Humboldt State University President Rollin Richmond's initial push for an institute to look deeply into the Klamath River basin has been met with enthusiasm -- and some words of caution.

The proposed Klamath Watershed Institute's rough guidelines were etched out about two weeks ago at the Potawot Health Village outside Arcata, where dozens of university, agency and tribal representatives gathered. Out of it came a concept that has people thinking.

Among the goals is to create a high-profile institute within the university that can provide policy analysis and make progress in preserving and restoring the basin's resources. Collaboration between universities, tribes and agencies, and collecting information of all types -- from geology to sociology -- are strongly identified.

"There are whole areas not being studied," Richmond said, "some of which are terribly important in the long-term perspective."

He sees the university as well set up to handle the institute because of its location and numerous disciplines.

Many who attended are well aware of the challenges Richmond faces. Alice Kilham, a Klamath Falls, Ore., ranch owner and entrepreneur appointed eight years ago to lead the Klamath Basin Compact, is concerned about funding, practicality and the political will necessary to develop such an institute.

Kilham said there seems to be plenty of information available in the basin; it's analyzing the information in a way that the public can understand that is needed.

Still, Kilham said the forum could be helpful.

"Oregon and California have got to cooperate if we're going to find a solution for the river," Kilham said. "Anytime you can bring together people, there's hope."

Yurok Tribe Executive Director Troy Fletcher said the challenge is on to make the institute meaningful, and is happy with Richmond's approach to look at the basin through different disciplines.

But he offered a word of caution. The Klamath Basin has swallowed up a number of mediators and spat them out, he said, because of the intense conflicting demands on the resource.

"People wander smack dab into the cold harsh reality that there's not enough water," Fletcher said.

In 2001, many farmers using the federal irrigation project on the central California-Oregon border went without water to protect fish in the river and Upper Klamath Lake. The next year, the government's policy changed, and farmers got water while flows to the lower river were squeezed. Some 34,000 salmon died, and the state Department of Fish and Game pointed to low flows as the cause.

Ernie Niemi, an economist with economic consulting firm ECONorthwest's Eugene, Ore., office, said the institute will only be successful if it is used to bring about change, not just a body devoted to research.

"We can have informed change and uninformed change," Niemi said. "If its objective is to inform change, that's good."

As has become the case frequently, a U.S. District Court judge in Oakland will soon make a decision that could send more water down the river for salmon, while possibly making water more scarce for farmers.

Niemi said without change, it may just be up to a judge to turn off the tap.

Richmond said that an overriding concern is to treat the watershed as a whole. The next step, he said, is to come back to the group and start asking the hard question: where to go next?