Today, in Episode 2 of our Drought Week series, we go to Upper Klamath Lake in southern Oregon. As water shortages become a permanent part of life in the American West, battles are brewing everywhere for what little remains. Even in long-verdant areas like the Beaver State.
We’ll talk to L.A. Times reporter Anita Chabria and Don Gentry, the chairman of the Klamath Tribes. The tribes get first rights to the water of Upper Klamath Lake, which they use to help sustain a fish important to their culture. But farmers are angry because they’re not getting any water this year. Now, members of the far right are coming in to try to exploit the tension.
After that story, stick around to hear Nick Itkin talk about how he got into fencing and came to represent the United States in the Tokyo Olympics.
Host: Gustavo Arellano
Guests: L.A. Times Northern California reporter Anita Chabria, Klamath Tribes Chairman Don Gentry and fencer Nick Itkin
More reading:
Racism, drought and history: Young Native Americans fight back as water disappears
Water crisis reaches boiling point on Oregon-California line
As drought slams California and Oregon, Klamath farmers grow fish to quell a water war
Listen to more episodes of The Times here
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
