Cultural ecology is the study of how people shape–and get shaped by–the environments in which they live. Dam removal and large-scale river restoration projects are bringing changes to the Klamath Basin. These changes are coming in the midst of ongoing environmental, social and economic challenges and opportunities. How do local communities understand and experience the river? How can the diverse views of Klamath Basin communities help shape water resource management decisions?
What we’re doing: Our goal is to understand the values, perspectives and experiences of Klamath Basin communities as they experience change and to identify future natural resource management priorities, with an emphasis on water quality. We’re conducting interviews with individuals from the following groups: Agricultural producers, Fishing community members, Local residents, and people working in conservation and restoration.
Collaboration with the Yurok Tribe. Our colleagues in the Yurok Tribe are leading a similar effort among tribal members. Data collection in the Yurok Tribe will also focus on cultural resources related to the Klamath River, how river health affects cultural activities, and what role river restoration may play in cultural revitalization.
Project Outcomes. Some of the project outcomes will be academic (for example, scientific papers), while other outcomes will be applied (for example, policy briefs to resource management agencies, or educational materials).
2024 Project Updates.
Two OSU researchers (Bryan Tilt and Becca Wheaton) worked with Yurok Tribe researchers (Brook Thompson and Corinne Alton) to design a socio-cultural interview and survey protocol for Yurok Tribe elders. The tribal researchers have administered the survey to about 15 elders (approximately half of our eventual total sample).
Our OSU-based sociocultural group is now analyzing qualitative interview results with two study groups: agricultural water users (farmers / ranchers) and conservationists. We have used the qualitative results to build a quantitative survey that we will begin administering with other study groups in December 2024. We are also drafting a peer-reviewed paper on the interview results, contrasting the views of agricultural water users and conservationists.
In August 2024, two OSU researchers visited the Yurok reservation for the annual Salmon Festival, hosting a tabling event for tribal members about the research project and recruiting potential study participants.
As of September 2024, we are on-boarding two new master’s students as part of the socio-cultural team (Erin Wheeler and Melody Rice), both of whom will focus on interviews and surveys with rural communities in the lower Klamath Basin.
PhD student Becca Wheaton received $12,000 from Oregon Sea Grant through the Malouf Scholarship program to support ethnographic fieldwork with fishing communities in southern Oregon in summer 2025.
Want to Participate? If you’d like to share your perspectives with us, we invite you to participate in a one-hour interview. The interview can be arranged at a time and place that works for you. Your responses will be kept confidential.
To participate, please contact Dr. Bryan Tilt, Oregon State University, Bryan.Tilt@oregonstate.edu, 541-737-3896.
More Information
Project Overview: Cultural Ecology of the Klamath Basin
Meet the Socio-cultural Team
Bryan Tilt, Professor of Anthropology
Email: bryan.tilt@oregonstate.edu
Website: liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/users/bryan-tilt
Rebecca Wheaton, Ph.D. Student
Email: wheatore@oregonstate.edu
Erin Wheeler, Master’s Student
Email: wheelee4@oregonstate.edu
Melody Rice, Master’s Student
Email: ricev@oregonstate.edu
Hannah Boone, Master’s Student
Email: booneh@oregonstate.edu
Jenna Davis, Master’s Student
Email: davijen2@oregonstate.edu
