May 1, 2001

Judge Denies Oregon Farmers' Desperate Plea for Water

By Jeff Barnard Associated Press Writer

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) - A federal judge denied a desperate plea for water from farmers in the Klamath Basin, citing treaty obligations to two tribes and the Endangered Species Act's protection of endangered fish.

Angry farmers said they would continue to fight, despite the judge's advice to give up lawsuits and seek a long-term solution through negotiations with the government, Indian tribes, salmon fishermen and conservationists.

"This is far too big to let it ride and let it go," said Don Russell, chairman of the Klamath Water Users Association. "We're talking human lives here."

U.S. District Judge Ann L. Aiken, ruling in Eugene, on Monday denied a request for an injunction restoring irrigation flows. She said the Klamath Water Users Association and others were unlikely to prevail in their lawsuit against the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which controls the major irrigation project in the Klamath Basin.

The lawsuit sought to reverse the Bureau of Reclamation decision April 7 to allocate nearly all water in the Klamath Project to endangered sucker fish in Upper Klamath Lake, the project's primary reservoir, and to threatened coho salmon in the Klamath River, which drains the basin.

With mountain snowpacks at only 29 percent of normal, the bureau had no water left for 90 percent of the 200,000 acres of farmland irrigated by the Klamath Project. The estimated 1,400 farms produce primarily hay, potatoes and cattle.

The judge wrote that while it is clear that the farmers face severe economic hardship, the threat to the survival of the fish is greater.

And under treaty obligations to the Klamath and Yurok tribes, which have cultural and economic ties to the fish, and the Endangered Species Act, the bureau had no choice, she said.

Bureau of Reclamation spokesman Jeff McCracken said he hoped mediation would lead to a solution.

The Yurok Tribe sympathizes with the farmers, but their use of the limited water available in the basin needs to be reduced, said Troy Fletcher, the tribe's executive director in Eureka, Calif.

"There is not enough water to go around," Fletcher said.

"The project has been getting water at the expense of all the other users and economic interests for quite a long time," said Glen Spain of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations.

AP-ES-05-01-01 0938EDT

This story can be found at : http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGA7ES9Q7MC.html

-- Anonymous, May 01, 2001

Answers

Yep. we NEED our fisheries. We SELL our fish to buy food. GEEE howcome there ain't no food to buy with our fish money???

MADNESSSSSSSS!!

-- Anonymous, May 02, 2001

hot link to story

The cattle should get some water, at least.

Anyone who has been following the chemtrail line of thought, could this be a result?

-- Anonymous, May 02, 2001

CONtrails, they are CONtrails. Sweetie says so and Sweetie wouldn't DARE lie to me.

-- Anonymous, May 02, 2001