Time to Take Action
Our Klamath Basin Water Crisis
Upholding rural Americans' rights to grow food,
own property, and caretake our wildlife and natural resources.
 

ARCHIVE 21 - February 2004

 

Pollution plans will take a while, cost a lot (TMDL's for Klamath and Lost River), H&N's, 2/29/04 - "The good news? The plan won't be complete until June 2005 for the Lost River, and December 2005 for the Klamath River. Then there are years of approval by higher-ups, and then most polluters have five years to design a plan and put it into effect."

Bureau seeks land bids, H&N's, 2/29/04 - "The Bureau of Reclamation will accept sealed bids from those who wish to lease 27 parcels, about 4,350 acres, for agricultural purposes."

U.S. should do study of dams, salmon, H&N's Editorial, 2/29/04 - "There's a lot more to the problem of depleted salmon production on the lower Klamath than the dams or, for that matter, the Klamath Reclamation Project, which is almost a sister issue to the dams. It's awfully easy for downstream interests to look upstream - and past the effects of overfishing and changing ocean conditions."

PRESS RELEASE: Walden Announces Delivery of Reimbursements for Operation and Maintenance of Canals During Water Shut-Off, 2/26/04.

Weekly KWUA Update for 2/26/04:
* Ninth Circuit Dismisses Appeal of Landmark Alsea Case
* Alsea Decision Has Potential Implications for Klamath River Coho Salmon
* Gov. Schwarzenegger Appoints Lester Snow Director of California DWR
* PacifiCorp to Submit Application to Relicense Klamath River Hydro Project
* "System Enhancements" to be Proposed in PacifiCorp's FERC Application
* California State Senator Introduces Bill That Would Set Flow Requirements
* Keynote Speaker at Watershed Conference Shares "Lessons Learned"
* Hatfield Working Group Hosts Evapotranspiration Workshop

Klamath Watershed Conference 2004 summary and photos THURSDAY SESSION by Barbara Hall, Klamath Bucket Brigade Executive Director, Feb 26, 2004. "Marion told the story about one dairy farmer who was so excited about getting electricity that he went out and bought an electric milking machine. The first time he hooked the cows up to it and turned it on, the cows went crazy . . . they’d never heard a noise like that before nor had they ever had something mechanical attached to their udders. It seems the dairyman didn’t get much milk from his cows the next few days."

Klamath Watershed Conference 2004 summary  WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON SESSION by Barbara Hall, Klamath Bucket Brigade Executive Director, posted Feb 26, 2004.

PRESS RELEASE: Walden Given Waiver to Serve on Forest Health Subcommittee, 2/26/04

Conservation group to conduct series of meetings, H&N 2/26/04."The Natural Resource Conservation Service will conduct a series of work group meetings"

Klamath Watershed Conference 2004  by Barbara  Hall, Klamath Bucket Brigade Executive Director, Feb 26, 2004
Hathaway stated: "It’s redundant to say that water issues are important in the Klamath Basin." And presented a video called "A Prayer for Common Sense" produced by Anders Tomlin that showed all the diversity in the entire Klamath River Basin from the alpine forests to the ocean.

Basin Alliance to Save the Winema and Fremont Forests came to Tulelake

KBC (jdk) 2/26/04 "How does the Tribal reacquisition of 690,000 acres of Oregon's public forest effect our rural community?"

PRESS RELEASE: Ninth Circuit Court Sets Precedent for Science in Landmark ESA Case, 2/25/04 House Resource Committee.

Oregon's coho are partying tonight, they're not going extinct after all, SouthernOregonNews.com 2/25/04

PRESS RELEASE: Walden to Visit Southern Oregon on Friday, February 27 & Monday, March 1

Klamath Watershed Conference Day 1, schedule and notes by Barb Hall, executive director of Klamath Bucket Brigade 2/24/04.

Hydro relicensing sought, H&N 2/25/04

Dams, adjudication on agenda at local water conference, H&N 2/25/04

KBC's favorite article of the month of February, 2004 by Katy Coba, Oregon Dept. of Ag.

ATTENTION: People of Merrill, Malin and Tulelake“THE BASIN ALLIANCE TO SAVE THE WINEMA AND FREMONT FORESTS”will host a public meeting on Wednesday February 25th go HERE

Meetings set to discuss limits on lake, river pollutants Feb 26, Thursday, H&N 2/24/04

NEWS RELEASE: Pacific Legal Foundation Oregon Coast Salmon listing invalidated: Ninth Circuit dismisses appeal of Landmark Alsea Case. Bogus ESA Protections for "Wild" Salmon Must Go. 2/24/04   "Grange v. NMFS (Klamath Salmon Case) Also in the wake of today's decision, PLF predicted success in Grange v. National Marine Fisheries Service. In Grange, as in Alsea, rather than consider the prolific numbers of hatchery salmon, NMFS instead considered only "naturally spawned" populations and then determined they were "threatened." This listing is one of the factors that led to the shut off of irrigation water to Klamath area farmers in 2001. Grange v. NMFS was stayed by Judge Hogan pending a decision from the Ninth Circuit in Alsea."

Conservation and Restoration FYI, posted 2/25/04
              Environmental Restoration and Water Conservation Efforts Undertaken by
                 Klamath Water Users and Basin Landowners  1-page Fact Sheet April 2003

                
KWUA 45-page summary of recent and proposed efforts, January 2003

PRESS RELEASE: Office of the Governor: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced the appointment of Lester Snow as director of the California Department of Water Resources, 2/24/04

PRESS RELEASE: Walden Encourages Use of Fax, Email to Speed Communication with Washington, D.C. Office, 2/24/04.

Presentation by Dave Sabo, Bureau of Reclamation Area Manager, Klamath Falls office. This was from the Shilo Science Workshop 2/3/04. For more articles on workshop, go to Science Page.

Report:  Water savings less than hoped in payment effort, H&N posted to KBC 2/23/04."The Federal government says a $1 million project that paid irrigators above Upper Klamath Lake not to water their pastures in 2002 cut water use by only half as much as the project's sponsors estimated."

PRESS RELEASE: Walden Receives "Guardian of Seniors' Rights" Award from 60 Plus Association, 2/23/04.  Congratulations Congressman Walden!! and thank you!

All logged out, 2/22/04, Bend Bulletin. 

Deeper, colder lake key to solving Basin water dilemma, 2/23/04 H&N letter.
Deepen the lake, H&N letter 2/23/04

Tribes have right to rebuild culture, but not at expense of other people, H&N 2/23/04.

Hydrology data--river flows and lake levels, go HERE 2/23/04

FOREST TOUR HOSTED BY THE KLAMATH TRIBES
This is a complete transcript taken from videotape
This day-long tour was conducted October 17, 2003 for the purpose of showing to local farmers, ranchers, businessmen,
and the Klamath County Commissioners, tribal biology and the proposed forest land acquisition.


tour stop, photo by Barb Hall
Some of the topics include sucker habitat, tribal traditions, thinning brush, deer-take practices, power plants, gentlemen farmers, and termination.
Will Hatcher

Tribal members want land closed, TriCountyCourier 2/20/04. "Question No. 3 on the survey asked, "If land is acquired as reservation land, are you willing to allow for unlimited public access as it currently exists in the Winema and Fremont National Forests? Nearly 75 percent answered "No," and 24 percent answered "Yes." HERE for articles on Tribe proposals, articles and their constitution.

Weekly KWUA update for 2/20/04.
* New KWUA Leadership Prepares for Association's 50th Year
* 2004 KWUA Directors and Alternates
* 2004 KWUA Committees and Appointments
* KWUA to Join California Water Officials at Water Education Foundation Briefing
* ODA Develops Electronic Mail List to Provide Info on Recent Pesticide Decision
* High IGD Flows + Low UKL Inflows + No "A" Canal Flows = Sucker B.O. "Bust"
* ODEQ Water Quality Administrator Resigns, Effective Today
"In essence, we have a situation where - in the absence of A Canal UKL diversions – the net combined result of the two biological opinions may lead to the curtailment of refuge supplies, and the likely "bust" of one of those biological opinions," said KWUA Executive Director Dan Keppen. "It will be interesting to see if our critics can find a way to blame this one on Project irrigators," says Dan Keppen in the KWUA weekly update.

'Root' meeting held Tuesday, TriCountyCourier 2/20/04. "We will present a package to representatives of the Bush Administration and see what they think of it," said one, who asked to remain unnamed.  "We have worked very hard and come up with a solution that has a lot of potential." 

Potential Death Nell for Veterans Cemetary by Barry R. Clausen © February 2004, Pioneer Press 2/20/04.  "Many Veterans agreed with Rocky Cantrell, President of Vietnam Veterans of America Redding Chapter 357, when he stated that the government was denying Veterans benefits to Northern California Veterans. He said, "I feel our country is making us second-hand stepchildren. It was Veterans that made this country what it is today and once again we are getting screwed by the government."

Thousands of petitions have been coming in to Basin Alliance and Liberty Alliance from the community against the proposed tribal reacquisition of land, and regarding the community against Rangeland Trust renting more water with federal funds. For petitions, go to TALKS page. For Basin Alliance website, go HERE.

Water talks losing steam, H&N 2/20/04. "Jim Root of Medford, a board member of the Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust, said the draft isn't ready for public review.'We've developed a draft that different people are going over," he said. "The draft calls for everyone to give up water for the common good.'

Most recent Klamath Lake level, 4,141.15   02-20-2004  04:00. Go HERE.

What happened to the plan to fill the lake? 2/19/04  Go HERE for USGS river flows.

Lakes, rivers, snow, H&N posted to KBC 2/19/04

 

It's plow it out, let it snow, plow it out at Crater Lake, H&N 2/19/04

"On Wednesday, the base was 12.25 feet, more than three feet above average for this time of year."

Oregon State Senator Ted Ferrioli, Eight Ripoffs in land acquisitions by Oregon's non-profit institutions, 1/19/04 Guest Editorial. "Oregon state and local governments have lost a greater percentage of revenue than in any other state in the Nation, and we still have the country's highest rates of hunger, poverty and unemployment." For more on the demise of Oregon's economy, go HERE.

Fight generating plant, 2/19/04 H&N

Access could be lost, H&N 2/19/04

William Lewis, chairman of a National Research Council committee that found gaps in the scientific foundation of Klamath Basin irrigation water management, fears Upper Klamath Lake water quality can’t be fixed. Capital Press 2/19/04

Two slightly different perspectives on President Bush's recent Klamath budget request for FY 2005 by John Keys (USBR Commissioner) and Felice Pace (Klamath environmental activist). Submitted by Dan Keppen, Klamath Water Users Association 2/19/04.

Please pray for Bucket Brigade director Barbara Hall and her husband Red---he survived the car accident. See your PRAYER PAGE. 2/19/04

Storm swells streams, snowpack, H&N 2/18/04.

USGS determines how much estimated water is saved by KBRT (Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust), posted to KBC 2/17/04.  KBRT pays cattle ranchers to not irrigate with federal money,  "We act as an intermediary between the government and landowners in a water marketing plan....They paid us the first 2 years $300 per acre for any acres we signed up.  We had a limit of 3000 acres the first year, 9000 last year....We pay the landowners $180 and use the rest for the science to show the government they're getting what they pay for", according to Kurt Thomas, KBRT. KBRT estimated the water savings at 2 - 2 1/2 AF (acre feet) per acre.  USGS estimates .9 AF per acre. Go HERE for KBRT tour partial transcript. Go HERE for more on KBRT.

Comments to the Oregon Department of Energy and the Oregon Facility Siting Council on the COB Energy Facility Draft Proposed Order, posted to KBC 2/17/04 from Roger Hamilton, past Klamath County Commissioner.

Don't forget agriculture in looking at Big Picture, Oregonian 2/17/04, editorial by Katy Coba, Oregon Dept. of Ag,  "By volume, agriculture and food products are Oregon's largest export. By value, they rank second only to electronics at nearly $2 billion a year. A majority of the Port of Portland's total tonnage of exports -- about 60 percent -- is agriculture."

Basin soaked; more coming H&N 2/17/04, "But the storm is adding to the snowpack.Crater Lake got 23 inches of new snow Monday, according to the National Weather Service. The snow brought a 5 percent rise to the mountain snowpack, pushing it from 125 percent of average Monday to 130 percent today."

The Average Person asks the Klamath Farmer, "How nice it must be now that there is so much rain and moisture, you won't have water problems this year!, right? And with the best available science, the NAS report, saying that lake levels and river flows do not harm the fish! Water level management is wrong! Wow, all is well!....right?"

Then the Klamath Farmer tries to explain
to the Average Person, "Um, well, no. Despite the peer-reviewed, best available science, despite the fact that Dr. Hardy was hired by the DOJ, DOI and BIA to petition against farmers in the adjudication and took  non-peer-reviewed opinions to shut down the Klamath Project with 'science' that has been proven flawed, despite the fact that we are having a wet year, we are not allowed to USE the best-available-peer-reviewed-NAS science. The US government is taking 75,000 AF (acre feet) of our storage and our aquifer water in 2004 no matter what; if it is wetter they are taking more. And we are not allowed to reconsult on the flawed 'biological opinion' (BO). And our government is driving the Upper Basin against  Lower Basin, neighbor-against-neighbor, in a water-bidding war.

Yes, the Average Person and the Average Farmer would normally listen to the rain and rejoice.

Please pray for the Klamath Farmer. Peer-reviewed science is not being allowed to save refuges and farms. Listen to the rain. God, we want to rejoice!

No decision on Cob plant, H&N 2/17/04.

Update from Congressman Walden, the voice of our people, 2/17/04

Endangered Species Act endangers rights of landowners, www.townhall .com,  posted to KBC 2/17/04.

BLM fee DEMO fine goes to $5,000, posted to KBC 2/17/04, Robert Funkhouser, President
Western Slope No-Fee Coalition

PRESS RELEASE: Walden Announces National Emergency Grant in Response to Closure of Klamath First Bank, 2/17/04

Court Sets Precedent Requiring DOI To Compensate For ESA Taking, westernroundtable, posted to KBC 2/17/04.

Group marks 30 years of saving trees, Oregonian posted to KBC 2/17/04. "Coos County Commissioner John Griffith, a former logger and newspaper reporter who surfs, fly-fishes and skin-dives in his spare time, sees the council's achievement as "shutting down rural economies" that depend on natural resources. "
Calendar photo by Pat Ratlif

They aren't listening, H&N posted to KBC 2/17/04. Regarding the COB plant in Bonanza,"There appears to be overwhelming opposition - a landslide you might say - by the people"  "When pressed repeatedly, however, he finally made it known that they didn't have to listen to the public and probably would not. So much for government for the people and by the people."

Bald eagle's range slows delisting as endangered, AP posted to KBC 2/17/04. "The bald eagle's territory...... stretches over much of the North American continent, with tens of thousands living in Alaska and British Columbia. The most recent survey in the contiguous United States counted nearly 6,500 nesting pairs in 2000 - up from just 417 in 1963."

Back on the table, H&N posted to KBC 2/17/04. "Former representative says the U.S. should get something in return for forest lands."

Federal money for Basin water needs: Part of the solution, H&N by Commissioner John Keyes 2/16/04.

Walden to Visit Southern Oregon February 19-21, H&N 2/16/04.

Separating people from their water, by Dr. Michael S. Coffman Ph.D, Ecologic Powerhouse, posted to KBC 2/16/04. Take time to read this concise article that explains how our government is getting away with closing millions of miles of roads and controlling our water. It is only one page, but it is important to know. It is effecting every Klamath Basin farmer--this IS our backyard. KBC

 


Commissioner Keyes

Letter to the editor, WAYYYY to much money, 2/15/04.

Weekly KWUA update for 2/14/04
* Interior Department Responds to Klamath Congressional Delegation
* Bush Administration Klamath Funding Spans Agencies and Watershed
* Commissioners Respond as WaterWatch Drops Support for Long Lake
* KWUA Welcomes Julie Borga
     {Rich McIntyre of American Land Conservancy has been promoting Barnes Ranch for storage, regardless of the neighbors' and community's knowledge that it won't store much water. Now we have Sue Ellen saying they want it for more refuge, more wetlands and habitat. NRC Dr. William Lewis last week at the science convention stressed that more wetlands won't change the lake's ph, and suckers don't need more wetlands necessarily for propagation. Why doesn't Interior just say they want to acquire more land to add to the 94,000 acres already taken from private ag lands rather than deceitfully luring support in the guise of storage? Why bother having peer-review scientists state their wisdom if there is already an agenda regardless of the lack of scientific benefits? It has been estimated that wetland evaporation is reducing available water by 100,000 AF/year.
     It's interesting that Water Watch (Rich McIntyre was vice president) changed its mind about studying Long Lake for storage.  KBC (jdk)}

Holly Swanson, author of "Set Up & Sold Out" will be the featured speaker at the March 1, 2004 meeting of the Klamath County Republican Women, 2/14/04

Environmental regulation and private property rights, The San Diego Union Tribune, 2/13/04. The Tulare ruling may effect the outcome of the Klamath irrigators taking lawsuit. However, "It remains to be seen whether the Justice Department will appeal Judge Wiese's recent decision."

PRESS RELEASE USDA: President's Agriculture Budget Proposes Increased Funding to Protect the Nation's Food Supply and Conserve Natural Resources, posted to KBC 2/14/04

Other places/other fish/same ecoterrorists; January Newsletter of Eat First -  Fish farming in enviro crosshairs

Congress likely to take up peer review in ESA reform effort, westernroundtable, posted to KBC 2/14/04. "A National Academy of Sciences review of the situation later determined the (Klamath 2001 water) shutoff was unnecessary."

Tribes were paid, H&N 2/13/04.

PRESS RELEASE: Walden Commends CARES Commission Recommendation on White City Dom, 2/13/04

Bureau adds KF public relations post, H&N 2/13/04.

TID well water levels 2/13/04

Bush guts silvery minnow money, Albuquerque Tribune Online, 2/13/04. Farmers proposed to Gail Norton to move minnows elsewhere. In Klamath Basin's Clear Lake we have abundant, thriving suckers, but those don't seem to count. It seems our government does not want to delist them, nor do the power companies. It is the only unconstitutional way they can come up with to take our irrigation water and deplete our funds and economy in the courts. We eagerly await DOI's response on transplanting the minnow.

Water rights case leaves mark on species, MSNBC 2/13/04. "Along the California-Oregon line, for example, a similar court case could leave the government with a $100 million bill for water diverted from farmers in 2001 for species protection.'

Testimony to be heard on Cob facility, Friday, , H&N 2/12/04  Go HERE for more on proposed COB energy plant.

Van Brimmer legacy, a century old, is one of vision, faith, sweat and smarts by Kehn Gibson, Staff Writer, The Tri-County Courier, 2/12/04  photos by Pat Ratliff


Walt and Joe Fotheringham

"The Fotheringham brothers had agreed to tell some of the history of the Van Brimmer Ditch Company, one of the earliest irrigation efforts undertaken in the Klamath Basin. We stood on their father’s place, a fourth-generation farm lying east of Merrill Pit Road and north of Lower Klamath Lake Road."
 

Gary Orem

Other places, same war: ESA causes water stewards to change roles, Capital Press-Idaho Staff Writer, 2/12/04.

Grants to states for endangered species conservation, 2/12/04 USFWS

Letter to KBC from Lee regarding the Tribes and equality, 2/11/04.

Event to focus on Klamath watershed, H&N 2/11/04.

We have been told by US Bureau of Reclamation people that our figures are inaccurate regarding 94,000 acres in the Upper Basin having been taken out of farmland to make wetlands. Go HERE for breakdown and documentation, and let us know the correct figures if these are wrong. Send documentation for our readers. KBC.

Plenty of water sources, H&N 2/11/04.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Fiscal Year 2004 Budget Justifications February 2004.

Another blow delivered to Klamath theory, Capital Press 2/11/04. “We could find no hint of relationship between lake level” and three technical factors commonly blamed for killing sucker fish in Upper Klamath Lake, said William Lewis. The University of Colorado aquatic specialist was chairman of a National Research Council review of federal biological opinions designed to protect two sucker fish species and a coho salmon run. Those opinions and a drought-shortened water supply triggered the April 2001 denial of irrigation water to 1,100 project farms."
    "Neither USFWS nor BuRec has indicated plans to seek revision of the opinion despite Lewis’ comment and the written NRC report issued in the fall of 2003.
"

Two file for Harper's State Senate seat, 2/11/04

OTHER PLACES-we in Klamath KNOW it can happen to us...it did in 2001:
Feds seize family's ranch; Property owners fight government 'land grab', 2/10/04, New Mexico, WorldNetDaily. Klamath Basin is also on the wish list for 'wildland' designations.
More salmon apparently not what they wanted, EatFirst 1/04.
Species protection threatened by Water-rights ruling, 1/10/04 The SanDiegoChannel
State enhances protection for Coho , LA Times 2/11/04

Whitsett to run for Senate, H&N 2/9/04

Notes from the Upper Klamath Basin Science Workshop by Barbara Hall, Klamath Bucket Brigade, 2/9/04

Water managers call for science that is useful, H&N 2/9/04
Official interest shown, H&N 2/9/04

AgLifeNW Magazine February 2004 issue, submitted by KBC. Response to President Bush State of the Union Address of January 20, 2004 from a Klamath Basin Irrigator, go HERE

Photo is of Velma and Fred Robison, 1947, WWII Homesteaders, from the Bureau of Reclamation ERA magazine.

Here link to AgLifeNW Magazine. 

 

Myth vs Fact, H&N 2/9/04 by Allen Foreman, Tribal Chairman.

Keep in mind, all of the irrigation water ends up in the refuge.  Water to farmers equals water to refuges.  In 2001, when our irrigation water was shut off, there was no run-off into the refuges, until farmers pumped water from their wells into the refuge at their own expense.    Also, "There are 200 million waterfowl use days that have to be fed here in the Klamath Basin.  Every duck has to eat 1/5 to 1/4 pound. Every goose and swan eats 1/2 pound or better.  That's about 70 million pounds of  food.  We couldn't even cover 1/2 that out of the natural systems.  The other 1/2 has to come out of the farms."  Ph.D. Robert McLandress, UC Davis, ecology
Put the refuges in the Project, H&N 1/9/04.  
Don't neglect the refuges, Oregonian 2/9/04.

People can't return to the land and life that their ancestors had, H&N 2/9/04.

Lots of snow but not much water, H&N 2/9/04
Survey results are in for winter snowpack, YREKA SiskiyouDailyNews 2/9/
04

The final day of the scientists
Science-based decision making, and consider the local economy, summarizes the wisdom gained from this week's science conference. "And if we are not given certainty of water deliveries to our crops while the agencies make unreasonable demands of the irrigator's stored water as they look  for 'solutions',  the verdict is death to our agricultural community." KBC (jdk) 2/7/04

 

Water for Life President Dr. Doug Whitsett, Bonanza, has filed to run for the Oregon State Senate, District 28,  position being vacated by Steve Harper.  Doug announced his candidacy at the Water for Life Bull Sale Consignor Appreciation Breakfast this morning  at 8am at the Klamath County Fairgrounds.  In attendance at the breakfast were Senator Harper and his wife, Sherry;  Klamath County Commissioners West,  Elliot and Switzer, along with their wives.  Additional attendees included William Kennedy, Board of Directors of the Family Farm Alliance; Herald and News Reporter Brian Cole; Dr. Ken Rykbost professor emeritus OSU, and approximately 100 invited guests attended. 2/7/04
Senate Candidate Dr. Doug Whitsett on a break from sifting bulls at the Klamath bull sale.

State OKs coho plan, 2/7/04. YREKA - "The listing of the coho salmon as a California Endangered Species became law on Wednesday to the disappointment of Siskiyou County's grassroots Save Our Shasta and Scott Valley communities (SOSS) organization that has worked for years to prevent it from happening."

Congressman Walden's 2/4/04 statement on sound science before the House Subcommittee.

Weekly KWUA update for 2/6/04
* Hardy Flow Study Proceeds: Process Opened up to Technical Interests
* KWUA Speaks to Yale School of Forestry
* California Water and Environmental Policy Makers Travel to Upper Basin
* Sec. Norton Announces that President Will Nominate Wooldridge as Solicitor
* Kandra Speaks at Science Conference

Klamath Scientists Day 3, KBC (jdk) 2/5/04. "So, between today and Tuesday, I, as an irrigator who does not want to be downsized out of business, was elated. Lake level management is not justified. Project water quality is better than river water. Wetlands don't necessarily help fish or PH and use more water than ag lands.  Suckers swim and eat and make babies regardless of lake levels and water quality. And "We don't have enough data to have restoration goals.'"

Republicans begin effort to rewrite endangered species act, 2/5/04

Searching for sound science, HN 2/5/04

"Foreigners" in "Armed Boats" Kill Klamath Fish/Outside Magazine - by Barry R. Clausen – February 4, 2004.

PRESS RELEASE: Walden Testifies on Need for Endangered Species Act Reform, 2/4/04. "We learned from the NAS that the decisions made either weren't based on adequate science or were made by misinterpreting the data they had. In either case, more than 1,000 farm families didn't receive vital irrigation water and nearly two-dozen farmers went bankrupt. I pledged then and there to pursue changes in the ESA to require outside, independent peer review of the decisions made by the government when it comes to listing or delisting a species and in formulation of recovery plans."

Water, sucker science argued at conference, H&N 2/4/04.

PRESS RELEASE: Forest Subcommittee Examines Job Loss in Forest Industry 2/2/04 "The forest industry has been criticized unjustly by radical environmentalists, who aided the large scale export of jobs overseas where lumber is cheap and, ironically, environmental standards are few.  As a result, over 900 mills, pulp and paper plants, and other forest products plants have closed since 1990 and at least 130,000 jobs have been lost since mid-1990."

PRESS RELEASE: Cubin Chairs Hearing on Impact of Science on Public Policy, 2/4/04. "A glaring example of this is taking place in Wyoming, where the supposed existence of the "threatened" Preble's Meadow Jumping Mouse has caused restrictions to be placed on more than 10,000 acres in southern Wyoming. "The shoddy science collected by the Fish and Wildlife Service still stands, and folks are still going to lose some of the beneficial use of their private lands, all to recover a jumping mouse that no one has yet shown to ever exist in Wyoming," said Cubin.

PRESS RELEASE: Walden Elected Co-Chairman of House Rural Health Care Coalition 2/4/04.

 

 

Dr. William Lewis

   In today's first session of the Klamath Science Workshop planned by the DOI, February 3, 2004. Dr. Lewis clarified; "He said that fish kill information does not support that fish are dying by changing water level."
   
The common request from the agencies was, we need a common data base, we don't monitor enough so we really don't know what helps or hinders the fish, and we need more money. Go HERE for story by KBC (jdk)
   We plan to obtain transcripts of some of the speeches soon.

Lake level low, river flows cut, 2/4/04 H&N

Walden PRESS RELEASE: Subcommittee to Convene Hearing on Peer Reviewed Science for Environmental Policy 2/4/04

Only new legislation can secure Klamath Basin refuges, 2/3/04 The Oregonian.

{Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust (KBRT) water savings: From the last 'Shilo' closed meeting, 2 attendees reported to KBC that the latest USGS study shows that .9 to 1.3 acre feet of water per acre is the water savings that has been saved in 2003 by their renting Upper Basin water. We at KBC have received nothing in writing and have no documentation, but we welcome any info from the USGS or KBRT team to clarify this issue.} KBC (jdk)

Water bank leads list of irrigator concerns, 2/2/04, H&N. Written by Deb Crisp, executive director of Tulelake Growers Association. "We continue to struggle with a "water bank" that requires an unreasonable 75,000 acre-feet for 2004 and 100,000 acre-feet for 2005. This and numerous other issues are cause for great concern while we work to revive our highly productive agricultural lands and business community."

Suckers and the Chiloquin Dam, 1/1/04. this is where we have gathered related articles and press releases for the past year regarding the Suckers and the dam. We commend the Bush administration for addressing this obstruction of over 90% of the sucker habitat by the Chiloquin Dam. A local group was formed to study the problem, and funds are being proposed to impliment the solution.

OREGON NEWS: Wilderness expansion proposal triggers debate, Statesman Journal 2/2/04. For more on OREGON,go HERE

Farming faces competing demands for water, Farm Bureau 2/2/04.""If we destroy our agricultural industry in this country, food isn't going to be as safe and we really have a homeland security issue."

FWS Press Release: PRESIDENT SEEKS MORE THAN $1.3 BILLION FOR U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE IN 2005 BUDGET 2/2/04

Green and White, we'll take all we can, H&N view 2/2/04. For more on Barnes, go HERE.

Sunday prayer



Over 300 people came out last night for Tulelake's annual fireman's crab feed. We all felt the loss from the recent sudden death of our friend, former mayor and fireman Bill McBride. His service is next Saturday, 2 pm, firehall.

Our town is family.
KBC (jdk) 2/1/04

 

 

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