- Details
- By Tribal Business News Staff
- Energy | Environment
The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs threatened legal action last month over a water rights dispute with Deschutes County commissioners.
The federally recognized tribal government, which represents about 5,000 members on a 640,000-acre reservation in north-central Oregon, is challenging commissioners' approval of a revised management plan that allows Thornburgh Resort to pump significantly more groundwater despite tribal objections and ongoing drought concerns.
In mid-July, commissioners voted 2-1 to allow the resort to pump 1,460 acre-feet of groundwater per year — an increase that tribal officials say violates their treaty-protected water rights and threatens fragile fish habitat.
Dennis White III, Warm Springs Tribal Council chairman, accused commissioners of ignoring the tribe's concerns and disrespecting treaty obligations dating to 1855, when the Warm Springs, Wasco and Paiute peoples ceded millions of acres to the federal government while retaining water and fishing rights.
"The plain and simple fact is we were not consulted about our people's resources, and our tribal ecological knowledge continues to be ignored," White said in a statement. "That is not how governments show mutual respect for each other."
The conflict has dragged on since 2022, when the resort first sought to modify its Fish and Wildlife Management Agreement. The Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals has twice remanded county approvals, most recently in February, citing insufficient consideration of tribal water rights.
Tribal officials say commissioners scheduled a key environmental hearing during a Tribal Council meeting and refused requests to reschedule, preventing the tribe from presenting evidence against the plan.
With the county’s latest approval, the tribe is weighing another appeal to the state land use board, according to White.
“The county simply cannot understand the full picture of this project’s impact without our perspective,” White said.
