Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Along the Klamath: PR is no substitute for fair and honest dealing

Two of the chief promoters of the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement –the KBRA or Klamath Water Deal – are calling for a public relations offensive. Craig Tucker, who works for the Karuk Tribe, and Glen Spain, who represents commercial salmon fishers, want to improve the image of the Deal and of the Klamath Basin Coordinating Council (KBCC) which was established by the Department of Interior to implement it.

Tucker and Spain presented the proposal at a meeting of the Council held recently in Redding California. The Capital Press, which reported on the meeting, quoted Tucker on the purpose for the charm offensive:
           The emphasis is on sharing with the public what it is we're doing and allowing the public to provide feedback….We also want to take head-on some of the myths about who we are and what we're doing.

KlamBlog is skeptical. If this group really wanted feedback it would have released for comment the draft Drought Plan they have negotiated behind closed doors; or better still, they would develop that plan from scratch in public.

In the same interview in which he called for better communication, Tucker labeled those who do not support the Deal as opposed to compromise. That is precisely the sort of “gotcha” rhetoric which alienates those who honestly do not believe the Water Deal and the restoration arrangements embedded within it provide a real or durable solution to the Basin’s water conflicts. This is not new; for years now Tucker has been attacking anyone who does not fall into line with the Water Deal he supports.

If those agencies and interests pushing the KBRA really want to engage their critics, they should reach out one to one – not rely on a PR campaign. Tucker’s sound bite claiming that those who support the Water Deal represent the “radical center” of Klamath politics is yet another roadblock to real dialogue.

The Coordinating Council should hold its meetings within the Basin where most of its critics reside. Instead - like many important meetings impacting the Klamath in the past - the meeting at which Tucker and Spain made their PR proposal was held in Redding, California in the Sacramento River Basin. This is apparently to accommodate agency bureaucrats and others from places like Sacramento, Portland and Eugene.

A majority of those who negotiated the Water Deal do not reside within the Klamath River Basin; as KlamBlog has pointed out, the KBRA is really an agency initiative – not something which emerged from the grassroots.

That may have been appropriate for dealing with PacifiCorp’s dams. But a Klamath-centered effort to manage the Basin’s water and resolve conflicts over it would surely meet in the Basin where residents and local leaders could more easily participate. Such a process would not be dominated by agency bureaucrats and corporate lawyers flying in for meetings and then leaving just as quickly.

The restoration arrangement which Tucker and Spain want to promote is not based on science but on politics. It was negotiated in meetings from which key interests were excluded. It is not a plan but rather an agreement about where in the Basin to spend restoration money the deal-makers want taxpayers to supply.

Those who negotiated the Water Deal set up the so-called plan so that most restoration funding will flow to the tribes and interest groups which signed it. As KlamBlog has point out in the past, a Deal which in substance favors some water users, tribes and environmental interests over other water users, tribes and environmental interests - can only serve to exacerbate – not resolve - conflicts.

KBRA critics want a real restoration plan based on restoration science, developed in the light of day with the participation of ALL interests. Until they accede to that reasonable demand, all of the PR in the world will not improve the image of the Klamath Basin Coordinating Committee or of the Klamath Water Deal.

3 comments:

Glen Spain said...

Dear KlamBlog …

There is a huge disconnect in this posting’s undeserved condemnation of the Klamath Basin Coordinating Council’s (KBCC) efforts to both inform and engage the public. Would it be preferable for the KBCC to have NO public outreach plan, and NO communications plan to inform the public about what it is and what it is doing?

SURELY NOT!

So the fact that the KBCC members – myself included – are working to better inform the public on what the KBCC is, and how the Klamath Settlement Agreement is being implemented, should be cause for rejoicing, not concern. What you dismissively call a “public relations offensive” in this article is merely the KBCC’s Draft Communications Plan. KBCC members have an obligation to present the FACTS (as opposed to much misinformation already available) about the Klamath Settlement, as well as to actively engage the public in helping us all shape the 50-year Klamath Basin restoration effort the Settlement has begun. No one should doubt the need.

The KBCC outreach function is described in the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA) as follows: “… The KBCC shall ensure public engagement is afforded through facilitated participation in the KBCC and subgroup meetings, and shall consider public input when making decisions.” (KBRA, Appendix D(II))

So help us out! YOU AND ALL OTHER MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO PARTICIPATE!

The Draft Drought Plan will also be published for public comment in due course – i.e., when there is a settled draft to actually comment on. As yet there is no such draft but multiple Klamath Basin stakeholder groups and agencies are working hard to create one for public comment, as well as making sure it is based on the best available science.

KBCC meetings are currently being cycled among Klamath Falls, OR, Redding, CA and Eureka, CA. Facilities with sufficient seating capacity and a nearby airport are essential, and unfortunately limited in the basin, but most important, all these locations are easily accessible for most of the Basin’s residents.

See www.edsheets.com/Klamathdocs.html for all documents and copies of working drafts of the KBCC’s work to date. The next meeting of the KBCC is currently scheduled for Feb. 3rd, in Eureka, CA, though that date may change to Feb. 24th if necessary. Check that web site for current information. And we hope to see you there!

--- Glen Spain, for PCFFA

Glen Spain -- PCFFA said...

Dear KlamBlog …

There is a huge disconnect in this posting’s undeserved condemnation of the Klamath Basin Coordinating Council’s (KBCC) efforts to both inform and engage the public. Would it be preferable for the KBCC to have NO public outreach plan, and NO communications plan to inform the public about what it is and what it is doing?

SURELY NOT!

So the fact that the KBCC members – myself included – are working to better inform the public on what the KBCC is, and how the Klamath Settlement Agreement is being implemented, should be cause for rejoicing, not concern. What you dismissively call a “public relations offensive” in this article is merely the KBCC’s Draft Communications Plan. KBCC members have an obligation to present the FACTS (as opposed to much misinformation already available) about the Klamath Settlement, as well as to actively engage the public in helping us all shape the 50-year Klamath Basin restoration effort the Settlement has begun. No one should doubt the need.

The KBCC outreach function is described in the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA) as follows: “… The KBCC shall ensure public engagement is afforded through facilitated participation in the KBCC and subgroup meetings, and shall consider public input when making decisions.” (KBRA, Appendix D(II))

So help us out! YOU AND ALL OTHER MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO PARTICIPATE!

The Draft Drought Plan will also be published for public comment in due course – i.e., when there is a settled draft to actually comment on. As yet there is no such draft but multiple Klamath Basin stakeholder groups and agencies are working hard to create one for public comment, as well as making sure it is based on the best available science.

KBCC meetings are currently being cycled among Klamath Falls, OR, Redding, CA and Eureka, CA. Facilities with sufficient seating capacity and nearby airport facilities are essential, and unfortunately limited in the basin, but most important, all these locations are easily accessible for most of the Basin’s residents.

See www.edsheets.com/Klamathdocs.html for all documents and copies of working drafts of the KBCC’s work to date. The next meeting of the KBCC is currently scheduled for Feb. 3rd, in Eureka, CA, though that date may change to Feb. 24th if necessary. Check that web site for current information. And we hope to see you there!

--- Glen Spain, for PCFFA

Felice Pace said...

Hey Glen,

You say the Klamath Basin Coordinating Council wants to "inform and engage" everyone. But when it comes to important things - like the Drought Plan - we will get to see it "in due course" - that is, after it has been negotiated by "stakeholder groups and agencies" - in other words, when it is a done deal.

Slippery words - no matter how well turned - do not substitute for honest communication. Tokenism - no matter how well finessed - is no substitute for an open and democratic process.