Island of hope develops in Klamath Basin
Amid a
rising tide of lawsuits and political posturing over the
management of endangered and threatened fish species along the
West Coast, an island of hope has emerged in the Klamath
Basin.
Instead of legal maneuvers and politics, this island is based
on trust, compromise and importantly, facts. And because of
that, it has every indication of doing what the lawyers and
politicians haven't been able to do: help the area's
endangered fish and farmers.
Recent examples
To understand how incendiary the issues of fish management
are, consider two recent examples from the three-ring circus
that passes for fisheries management in the West:
• In federal courtrooms in Washington, Oregon and California,
lawyers have tried to convince judges the extent to which
native and hatchery runs of salmon and steelhead should be
considered in managing the comeback of the fish. It has been
left to individual judges to sort out the arguments. The only
certain result: Those judges' opinions will be appealed.
• Rep. Nick J. Rahall, chairman of the U.S. House Natural
Resources Committee, has targeted Vice President Dick Cheney.
His "crime?" Cheney was concerned about farmers in the Klamath
Basin. The federal government cut off their irrigation water
in 2001, causing farmers to lose most of their crops.
The next year, Cheney is "accused" of contacting water
managers in an effort to avoid another water cutoff that would
have further decimated the region's agriculture.
Blame Cheney?
Though Cheney's political opponents would like to blame
Cheney's actions for a fish kill that happened later on, a
California Fish and Game Department report found that a gill
disease, unusually large salmon returns, warm water and low
river flow contributed to the problem.
Of those factors, only the water flow was controlled by
humans, according to the report.
Whatever the results of the lawsuits and the Capitol Hill
maneuvering, it is a safe bet that they will not lead to peace
among water users, resource managers, Indian tribes, fishermen
and others.
However, that does appear to be happening in the Klamath
Basin, and it's happening without legal maneuvering or public
grandstanding.
A group of 26 organizations that consists of growers, Indian
tribes, conservationists and government agencies has met since
2005.
Initially, the meetings were held to discuss relicensing four
PacifiCorp hydroelectric dams.
Those discussions have since become the basis for
wider-reaching discussions aimed at a broader settlement of
the many issues, including fish survival and providing
adequate irrigation water.
The result is an island of hope for people in the Klamath
Basin - and a model for how other groups can work together to
resolve complicated and difficult problems.
Not been easy
Doing that has not been easy, said Greg Addington, executive
director of the Klamath Water Users Association, one of the
groups that has been involved.
As part of their discussions, all of the groups have signed a
confidentiality agreement that has helped them to avoid public
disputes.
Once a settlement is reached - hopefully this fall - its terms
will be announced.
"They're all very difficult (problems) and require this group
to think outside the box," said Troy Fletcher, the Yurok
tribe's lead negotiator. "Communities are working hard to try
to resolve this," Fletcher said.
"We've worked very hard to not fall back in that mode of 'I'm
right and you're wrong,'" Addington said, adding that he and
other participants worry that the lawsuits and political
wrangling in Washington, D.C., could derail the talks.
If that happened, it would be a shame.
For once, the lawyers and politicians should stay out of the
way and let cooler heads resolve these important issues.
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