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

Archive 65 - October 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

Congressman Walden Update - Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2007 (HR 2262), posted 10/30/07. "...it will result in a major threat to America’s long-term stability...HR 2262 totally fails to recognize that mineral availability is a cornerstone to robust economic activity because minerals support the broadest range of manufacturing and industrial businesses, including transportation, defense, aerospace, electronics, energy, agriculture, communication, construction, and health care. "

Dikes blasted to restore Oregon marshland for endangered fish, Oregonian 10/30/07, FOLLOWED BY: Levees breached to restore Klamath wetlands (KBC NOTE: this is the first we, the farm community at large, has heard that this is another project with TNC that will take 20,000 acres out of farmland. Multiply that by double the evaporation of ag land and worse water quality. The Oregonian says Cheney gave farmers water killing fish..go here for the facts clearing Cheney. One farmer on TNC board has before stated that every time land is taken out of ag land in the Upper Basin with the promise of storage, that has never panned out. In the Oregonian article his support of this project does not speak for all of his community, nor does the support of the other farmer who is mentioned speak for us.

Explosions Destroy Levee Near Klamath Lake, ktvl.com 10/30/07.

07. HERE for TNC Page.

Sucker fish are getting back their old home, Oregonian 10/29/07.

(KBC NOTE: this will add 7400 acres to more than 100,000 acres already taken out of private ag and flooded by the gov't and The Nature Conservancy, evaporating 2ce the water used for agriculture irrigation. The Upper Basin tax base and cattle industry are decimated. Dr. William Lewis of the National Academy of Science testified that breaching dikes and taking more land out of agriculture will not help suckers or water quality) It will add more shallow warm water to evaporate and warm the Klamath Lake and River.

NOAA Fisheries Service Announces Actions to Mitigate Effects of Hydropower System, Recover Salmon Stocks; product of two-year collaboration with states and tribes, 10/31/07

California commission recommends ripping out Klamath Dams, Washington Times 10/29/07, FOLLOWED BY comments on Free Republic forum, "Tear them down. California doesn’t need electricity."

Power rates to increase next year, H&N, posted to KBC 10/29/07

Measure 49 unfair; it would take away rights that should belong to property owners, H&N by Senator Doug Whitsett, posted 10/29/07

Adaptability a key word in agriculture, H&N, posted 10/29/07. Includes ag sales from '98 - '06.

Mount Ashland ski growth blocked, H&N, posted to KBC 10/29/07. "The ruling is another setback for efforts spanning 20 years by the Mt Ashland Ski Association."

Posted Oct. 29, 2007, The Miners Speak: files by miners thread regarding writer Dan Bacher's and Karuk spokesman Craig Tucker's anti-mining articles.The thread was censored by Bacher, but someone had saved it and sent it to KBC.
A letter by 'Jeff' to Dan Bacher regarding his anti-mining article.
Bacher's article: Governor Vetoes Bill To Protect Klamath, Salmon Rivers from Suction Dredge Mining, DAN BACHER, posted to KBC 10/16/07. (KBC NOTE: Bacher's photo is a fraud. Go HERE for story about the false photo.)
HERE for Miner's page.

Measure 49: Make sure you read it carefully, George Warner, Klamath Fall for H&N, posted 10/29/07

Fishermen to meet with governor, ocean use debate, by Susan Chambers, The World Link, posted to KBC 10/28/07. "Verger said at a packed Aug. 22 OPAC meeting in Charleston that Coastal Caucus constituents have made it clear they’re unhappy with the marine reserves process and that OPAC and the governor’s office must work to gain back the trust of the public."..."Kulongoski forged ahead with his plans for protecting Oregon’s ocean in British Columbia on Tuesday."

Editorial: Fire is a part of California; state must prepare, SacBee 10/28/07. "bring environmental leaders and fire officials together on ways to manage brush and dead trees through thinning and prescribed burns."

Latest S. Cal fire comments from Palm Springs: "The democrats are blaming Bush for the fires and global warming. However the Sierra Club and other environmental groups caused many of the forests to go un-thinned for more than 60 years, fueling this firestorm and loss of life."

Biofuels in the Klamath Basin and how local ag can be involved, Pappe Ganders in Merrill 7:30 October 29, back room.

Golddredger.com forum discussing California Dept Fish and Game's continued agenda of exterminating suction dredge mining rights, 10/27/07

Tulelake Irrigation District well water levels, 10/27/07

NOAA Fisheries asks judge for more time on coho listing case, CB Bulletin, posted 10/27/07

OCTOBER 26, 2007 California Farm Bureau Friday Review "Today's Friday Review is the last issue of this legislative year. It is an update on the Governor's actions on many bills that CFBF has been tracking. We'll resume reporting in 2008 when the Legislature reconvenes." HERE for more bills, laws and court events.

Comments posted on Sacramento Bee website regarding Hillary for President, 10/27/07.

Family Farm Alliance on Colorado water storage projects, 10/27/07

East, West clash over wilderness, Capital Press 10/26/07

KBC READERS: In the following articles we may glean a little information about the settlement talks discussing dam removal, water rights, flows, and now ocean wildlands:
Ocean council hears Klamath, fishing issues, The Times-Standard 10/26/2007
Ocean Protection Council talks dams, project funding, The Eureka Reporter 10/27/07
Calif. Ocean Protection Council to hear Klamath settlement talks, Daily Triplicate, posted 10/26/07

Comments on Oregon Measures 37 and 49, Capital Press 10/26/07

Our new Biological Assessment is out, 10/24/07 Page 29, Element Four, Water User Mitigation Plan: "Work with the KWUA to establish a Water User Drought Mitigation Plan which could be implemented to lessen the impact to water users when the Project experiences a water shortage. The Plan initially will be managed by Reclamation for a four-year transition period, after which it will be the sole responsibility of the KWUA under a Joint Powers Agreement..." Please, will someone explain the meaning of this to the KBC readers?? We at KBC weeded through several pages of this BA. Dikes to Klamath Lake will be breached, thousands more acres of farmland will be converted to swamps further evaporating water and raising the PH as proven before; these are the things that the National Academy of Science told us NOT to do to improve water quantity and quality.
PRESS RELEASE: Biological Assessment, Bureau of Reclamation posted to KBC 10/24/07

Measure 49 would take away rights, 10/24/07 Statesman Journal Opinion

Bureau of Reclamation weekly water report, Herald and News 10/24/07.

When Man Is Endangered, Investor's Business Daily 10/23/2007. "That would be the 1973 Endangered Species Act. It's the same law that cut off an irrigation project earlier this decade along the California-Oregon border that 1,400 farmers were counting on."

"Klamath — Upper end below Iron Gate is plugged with king salmon, 8 to 20 pounds, the standard size for this river..." Record Net 10/24/07

"The (following) worksheets contain the latest Chinook salmon run update for the Bogus Creek and Shasta River Fish Counting Facilities. The run estimate for this year is preliminary at this time. On October 19th we experienced abnormally high flows for this day. As a result the run size estimates for October 19 are incomplete because of turbid water and periodic power shortages..." Mark Hampton, CDFG Yreka, biologist Klamath River Project.
Cal. Dept Fish and Game adult Chinook video count Shasta River, Sept-Oct 2007.
CDFG adult Chinook video count Bogus Creek, Sept-Oct 2007

Beware the Watershed Group, William Jud, posted to KBC 10/24/07

Need funds for Carnegie legal defense fund, Agencies deny he was killed by a wolf: by 10/24/07

Lt. Gov. John Garamendi has canceled his trip to the North Coast, being pulled instead to visit fire ravaged areas of Southern California. See article below:
State officials touring North Coast, Times Standard 10/23/07. "...and others who sit on the California Ocean Protection Council will be briefed on the status of settlement talks regarding the Klamath, after touring the lower river Wednesday...A large group of varied interests -- including fishermen, tribes, irrigators and others -- have been meeting over the past year to come to terms over a number of difficult problems facing the Klamath River basin." (KBC NOTE: Yes it is a large group of environmental groups, tribes, no miners, no loggers, no Oregon coastal commercial fishermen, no people living on the dam reservoirs, and a very small group of farmers who cannot talk to their constituency about what rights and water they are negotiating in exchange for removal of 4 Klamath River dams. Our community is not allowed to know the details. Troy Fletcher of the Yurok Tribe said they have held several meetings to tell their people. We farmers are not at the table)

The woman is Wafa Sultan, an Arab-American psychologist from Los Angeles on Al Jazeera television. We suggest watching it ASAP because we don't know how long the link will be active.
http://switch3.castup.net/cunet/gm.asp?ai=214&ar=1050wmv&ak=nul

Potato Festival, Merrill Saturday Oct 20.

What Measure 49 Does to the Small Measure 37 Claimant, from Dave Hunnicutt, President Oregonians In Action 10/19/07

The Problems of Measure 49, Democrat Herald 10/19/07, "...the measure reaffirms the principle that the government is in complete charge of our land and its putative private owners may be allowed to do something only at the sufferance of lawmakers and officials in Salem."

KLAMATH Basin: Beyond National Security; Inside the Wire & Operating from Within, Pioneer Press 10/19/07. "dirty cops working hand in hand with radical Native separatists and leftwing ideologues seeking to upset local and regional economic health and balance. In this formula, the dirty cops get hand outs, the anti-western Native revolutionaries destroy economic infrastructure, and the socialists running the dope trade strengthen their grip over policy makers. It's a win win all around except for pro-western farmers, ranchers, and common folk unaffiliated with the drug trade - that's you, your family and friends." For more drug cartel info, scroll down on our Crops Page. And on destroying our infrastructure, go to our Dam Page.

Wilderness bill debate boils down to East versus West, Missoulian 10/19/07

***Solution to global warming, go to Global Warming page.

PRESS RELEASE: Groups Seek Remedy for Wolves Impacted by Cows, Wolf Crossing, 10/19/07: “This is a backdoor attempt to permanently force out of business people who have created endangered species habitat. These are the very allotments where habitat has been created by the rancher’s excellent livestock grazing management. The irony is wolves would not be on those ranches harming people, if the habitat were not spectacular they would still be in the wilderness where habitat is obviously lacking.”

President Bush Press Conference, 10/18/07

***Kill giant new wilderness bill before Oct. 18!!

Bonanza FFA tops in soil judging, H&N 10/18/07

Shasta River Fish Counting, by California Fish and Game, 10/18/07
Bogus Creek fish count 10/18/07
Shasta River fish count summary, 10/18/07

KBC reader responds to Dr. Gierak's comments on mining bill 1032, 10/18/07.

Oregonians In Action: Small Business Organizations Unite Against Measure 49, 10/18/07

Whitsett candidate for re-election, 10/18/07. “ I will continue to battle for the best business environment possible for our small businesses, farmers, fishermen, ranchers, and other natural resource users.”

10/18/07: We received this message from a coastal commercial fisherman: "Now is the time! It's estimated that more than 400,000 king salmon have invaded the Klamath-Trinity River system since heavy rains blew open the mouth of the river last week. Indian gill netters already have filled their quota of 21,000 fish, so there are no impediments to the spawning run. Driftboats are claiming limits of salmon, 8 to 14 pounds, with top fish going to 20 pounds. Fresh roe is the ticket. Good stretch is from Iron Gate Dam down to Interstate 5. Wild trout and steelhead to 16 inches are in the mix, as well. Stockton guide Dave Mierkey will be fishing daily through the end of October. Information:(209)475-0403 (Stockton); (530)842-2229 (Yreka)." (KBC Note: does this mean we can keep the dams in and let the farmers have irrigation water? Klamath Lake is at a 10-yr low.)

A salmon run for the ages, Record Net 10/17/07. "This year's spawning salmon run is one for the ages. Forecasters believe at least 400,000 adult kings - 8 to 20 pounds - will return to the Klamath....