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Haven't shared any of my stories since I started with @HeraldandNews (via @Report4America) because I have maybe 4 followers on here who actually live in Klamath, but here's what's been going on ~environmentally~ in our neck of the woods since I got here:
Interior Secretary David Bernhardt met with ag community leaders at the basin's "field of crosses" a couple weeks ago to show federal support for irrigators. The story of that field is the story of many farmers impacted by water shortages in the basin https://www.heraldandnews.com/news/local_news/a-symbol-of-struggle-the-meaning-behind-the-field-of-crosses/article_aa3e4741-5ffc-5522-bb1f-72a6aeaf3239.html
The secretary also met with tribes along the Klamath River, whose treaty rights to endangered salmon and suckers make them key stakeholders in the basin. But tribes said the last-minute meeting wasn't as productive as they would've liked https://www.heraldandnews.com/news/local_news/tribes-critical-of-rushed-meeting-with-federal-officials/article_9da3d7f0-57dd-5105-97cc-04f2493150de.html
I've never lived in a place where you can just naturally see so many stars at night, so I went to a star party as an excuse to take photos of the comet Neowise (one good thing to happen in 2020!!) https://www.heraldandnews.com/news/local_news/stargazers-marvel-at-neowise-comet/article_63076d4e-ff5c-51f6-92db-06b66e623a0b.html
Got thrown into covering an extremely controversial, decades-long dam removal effort (which would be the largest in U.S. history if completed) when a federal agency issued a ruling that could throw the entire project off https://www.heraldandnews.com/news/local_news/friday-update-federal-decision-leaves-future-of-klamath-dam-removal-unclear/article_533b4f78-df35-53bc-8d1b-a84ce122cfed.html
We also have a pipeline fight, because why not? Jordan Cove LNG has federal approval to operate a 229-mile natural gas pipeline across southern Oregon, but state agencies refuse to grant it the necessary permits it needs to begin construction: https://www.heraldandnews.com/news/local_news/despite-federal-export-approval-jordan-cove-lng-still-in-uphill-battle/article_1b471c90-ae78-533b-936f-a226e97fd309.html
Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge was one of the most expansive wetlands in the West. Now, it's starved for water. I detailed the refuge's complicated history with the Klamath Project and the role it could play in the basin's future: https://www.heraldandnews.com/news/local_news/the-kidney-of-the-basin/article_a437ff45-3ac4-5b34-b64d-1d91c50aeb8b.html
That's all for now—prepare for a lot more stories and explainers as I attempt to wrap my head around the myriad environmental issues in the Klamath Basin!
