state leaders and environmental organizations push back.

giiwaas e’ush: crater lake
e-ukalksini: wood river
e-ukshi: klamath marsh
yalialant: spring creek
koketat: williamson river
plaikni koke: sprague river
nilakshi, nilaks: daylight mtn
uxotuash: buck island
a-ushme, a-usmi: bare island
yulalona, i-ulalona, eulalona: link river
reservation springs
e'ush: Upper Klamath Lake

wák î’sh shútä! protect me

⋆

wák î’sh shútä! protect me ⋆

wák î’sh shútä! protect me

We do not have much left: of our land, waters, relatives, people, our spirit. Our entire existence is connected to our places. We must work to protect our peoples, places, lands, waters, air, and all relatives for the next seven generations, while honoring and protecting all of our the last seven generations of Maklaks as well

What “over‑allocation” means in the Upper Klamath Basin…

Picture of Headgate Facility, Where water is released to A Canal. Located in Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Over‑allocation refers to the fact that more water rights have been granted—mostly for irrigation—than the Basin’s hydrology can support, especially as climate change reduces snowpack, groundwater, and inflows.
This includes:

Klamath Project irrigation rights (federal Reclamation project)
Off‑Project irrigation rights (private lands above Upper Klamath Lake)
Groundwater pumping rights
Tribal instream water rights, which are the most senior in the Basin (Klamath Tribes Treaty of 1864)
Endangered Species Act requirements for C’waam, Koptu, and C’iyaals

Even in “average” years, these demands exceed supply.

Over-Allocation: Recent Take-Aways (2024-2026)

Federal operations continue to prioritize irrigation over ecological recovery

The Bureau of Reclamation’s 2025 operations plan describes delivering water to ~230,000 acres of irrigated farm land in the Klamath Project.

Irrigators continue to push for more water

In June 2025, the Klamath Water Users Association reported that Reclamation expected to meet irrigation demands for the 2025 season, despite worsening hydrology.

This reflects the ongoing pattern: irrigation deliveries are maintained even when lake levels and river flows fall below ecological thresholds.

Tribal governments warn of catastrophic consequences

In September 2025, the Klamath Tribes publicly opposed a federal proposal to send up to 38,000 additional acre‑feet of water to irrigators, warning it would further endanger C’waam and Koptu.
This is a clear example of over‑allocation in action: water promised to irrigators directly conflicts with the minimum water needed for endangered relatives.

USGS confirms the Basin cannot meet all demands

A 2025 USGS assessment highlights the Basin as a national hotspot for water scarcity, with competing demands that exceed supply and worsening drought conditions.

Over-Allocation: Why this matters for Klamath, Modoc, and Numu peoples

Over‑allocation is not an abstract policy issue—it is the root cause of the collapse of our s?aaMaks, cultural resources, and treaty‑reserved responsibilities.

Impacts on s?aaMaks

C’waam and Koptu require stable lake levels and clean, cold water. Over‑allocation keeps Upper Klamath Lake too low and too warm.
C’iyaals returning after dam removal need adequate flows in the Klamath River; over‑allocation reduces those flows.
Wocus, Tules, and wetland relatives depend on groundwater and surface water that are being diverted or pumped.
Mares’ Eggs and spring systems are collapsing as aquifers decline.

Impacts on cultural sovereignty

Tribal water rights are the most senior in the Basin, but federal operations often undermine them by prioritizing irrigation deliveries. This erodes:

Treaty rights
Cultural responsibilities
The ability to protect First Foods for future generations

Impacts on the land and wildlife

Over‑allocation dries wetlands, reduces habitat, and increases stress on:

Migratory birds
Deer and elk
Amphibians and riparian species
Groundwater‑dependent ecosystems

Impacts on community safety

As water scarcity worsens, conflict increases. The Basin has already seen:

Protests
Armed standoffs
Acts of Violence Against Tribal Members
Political pressure on Tribal governments
Attempts to weaken Tribal water rights

This instability is a direct result of promising more water than exists.

Over-Allocation: The Deeper Structural Problem

The Basin’s water system was built on false assumptions:

That Upper Klamath Lake could be used as a reservoir for irrigation
That groundwater was limitless
That wetlands could be drained without consequence
That Tribal rights could be ignored
That climate would remain stable

Every one of these assumptions has proven false.

Today, the Basin is experiencing:

Declining snowpack
Shrinking aquifers
Warmer water
More frequent drought
Increasing demands from agriculture
Legal obligations to protect endangered species

The system cannot meet all these demands, and the burden falls hardest on the land, the water, and our s?aaMaks who depend on them.

Over-Allocation: What to watch in 2026

Whether Reclamation again prioritizes irrigation deliveries over ecological needs

Whether the Klamath Tribes must issue additional senior calls
How dam removal affects river flows and salmon recovery
Whether federal agencies revise operations to comply with ESA and Tribal rights
Whether groundwater pumping restrictions increase
Whether political pressure intensifies around water allocation

SAY NO TO SWAN LAKE PUMPED HYDRO

What exactly is the Swan Lake North Pumped Storage Project?

The Swan Lake North Pumped Storage Project is a proposed 393–400 MW hydroelectric energy‑storage facility planned 11 miles northeast of Klamath Falls. It would create two large artificial reservoirs—an upper and a lower—connected by tunnels and pump‑turbines. The system would pump water uphill when electricity is cheap and release it downhill to generate power during peak demand.
The project is unbuilt and remains under federal review.

Swan Lake: Current Status

FERC issued a Notice of Intent to Prepare a new Environmental Assessment on December 30, 2024, after the developer submitted a major Non‑Capacity Amendment of License in April 2024 with supplemental materials in October 2024. The project is still described as “unconstructed” and located about 11 miles northeast of Klamath Falls, occupying federal lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Reclamation. This means the project is not approved in its amended form and remains in a prolonged federal review process.

Recent Developments

The developer continues public‑facing promotion of the project as a clean‑energy storage solution, including site visits by state officials and economic development groups.
Federal agencies have not issued a final Environmental Assessment or approval for construction.
Owner of project submitted transmission route changes to FERC December 2025
The project remains in the permitting and review stage, with no construction authorized.

Swan Lake: What the project proposes, and the history behind it…

A 400 MW pumped‑storage hydroelectric facility designed to store energy for up to 9.5 hours and release it during peak demand.

Two large artificial reservoirs connected by tunnels and pump‑turbines.
Significant new transmission infrastructure across Klamath County.
Development by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, with engineering support from multiple contractors.

Timeline and Regulatory History

2015: Original license application submitted to FERC.
2019: FERC issued a Final Environmental Impact Statement.
2020: A 50‑year federal license was issued (2020–2070).
2024: Developer filed a major Non‑Capacity Amendment of License (April 12, 2024; supplemented October 3, 2024).
Dec 30, 2024: FERC announced a new Environmental Assessment, confirming the project is still unconstructed and under review.

The project has been in the permitting pipeline for more than a decade and still lacks approval to build under its amended design.

Swan Lake: Who Owns It?

The project is being developed by Swan Lake North Hydro LLC, which is owned by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP)—a global private equity firm specializing in large‑scale energy infrastructure.

CIP’s business model centers on long‑term infrastructure assets, meaning the project is designed to operate for 50 years or more, matching the federal license term.

Swan Lake: Why Klamath, Modoc, and Numu People Need to Pay Attention

This project is often marketed as “clean energy,” but the on‑the‑ground impacts fall directly on the lands, waters, wildlife, and cultural resources our communities depend on. The risks are substantial and long‑lasting.

Massive Groundwater Withdrawals

The project would pump groundwater to initially fill and continually maintain its reservoirs—drawing from the same aquifers that feed springs, wetlands, and interconnected surface waters in the Klamath Basin.
Federal documents confirm groundwater would come from the region’s agricultural pumping system.

This threatens:

Spring systems that sustain C’waam, Koptu, Wocus, C’iyaals and Mares’ Eggs
Wetlands essential to waterfowl, amphibians, and First Foods
Already‑declining aquifers in a drought‑stressed Basin

Critical Migration Corridor for Deer and Elk

The proposed site sits in a major north–south migration corridor. Reservoirs, roads, fencing, and transmission lines would fragment habitat and disrupt long‑established movement patterns.

Loss of Open‑Water and Wet‑Meadow Complexes

The area contains extensive wet meadows and open‑water habitats that are culturally and ecologically important. These landscapes support:

Migratory ducks
Cackling geese
White‑fronted geese
Swans
Sandhill cranes
These species rely on intact wetlands—many of which are already diminished across the Basin.

Heavy Construction and Industrialization of the Landscape

The project requires:

New permanent access roads
A powerhouse and substation
High‑voltage transmission lines
Blasting, excavation, and long‑term industrial activity

This level of disturbance threatens cultural sites, wildlife habitat, and the integrity of the land itself.

Man Camps and the Risk of Missing & Murdered Indigenous Peoples (MMIP)

Large‑scale construction projects often bring temporary worker housing (“man camps”). Across the U.S. and Canada, these camps correlate with increased rates of violence, trafficking, and MMIP cases in our communities.
If built in Klamath County, this risk becomes immediate and local.

Long-Term Lock‑In

With a 50‑year license, the project would lock Klamath, Modoc, and Numu homelands into decades of:

Groundwater extraction
Habitat fragmentation
Industrial presence on culturally important landscapes
Increased fire risk from new transmission corridors
Ongoing threats to s?aaMaks and treaty‑reserved resources

Swan Lake: What This Means for Our Communities

For Klamath, Modoc, and Numu peoples, the Swan Lake project is not just an energy proposal—it is a direct threat to water, wildlife, cultural continuity, and community safety. It risks deepening the ecological crises already harming our s?aaMaks and undermines our sovereign responsibility to protect the land and waters for future generations. The project would require major land disturbance, new transmission corridors, and decades of industrial activity in an already stressed watershed.

The key next step is FERC’s release of the new Environmental Assessment, which will determine whether the project advances, stalls, or faces new conditions. Until that document is published, the project remains in regulatory limbo.

GTN Pipeline: What It Is

Gas Transmission Northwest (GTN) is a 1,353‑mile interstate natural gas pipeline that carries fracked gas from Alberta, Canada, through British Columbia, Washington, Idaho, and Oregon, before connecting into California’s gas system. It was built in 1961 and today moves up to 2.9 billion cubic feet of gas per day, operated by subsidiaries of TC Energy.

GTN Pipeline: Where It Begins and Ends

Starting point: Kingsgate, British Columbia, at the Canada–U.S. border.

Route: Crosses Washington and Idaho, then runs the length of Oregon.
End point: Malin, Oregon, where it connects to California’s Pacific Gas & Electric system.

This means the pipeline cuts directly through the broader homelands of Klamath, Modoc, and Numu peoples and the watersheds that feed into the Klamath Basin.

GTN Pipeline: Recent Developments (2023–2025)

1. Federal regulators approved construction to begin

In April 2024, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) denied petitions from conservation groups and allowed TC Energy to begin construction on the GTN XPress expansion. This decision followed appeals from environmental organizations asking FERC to reconsider.

2. West Coast states formally opposed the expansion

Attorney generals from Oregon, Washington, and California, along with Oregon-based environmental groups, urged FERC to reverse its approval. Their concerns focused on increased greenhouse gas emissions, climate impacts, and conflicts with state-level climate laws.

3. Court ruling cleared the way for expansion

In late 2025, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of TC Energy, allowing the GTN XPress expansion to move forward. Environmental groups and lawmakers across the Northwest criticized the ruling, saying it undermines regional climate goals.

GTN Pipeline: Current Status (2026)

Construction and expansion are legally allowed to proceed.

State-level opposition continues, but federal approval remains in place.
Environmental and Tribal groups are still mobilizing, focusing on public pressure, legal challenges, and state regulatory pathways.
TC Energy is positioning the project as necessary for “energy reliability,” despite regional commitments to transition away from fossil fuels.

GTN Pipeline: What the expansion actually does…

Adds 150 million cubic feet per day of fracked gas capacity into the Northwest.

Upgrades three compressor stations in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.
Increases the flow of Canadian gas through the 1,377‑mile GTN system.
TC Energy completed related upgrades in 2024 to increase reliability and capacity.

GTN Pipeline: Why Oregon Leaders and Other Tribal Nations Oppose It

Climate impacts: The expansion increases long-term fossil fuel dependence and emissions.

Contradiction with state climate laws: Oregon and Washington have statutory emissions reduction targets that the project undermines.
Safety and community risk: Compressor station expansions raise concerns about leaks, explosions, and methane pollution.
Tribal sovereignty and homelands: The pipeline crosses lands and waters connected to Tribal treaty rights, cultural resources, and First Foods.

GTN Pipeline: Why Klamath, Modoc, and Numu People Need to Care

The GTN system is not just a distant energy project—it is a fossil fuel corridor running through and impacting the lands, waters, and our s?aaMaks that our communities depend on. The proposed GTN XPress expansion would increase the volume and pressure of fracked gas moving through Oregon by adding new compressor station capacity, locking the region into decades more fossil fuel use.

For Klamath, Modoc, and Numu people, this matters because:

Homelands and waters are already under extreme stress. C’waam, Koptu, Wocus, Tules, and our s?aaMaks depend on clean, cold, stable water. Fossil fuel expansion accelerates climate change, deepening drought, warming water, and pushing relatives closer to extinction.
Pipeline expansion increases risks to land and water. Compressor stations and high‑pressure gas lines raise the risk of leaks, explosions, and methane pollution—direct threats to culturally important places and ecosystems.
It undermines Tribal sovereignty and long-term stewardship. Expanding fossil fuel infrastructure across Indigenous homelands without Tribal consent continues a pattern of federal decision-making that ignores treaty rights, cultural resources, and Indigenous-led climate solutions.
It locks the region into decades of harm. Once expanded, GTN would continue transporting fracked gas long past the timelines needed to protect water, salmon, suckerfish, and the future of the Basin.

Everything is interconnected: our water, our land, our trees, our fish, our relatives, our peoples, our world. It is all connected. We must treat it accordingly and heal accordingly.

Everything is interconnected: our water, our land, our trees, our fish, our relatives, our peoples, our world.

It is all connected. We must treat it accordingly and heal accordingly.

Listed below are resources to learn more about projects currently threatening Klamath Basin Homelands, click on link to read more:

Ask questions, do your research, and speak up- loud and clear, know why we must protect our home, and understand how it violates our peoples, places, and existing law and policies. Here are just a few resources for you to read through- but don’t stop here, always question everything, and dig for the answers.