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

Archive 62 - August 2007
also see main archive page

Around 1900, Link River, between Upper Klamath Lake and Lake Ewauna, occasionally went dry before the Klamath Project was built. There was no hydropower, no hatcheries, occasionally no fish (fish need water), no artificially-raised river flows or lake levels. HERE for more

Rerun, lest we forget: Nature, Not Man, is Responsible for West Coast Salmon Decline, John Carlisle study, posted to KBC 2/2/06, A Publication of the National Center for Public Policy Research. "The immense influence of the oceanic cycle on salmon should give politicians and bureaucrats considerable pause before implementing costly policies that penalize people. Even if this natural cycle was not the culprit, the failure of past attempts to maintain or increase salmon populations suggest that a regulatory approach is not advisable."

Karuk Tribal member James A. Waddell to Karuk Chairman Arch Super, 8/31/07. "Do the Karuk members know that over the years the Karuk Council members have helped political obstructionists to shut down loggers, sawmill workers, and related local businesses? Water users? Farmers? Those working citizens used to be part of the economy of Siskiyou County! Gone to find other jobs!"

(Paisley, OR) Timber harvest project is intended to reduce fires and diseases, H&N 8/31/07

Herald and News weekly water report from Reclamation 8/31/07

Eat That! Mandatory NAIS forced on 12-yr-old children at county fair, Good Neighbor 8/29/07

California Farm Bureau Federation Friday Review, 8/31/07. "Today's Friday Review contains the following bills, SB 180, SB 974, SB 1001, SB 719, SB 691, AB 1100, AB 1180, AB 297, and AB 762."

Karuk - No Reservation, My Opinion, by Barry R. Clausen, August 31, 2007. "Based on documents and interviews it appears obvious to me that the Tribal Council wants to stop all farmers, ranchers and recreational use of the Klamath and Salmon Rivers. There are over 50 areas of the Salmon and the Klamath that will be either closed or restricted to gold prospecting each year if Assembly Bill 1032 passes this year."

Family Farm Alliance August review, 2007. "The tri-county board is also sponsoring a study of Boultner Lake, located in a roadless area...(WY). The existing reservoir was built in the 1920s and has only limited motorized access, which restricts maintenance of the outlet works unless extensive U.S. Forest Service permits are secured. Now, the outlet works are unusable and the stored water behind it cannot be used by the Sublette County irrigators downstream."

Letter sent by Barry Clausen regarding letters concerning Karuk Tribal Council corruption, 8/31/07

Grant to restore Basin watershed, H&N, posted 8/31/07. "Ducks Unlimited received a $789,563 federal grant to help restore t he Upper Klamath Basin watershed."Groups involved in the project include The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Klamath Watershed Council, KBEF/Klamath Basin Ecosystem Foundation, and Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust." For KBEF board of directors go HERE. KBEF and Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center are both members of Orion Network.

Conservation credited with thwarting California energy crunch, Sacramento Bee, posted 8/31/07. "Earlier in the day, the state's largest energy consumers were notified that they might have to go dark to help prevent blackouts." (KBC Note: do we really want to take out 4 Klamath hydro dams which provide power for 70,000 homes annually? Do you want to be the one with no power?)

Karuk Tribal leadership seeks hostile takeover, by John Goodwin, Pioneer Press opinion, posted to KBC 8/31/07

ESA does not trump Clean Water Act, Stoel Rives, posted 8/31/07

Slam! Karuk, Riverkeeper file lawsuit in state court, Pioneer Press posted 8/31/07. "Karuk Indian tribe was charged with collecting water samples, and health workers took blood samples from area swimmers, fisherman and boaters from August 17 through 19. The CDC granted the Karuk nearly $85,000 to conduct the sampling, and the tribe paid $40 to every lake user who volunteered to help with the two-day sampling effort."

Tulelake Irrigation District water levels 8/29/07

And You Think The Indians Lost to the White Man, Ron Ewert, posted 8/29/07

Several counties located within/adjacent to an Indian reservation received a 2-page letter from the Census Bureau explaining how they will be within tribal jurisdiction. The Mayor of the Town of Hannah responded. 8/25/07

Dear KBC, I am a supporter of maintaining the dams. Please see the article on salmon and steelhead fishing published in California Game and Fish September 2007 issue. The article starting on page 28 shows that the fishing guides are seeing a lot of good fishing and expect a very good fall of fishing for salmon ad steelhead. Proof the water is goods and fishing is good. Keep the dams!. Rich Bodnar

Parties say magistrate acted as 'science arbiter' in coho case, August 24, 2007 Columbia Basin Bulletin

Coalition appeals discounting of hatchery fish, 8/24/07

Groups sue North Coast water board over Klamath River dams, Register Guard, 8/23/07

Karuk Leader Arrested, North Coast Journal 8/23/07

8/24/07 - Today's special chat is with George Sexton, Conservation Director of the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center. HERE for full interaction. He brought to our attention that it was not Earth First, EF (the eco-terrorist group demonstrating for removal of Klamath Dams, but rather Earth Liberation Front, ELF, whose members are all in prison for burning Vale, Colorado resort. What we learned today is that ELF sprung from EF and is still an arm of EF. "(EF!) is a "warrior society" that takes a "by any means necessary" approach to "defending mother earth." The group declines to participate in the democratic process, preferring instead to damage, disable, and destroy the property of its ever-growing list of enemies. EF! targets include, but are by no means limited to, loggers, ranchers, and farmers -- especially those who grow genetically modified crops. Earth First!ers' crimes include assault, arson, and untold acts of sabotage."

Spotted Owl comments by 8/24

Board discusses Klamath Watershed, Siskiyou Daily News, posted to KBC 8/23/07. "... he did an excellent job, especially in providing the clarification that the blue-green algae is a natural occurrence – that the source of phosphorous is not purely an act of man but of nature.” (KBC NOTE: Miller, paragraph 10, wrote in his publication that if all nutrients into Klamath Lake were halted (1965) there would be enough nutrients already in the system to keep the same high level of algal productivity for 200 years.)

Federal judge denies PacifiCorp request to throw out Klamath dams toxins case, posted 8/23/07. (Plaintiff Klamath Riverkeepers, including Karuk Spokesman Craig Tucker and Klamath Forest Alliance founder Petey Brucker, is a project of Klamath Forest Alliance, according to KFA co-founder Felice Pace. Go here to see dam removal efforts by Earth First. HERE for Klamath Dam page.)

Bureau of Reclamation Hydrology database of the Klamath Project.

Nature group backs Measure 49, The Nature Conservancy, which usually avoids politics, has given $360,000 to limit Measure 37, Oregonian, posted 8/23/07. (KBC NOTE: Oregon voters voted for Measure 37, however Oregon democrats and enviro groups are paying to limit property rights. HERE for more on Measure 37)

Ron Williams: Dams provide cheap, clean energy we can't afford to lose, Idaho Statesman, posted 8/23/07

Awesome wildlife butterfly and moth website, just type in your county. Presently in the Modoc private farmland and on Tulelake Fish and Wildlife refuge farmland you will see the annual Monarch butterfly migration. Referred by USGS, posted to KBC 8/23/07

Weekly Klamath Project water report, Herald and News from BOR, posted 8/23/07

How Much Water Do You Need to Grow a Hamburger? USGS August Science Picks posted 8/23/07

Ducks Unlimited receives Klamath River watershed grant, DU posted 8/23/07

Tulelake Irrigation District well pumping 08/14/07-08/22/07
Tulelake Irrigation District ground water levels through 8/22/07

All TID wells will be turned off by 1:30 PM today (posted August 21, 07). Earl Danosky, Tulelake Irrigation District Manager.

Water Update by Bureau of Reclamation for 8/15, received from Bureau 8/21/07

NAIS "Opt-out" now available, but no one knows about it, Eco-Logic Powerhouse, posted to KBC 8/23/07

Farm Bureau challenges seven bills, Capital Press, posted 8/23/07

8/21/07. "Leaf Hillman was transported to the Siskiyou County Jail today. His bail is set at $50,000." Barry Clausen
"Charges were filed against Karuk Tribal Vice Chairman Leaf Hillman on Friday August 17, 2007 by Siskiyou County District Attorney Kirk Andrus. The charges are domestic violent battery and a special enhancement as the battery produced great bodily harm. The incident was at a post-fish count party celebrating the salmon count on the Salmon River. Hillman's wife Molly was struck in the face with a beer bottle. The 911 tape described the assailant and said he wore a head band and a tank top shirt. Apparently, this is the type attire worn by Hillman much of the time. There are also witnesses to the assault." by writer Barry Clausen

Thorn meeting's worth our time, Blue Mountain Eagle, posted to KBC 08-21-07, "A major employer in Grant County has closed its doors for lack of timber and a declining lumber market. There will be many men and women and their families directly affected by this, but Mr. Riverwind (Sierry Club) feels that the meeting would be a waste of his time."

07. (KBC NOTE: Apparently Earth First has joined the dam-removal DEMAND. HERE for Klamath Dam Page. HERE for article on Earth First.

8/20/07: Klamath Lake Level mandate information from Cecil Leslie, Bureau of Reclamation Klamath Office:
    "the absolute bottom we can go to in a Critically Dry Year is 4137.0' at the end of September."
    "the Dry Year end of September elevation minimum is 4138.2' "
    "the end of August minimum elevation for a Dry year is 4138.6' "
    "These elevations are from the smoothed curves agreed to by Fish and Wildlife Service and Reclamation"

8/20/07: Greg Addington, Director Klamath Water Users Association, in answer to KBC question, said "I hope to have at least a month (public comment period). But I just flat don't know how it will work." regarding the settlement with the Klamath River Tribes, enviros, KWUA, and 26 groups in secret negotiations regarding dam removal, farmland, water available to farms, land retirement, power rater, etc. See Dam Page for more hints here and there by the negotiators.

The Ethanol Scam: One of America's Biggest Political Boondoggles, Rolling Stones, posted to KBC 8/20/07

Family Farm Alliance August Report, posted 8/20/07

Prayer request from former Tulelake resident Rick Rinabarger's nephew Mark Thomas. Go HERE. 8/17/07

Combating crime in Chiloquin, Community works to improve reputation, Herald and News, posted 8/17/07

House Hearing Fails To Link Klamath Fish Kill To VP Cheney , NW Fishletter 8/17/07

Growing crops and ducks, Integrating wetlands into commercial crop rotation in the basin, Pioneer Press, posted to KBC 8/17/07, followed by Compromise, and Environmental Groups.

Judge says 16 salmon listings satisfy ESA; PLF to file appeal, CB Bulletin 8/17/07

Ocean productivity, marine 'upwelling' driven by jet stream, CBBulletin, 8/17/07.

CA Issue Capital Press 8/17/07, by Jacqui Krizo
"Claude Hagerty takes a break from swathing his second cutting of organic hay on his lease in the Tulelake U.S. Fish and Wildlife Refuge. With power rates increasing $30,000 in his district yearly, cropland being farmed for biofuel rather than food, and political pressures taking water away from farmland, Hagerty is concerned about farmers’ ability to feed a hungry world.

Hagerty recently toured Israel. He said if the people who built their aqueducts 2000 years ago could visit America today and see our technology, they would be flabbergasted that we can’t figure out a way to assure water for our crops."

Potatoes, Staunton Style, Farming in the Klamath Basin, Potato Grower, posted to KBC 8/16/07. “It is a win-win situation. The wildlife loves it because there are instant wetlands rich in food and habitat. Farmers love it because it rejuvenates the farm ground.”

HERE is a letter from a Karuk Tribal member to the Karuk Chairman regarding Tribal government corruption in the proposed takeover of Happy Camp Health Services, 8/16/07.

Yurok working toward legal system, Triplicate, posted 8/16/07. "The report states that 34.1 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native women will be raped during their lifetimes. The figure compares to one in five for the nation as a whole."

HERE for dam removal articles and negotiations with Karuks, Yuroks, Hoopa's, along with Klamath Water Users and 26 groups, including gov't agencies and environmental groups in closed door sessions. You and I are not welcome at the table. According to KWUA director Greg Addington, there will be a comment period when they decide we the people may be allowed to see what they have decided to be in our best interest, before the settlement is a done deal KBC

PLF Vows Appeal of Salmon Ruling So That All Fish Get Counted, Pacific Legal Foundation, posted 8/16/07

Farmers reap high grain prices, H&N 8/16/07

Signatures roll in for eminent domain initiative, AgAlert, posted 8/16/07

EPA says no special review of 2,4-D needed after years of research data prove it's not a human carcenogen, posted 8/16/07 by Industry Task Force II

Coming soon to KBC: ASK Elaine. "Do you know... that one small Montana tribe of 5,130 people had, in 2004, an annual Operational Management Budget of $373 million? This annual budget of a single tribe is larger than the national U.S. Fish and Wildlife's annual budget for the entire country." Go HERE for details about her book. 8/6/07

Tulelake Irrigation District well water update, August 7-14, 2007
Tulelake Irrigation District well water levels 8/14/07. "We will be reducing well pumping this weekend and will shut off all wells by the first of next week," said Earl Donoski, TID manager.

Peer Reviews of Northern Spotted Owl Draft Recovery Plan Posted. Public comments will be accepted until August 24, 2007. FWS gives us only 7 working days to respond! 8/14/07

Discord rumors in (Klamath) water talks just that, H&N 8/14/07. For letters between Tucker and KBC regarding the tribes and settlement, go HERE.

Bureau of Reclamation weekly water report, Herald and News 8/14/07

Karuk Intimidation Game, My Opinion - By Barry R. Clausen August 2007. "When I talked to some Happy Camp residents they stated such things as, 'If I talk to you my life will be in danger.' Another resident made a similar statement when that resident stated, “ I can’t talk to you or I will be in danger.' ”

Letter to KBC from Gary: "Wallowa County presently is suffering from narrow economic opportunities. Closing our forest access would all but kill ranching, tourist revenues and keep new people away from establishing permanent residencies." (KBC was in Wallowa County this spring. The State is private property owners to sell their land to them. The State is promising to fix their private dam and will give control of it and the irrigation water deliveries to an out-of-state Nez Pierce Tribe. Most of their forest is designated wilderness already. The feds, tribes, state and enviros want it all; they already have most of it)

Production costs soar across West; Statistics reveal how much more it costs to farm and ranch in Western U.S. 8/10/07 Capital Press

Farm economy strong in the West, Capital Press 8/10/07

California - Tribes tangle over slots pact, SacBee 8/10/07

Tainted Chinese products keep surfacing; Bad toothpaste turns up in prison, Herald and News 8/10/07. HERE for poisonous imported food.

(Karuk) tribal leader accused, Beer Bottle Assault, Pioneer Press, posted to KBC 8/9/07. "Mollie Hillman, the wife of recently re-elected Leaf Hillman, vice chairman of the Karuk Tribe,...was treated for blunt head trauma and multiple face lacerations. ...Sheriff's Department spokesperson, told the Pioneer Press that Tribal leader Leaf Hillman is a suspect in the injury case."

Officials push Long Lake plans, H&N 8/9/07.

Tulelake Irrigation District well pumping, August 1-7.
TID water levels August 7, 2002

Letters regarding the "war" in Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, The Observer 8/9/07. (the writer's son Travis, fighting for freedom in Iraq, wonders why he is there and not fighting the war in Wallowa)

Reward Offered in Wolf Shooting, Fish and Wildlife Service 8/9/07. (KBC NOTE: rumor has it that there is a $10,000 reward for the guy who shot it). More on wolves see wolf page.

Kulongoski vetoes only government accountability measure of 2007 session, But adds 1,777 new jobs to state bureaucracy, 8/9/07 Oregon State Republican Office

Corn Facts, Not Corn Flakes! EcoLogic 8/9/07. "Some two percent of the population feed the rest of us..."

Bald Eagle Leaves Endangered Species List, FWS 8/8/07.

Klamath Water Report, H&N for 8/6/07

COOL Victory: R-CALF members make it happen, AZ Range News, posted to KBC 8/9/07, "Only cattle born, raised and slaughtered in the United States will qualify to receive the 'Product of the U.S' label..."

Fur should fly, Colorado Gazette, posted to KBC 8/7/07. "The inquisitors were hoping for a smoking gun linking Vice President Dick Cheney to the die-off of salmon in Oregon’s Klamath River, stemming from a water dispute in 2001, which was the focus of a recent expose (read: hit piece) by The Washington Post. But no damning revelations were produced by the dogs and ponies paraded before the committee."

Fishermen discuss no-take zones, The Daily Triplicate, posted to KBC 8/7/07

State purchases Chief Joseph’s gravesite Long-disputed: Eastern Oregon land will become a large public park, H&N, posted 8/6/07. (KBC Comment: KBC was invited to share Klamath water and land-grab experiences this spring with the fine farmers from Joseph. On a tour of this property, Steve Krieger showed us his land, how the intended development would not even be in sight of the grave, and showed the buffer that the state previously demanded from him. He was harassed and threatened with condemnation of the land until he was forced to sell. There are no indications of cultural sites. By the way, the state owns the entire other side of the lake as an enormous park; the state wanted it all. The Nez Pierce Tribe did not live in that area.) Go HERE for Chief Joseph's Prayer.

Science clears Cheney in Klamath salmon die-off, by Jerry Reynolds, Indian Country Today, posted 8/4/07

Breeder loves border collies, politics
Capital Press, posted 8/4/07.
"So began the lives together of Geri and Dan Byrne on a cattle and sheep ranch near Tulelake, on the Oregon-California border."
"...The American public is so far removed from farming and ranching these days, they want to legislate it, but they don't understand it..."
PHOTO: Geri Byrne bred this litter of border collies for specific desirable traits to work cattle.

Appeal takes hatchery/wild listing debate to ninth circuit, posted 8/4/07 Columbia Basin Bulletin

Hearing explores proposed bill to expedite sea lion removal, posted 8/4/07, Columbia Basin Bulletin

Guest Opinion: Are salmon really endangered? Sonya D. Jones, Pacific Legal Foundation, and John R. Lott Jr., author of Freedomnomics and senior research scholar at the University of Maryland, Statesman Journal 8/2/07

Scientists say coastal low-oxygen zones forming again, August 03, 2007, Columbia Basin Bulletin

Growing power bills drain irrigators; Malin farmer sees his monthly bill go from $100 to $500 H&N 8/2/07. (KBC NOTE: Thanks to Yurok and Hoopa Tribes and Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen (PCFFA) and enviro groups which petitioned against the Klamath Irrigators continuing to get an affordable power rate, Project irrigators will be paying 2400% rate increase. Their goal was to reduce irrigation, which would eliminate Klamath farmers. Presently farm operations are beginning to crumble. However in exchange for dam removal, these same friendly groups will support an affordable power rate in the settlement.)

Commentary: Grazing protects our rangeland ecosystem, by Dan Byrne, CFBF Ag Alert, posted to KBC 8/2/07. "Managed grazing is an integral part of our family ranch, where we produce cattle, hay and grain. We graze cattle on the same private and public lands that we have for the last 130 years. We have seen firsthand the benefits of grazing to wildlife, insects, native plant species and the rangeland ecosystem as a whole."

Tulelake Irrigation District well report 8/2/07
Tulelake Irrigation District water levels, 8/2/07

Dear KBC: Why kill wolves? 8/2/07