ARCHIVE 27 - AUGUST 2004
also  see main archive page

    Klamath Basin Grain Harvest - August 2004. Galatians 6:7
":... for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap"
 

SPOKEN TESTIMONY OF DAN KEPPEN ON BEHALF OF KLAMATH WATER USERS ASSOCIATION Briefing on Klamath River Conditions Eureka, California August 30, 2004

WRITTEN TESTIMONY OF DAN KEPPEN ON BEHALF OF KLAMATH WATER USERS ASSOCIATION Briefing on Klamath River Conditions Eureka, California August 30, 2004

TITLE: The Man from Hood River, Will He Come Home to Solve Oregon's Leadership Crisis? By Jim Pasero, Brainstorm NW Magazine. {CORRECTION: we ran this article earlier in August however we failed to include the origin being 'Brainstorm NW Magazine' --KBC} August 30, 2004

PacifiCorp seeks parallel deals for dam renewal, related issues, H&N 8/31/04.

Judge lifts Biscuit fire logging-stop order, Oregonian, 8/31/04. "The governor (Kulongoski) believes decisions need to balance the needs of the economy with the needs of the environment, and he doesn't think the Bush administration's decision has done that, spokeswoman Marian Hammond said." (remember, this is burnt, dead, and rotting trees that Kulongoski does not want harvested in his state of the highest unemployment in the nation.--KBC)
Salvage logging injunctions lifted (08/31/04) Seattle P-I

Oregon considers, forgoes buying forest, The Oregonian 8/31/04. "Gov. Ted Kulongoski's staff has suggested the possibility of the state's buying forestland that might otherwise be developed." ...."The state forester said conservation groups expressed interest in helping buy the land" (the socialist plan of breaking the lumber industries, then having government or government-subsidized 'conservation groups' come to the rescue, is moving along quite well. With a governor who is against logging dead trees, it would be interesting to see what would become of the live ones....KBC)

3 Klamath Stories: re Congressman Thompson's Klamath River briefing, 8/31/04. "We are not willing to compromise anymore when you are killing our fish," Fletcher said, Yurok Tribe. (Thompson and Yurok's point seems to be, regardless of any peer reviewed science such as the National Academy of Science report saying that lake level/river flow management is not justified, and their was no basis to blame irrigators for dead fish, they somehow feel lack of more warm Project water killed fish 200 miles away with  4% Klamath Project contribution. They want compromise but they will not. Federal agencies and tribes have taken, this year, over 75,000 acre feet of our water, making artificially high river flows and depleting our aquifer. KBC)

Record of Decision for the electrical interconnection of the COB energy facility from Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), pdf file, posted to KBC 8/31/04. Go HERE for BPA project page.

Pacific Regional Director Highlights Grants to Benefit Wildlife In Oregon, Washington and Idaho, USFWS posted to KBC 8/31/04.  (It is interesting that Clear Lake Reservoir has a thriving population of suckers yet it has none of the vegetative habitat that is being seen as crucial to suckerfish survival. "He (Dr. William Lewis, National Research Council) explained that Clear Lake does not have the habitat that scientists are trying to create in the Upper Basin for suckers, yet Clear Lake has stable populations of healthy suckers...'These have all the characteristics we want in recovered population.--science workshop. --KBC)

8/30/04, This is a hydrograph of a well near Midland, just south of Klamath Falls. This was sent by Ned Gates, Hydrogeologist, Oregon Water Resources Department. Since the 2001 irrigation water shut-off, and the mandatory water bank  which forces basin irrigators to idle farmland and pump groundwater, our aquifer is lowering 5 feet per year. For large graph, go HERE. For more on 'waterbank', go HERE.

Letter asks for priority on Klamath water storage, H&N 8/30/04.

Council takes a tour of Cob site, H&N 8/30/04.

Fish ladder work slower than planned, H&N 8/30/04.

"This is a copy of a letter I sent to have read at Rep. Thompson's fish status forum today...", Marcia Armstrong, Siskiyou County Supervisor   8/30/04 {Monday, August 30, 2004 – Briefing on Lower Klamath River Conditions. 1:30 p.m. Eureka City Hall, Eureka, California. Organized by U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA). Among many others, KWUA and local county commissioners / supervisors will make brief presentations.}

California water costs skyrocket, Pioneer Press posted to KBC 8/30/04.

Why allow any more water to be pumped when area's in a drought?, H&N 8/30/04

New Publication from OR-OSHA - Revised Agriculture Guide 8/30/04.

KWUA Media Advisory: "In the wake of a recent field hearing held in Klamath Falls, the Chairman of the House Resources Committee sends letters to U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner and Assistant U.S. Interior Secretary"
Two letters signed by the five congressman present in Klamath Falls for the recent field hearing, plus Chairman Richard Pombo, that urge the following:
To Craig Manson, Ass't Secretary of Interior: Bring the NAS to peer review the 5-year status review of suckers. (counting the fish is a suggested place to perhaps begin)
To John Keys, USBR Commissioner: Accelerate implementation of the Water Supply Enhancement Act, regarding water storage and the water bank.

KWUA weekly update for August 27, 2004
* Update on Upper Klamath Lake Conditions and Agency Coordination
* Feds Update KWUA on Lower Klamath River Conditions and Coordination
* Reclamation Updates KWUA on 2004 Klamath Project Pilot Water Bank
* 2004 Water Situation Better than Expected on Lower Klamath Refuges
* GAO Investigators Assessing the Klamath Water Bank

US Fish and Wildlife Service, 5 Year Review of Sucker Delisting 8/26/04

Cob plant backers stumble badly, H&N editor's views, 8/26/04

Farm leaders shocked at state's decision to list coho, AgAlert posted to KBC 8/26/04

Reject tax relief for Cob, H&N posted to KBC 8/26/04.

8/26/04 Apparently there is a need to rerun this photo. The only natural outlet to Upper Klamath Lake; Link River, which flows into Lake Ewauna and is the actual headwaters to the Klamath River, occasionally went dry.

July 18, 1918  Link River Dry before the Klamath Project was built. The Project raised  water levels in the lake and river

"MBK’s (Engineer's) other assessment of Reclamation’s draft "Undepleted Natural Flow of the Upper Klamath River" report concluded that the agency report is sound and defensible, and that that downstream flows have increased 30 percent over discharges before settlement. The flow increases are attributed to the fact that irrigated land uses less water than evaporation loss from the thousands of acres of swamps and marshes that existed before the shallow lakebeds were reclaimed for agricultural use. "

Congressman Organizes Meeting On Klamath In Eureka Monday 8/25/04. "Thompson said he organized the forum to bring all stakeholders of the Klamath together to discuss comprehensive solutions to issues related to the river's resources."  (notice that farmers are missing from the "stakeholders'" on the panel, however 2 tribes are represented. KBC). For more on meeting and latest efforts by Humboldt and environmental groups, read at bottom of KWUA update.

Monument ranchers seek buyout, The Oregonian August 23, 2004. Andy Kerr was in Klamath in 2001 advocating buying out the farmers--go HERE.. He helped destroy Oregon's logging industry (helping Oregon be the highest unemployment in the nation). His tactic, as he spells out very straightforward, is lawsuits, endangered species, whatever it takes in threats and bullying, like, you will lose everything when we are done with you, so now is your chance to take government money and go away. Read  Kerr's 'Don't Try to Improve Grazing; Abolish It!'.  He moved to Wallowa to destroy the agricultural community there. This week, according to a local government agency, Kerr is back in the Klamath Basin to meet with Congressman Blumenauer, the Portland Congressman trying to force Klamath farmer buyouts called "willing sellers".

Cabbage crop faces field and market tests, H&N 8/25/04. "Rick Walsh, a local farmer, is testing out cabbage production in the Basin. His five acre experimental plot is located on Henley Road near Homedale Drive. "

No state bid for tree farm, H&N 8/25/04.

Cob facility appoints new spokesman, H&N 8/25/04.

Lake Levels River Flows 8/25/04.

Don't use a cookie cutter for land use laws, H&N 8/25/04.

At 40, nation's wilderness system thriving, nctimes.com 8/24/04.  (where has all our tax base gone? our timber harvest? our economy? our wildlife from wildfire? KBC)

Full-page ad on Cob power plant a fabrication, H&N posted to KBC 8/24/04. "The power plant's developers would like us to believe that a $600-million facility that generates $71.3 million in property tax revenue for the state, should pay only $15 million in lieu of property tax. We are supposed to believe that we should give up $3.75 million dollars a year because the Cob power plant will be "a good corporate neighbor."

Juniper management Aug 24 Tulelake Partnership

COB meetings, go HERE, August 24

Trinity water to mean fewer dead fish? H&N 8/24/04

THE KLAMATH BASIN WATER CRISES written by Reg LeQuieu, Klamath County assessor April 2002. "Historically, before the irrigation project built the dam and blew the reef, the source of the Klamath River would virtually dry up for as long as a month at a time." Posted to KBC 8/24/04

Trinity flows get a boost, H&N combined AP reports 8/23/04.  ' "'The government has no problem going out and finding water on the Trinity side, but refuses to put more water on the Klamath side,'' said Troy Fletcher, executive director of the Yurok Tribe...". (Why this insistence from Mr. Fletcher to deplete the Klamath Basin of it's water. 120 years ago we were a 30 - 40' deep lake. We rerouted it and stored it and diverted much down the river.  Now Tribes and 'environmental' groups and government agencies have not only taken our stored water to make artificially elevated water levels in the lake and river. They also are depleting our aquifer according to OWRD (Oregon Water Resources Department.). What about our 433 species of wildlife in the basin? What about the 50% of wildlife feed that our fields provide for literally millions of waterfowl? And what about us, 1400 family farms providing thousands of jobs? KBC).

PRESS RELEASE Congressman Doolittle: EPA Fraud: Congressional Western Caucus Expresses Outrage over Consumer Group's Illegal Use of Taxpayers' Funds, posted to KBC 8/22/04.  "The OIG report concluded that many of the nearly $5 million dollars in federal funds awarded by the EPA to the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) between 1996 and 2001 were ultimately used to lobby the very agency that awarded the grants." This was found from a March press release but we feel it would interest our readers.

Writer, editor and stumped

The things I still don't get, Tri County Courier by Kehn Gibson posted to KBC 8/22/04 "Commissioned by the federal Department of Justice, Dr. Thomas Hardy worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs to develop a historical study of Klamath flows to aid the Yurok Tribe in water adjudication efforts. Somehow the Hardy flow study, without peer review, walked its way into NOAA’s 2001 BO virtually untouched, and without comment?

Trinity flows will jump to help Klamath, Times Standard 8/21/04.
Feds release water to prevent Klamath salmon kill, 8/21/04, KATU 2 Portland, OR.
For facts on Fish Die-offs and projected 2004 die-off, go HERE.

According to Ned Gates, Hydrogeologist, Oregon Water Resources Department,  with the annual mandatory, Bureau of Reclamation-imposed 'water bank', our aquifer is being depleted by 5' per year. It is not recovering. Next year we are forced to idle land and pump ground water totaling 100,000 acre feet.
	State obs well 1162 shows water level trends since 1994. This well is 5 miles north of the state line and about 4 miles northwest of Malin. The big drop was 2001 water shut off. For more on waterbank, go to WATER BANK page. For larger graph, go HERE.

Public officials and private property lobbyists will share their knowledge on Oregon property rights Saturday August 21 at the 2004 Klamath Land Use Forum at Oregon Institute of Technology.

Bill Simon in Yreka Aug 21

Get mad, stop COB plant H&N 8/20/04. "This huge energy corporation wants to build the Cob power plant in the heartland of Langell Valley. It's bending every rule in the book to accomplish that. Adding insult to injury, Peoples Energy also wants to pay no property taxes for the first 15 years."

TID well report 8/20/04. TID wells did not run last week.

Land for Pensions Offer---Budapest Sun, 8/20/04. "Many of the older farmers who received land in return for so-called compensation coupons (for land that was confiscated during Communism) have now surrendered themselves to the government's alternative scheme where above the age of 60 they are entitled to swap agricultural land for a pension."
	(a U.N. solution coming to a community near you. In Klamath Basin, our government forces us sell our aquifer which is being depleted, idle farmland, sell ag land making wetland  which evaporates twice as much water, and making mandatory unattainable water quality and quantity requirements. KBC)   Hungarian invention offers water solution, Budapest Sun....(buy foreign food)

Aerial photos chart vanishing farmland, SacBee 8/20/04.

How 'Wetlands' bureaucrats crush private property rights, 8/19/04 Pacific Legal Foundation. "So here we have a person who comes to the United States and commits crimes of selling dope and the government asks me to put him in prison for 10 months. And then we have an American citizen who buys land, pays for it with his own money, and he moves some sand from one end to the other and the government wants me to give him 63 months in prison. Now if that isn’t our system gone crazy, I don’t know what is. And I am not going to do it." (This is being done by the same Justice Department who hired Dr. Hardy to crucify the Klamath Irrigators by an unattainable river flow agenda allowing no peer review. KBC)

8/19/04 KBC gone fishin'

Ocean-policy council gets green light, Statesman Journal 8/19/04. Although unanimously voted in by coastal fishermen, Governer Kulongoski refuses to give Griffith, logger/fisherman/past Oregonian reporter, a voting position on the counsel. Environmental groups like Audubon want to make more ocean into a preserve, off limits, further decimating the fishing industry. Griffith has problems with lake of science and Endangered Species Act abuse. Sound familiar? (Coos Commissioner Griffith, representing coastal fishermen, supports the Klamath Irrigators).

A river on edge: watching the Klamath for signs of another disaster, Times Standard 8/19/04. Apparently the philosophy is, if they all stand by the river saying the fish are gunna die and it's Klamath irrigator's fault, then, if they say it often enough and loud enough, if some fish die, the world will figure it's true. So, shall we release more warm Klamath Project stored irrigation water for the salmon? What about the uncounted suckers in the lake? What about the river that is still higher than pre-project? Is sucking out our aquifer, taking 75,000 acre feet of water this year, the answer as our water table is yearly dropping? 

KWUA weekly update for August 19, 2004
* California Ag Leadership Program DC Educational Fellows Tour Klamath Basin
* List of DC Fellows Participating in Klamath Tour
* California Fish and Game Commission Approves Protection for Klamath Coho
* Public Juniper Workshops Planned
* California Regional Board Proposes to Remove Upper Lost River from 303(d) list.
For more KWUA news, go to www.kwua.org

Ex-commissioner files revised ballot measures, posted to KBC 8/18/04

KF Council uneasy about Cob proposal, posted to KBC 8/18/04. "In order to get this done, we're talking about leapfrogging an enterprise zone out to Bonanza," power plant opponent Stan Heidrich said. "It's appalling, and I can't believe all the rules are being bent."

Congressman Walden Remember the dinner is tonight, August 17. Help support your representative, even if you can't attend.!

Email interaction between Humboldt University Professor Gearhard, Klamath Water Users Dan Keppen, and Waterwatch/American Land Conservancy RichMacintyre regarding river conditions.081704

Sturgeon info due Aug 17

Saving water, getting good yields with irrigation technology, TULELAKE, CA Capital Press 8/17/04.

Coho protection approved, Capital Press 8/17/04 "The listing is 'really disheartening for people who have been working cooperatively for many, many years,' she said. She said it’s frustrating for landowners who have been doing restoration projects on their land to promote coho habitat. Now those landowners could be viewed as criminals if they accidentally harm some of the fish, even though they’re helping the species in the long term. This is a pretty big incentive for landowners not to create (coho) habitat,' Giacomini said. 'And that’s not what we want.' ”

Klamath Project, Water Over-Allocated or Over-Claimed. A Clemson University student created this Power Point as a project for debate. Some of the facts are incorrect, but it is well worth your time to look at it. posted to KBC 8/17/04.

Klamath Project, Water Over-Allocated or Over-Claimed. A Clemson University student created this Power Point as a project for debate. Some of the facts are incorrect, but it is well worth your time to look at it. posted to KBC 8/17/04.

PRESS RELEASE: Walden Announces $230,000 federal investment for Laid-off Klamath Falls Workers, 8/16/04.

ESA TODAY.OTHER PLACES: .Thomas names ESA hearing witnesses, casperstartribune.com 8/16/04. "While we toil in lawsuits about species' habitats, we have lost sight of the real motivation of this act -- the recovery of species."
ESA TODAY OTHER PLACES: Shrimp Pose Big Problem for LAX, KTLA.com, 8/16/04. "Fish and Wildlife Service officials say they had no choice but to propose designating 5,800 acres in five Southern California counties as a preserve for the Riverside fairy shrimp."

2 "fish-kill" fabrications by 'environmental' writers, followed by Felice Pace story.
Klamath Indians to bend ear of dam owner, times-standard.com 8/16/04.
The Klamath River: New push for consensus on major salmon stream SFGate 8/16/04
There's a lot they didn't discuss during hearing on endangered species, Felice Pace, Orleans
KBC response to the 3 articles.

Get the taxes due, H&N posted to KBC 8/16/04

"Do you really want a huge corporation from Chicago, the COB power plant, to come into rural Klamath County, against our community's wishes, and receive a $71,000,000.00 (seventy one million dollar) tax break?"  Meeting Monday--HERE for information.

Three judges bow out of Cob decision, H&N posted to KBC 8/16/04

AGREEMENT, dated April 30, 1956, between The California Oregon Power Company, hereinafter called Copco, and the Klamath Basin Water Users Protective Association, regarding proposed agricultural pumping power rates for off-project users in the Upper Klamath River Basin boundary. Posted to KBC 8/15/04.

Water for Life's final document in the matter of the application for a site certificate for the COB energy facility (also given to all five Klamath Falls City Council members, Jeff Ball and all Klamath County Commissioners on August 13, 2004. Posted to KBC 8/15/04. 

Two commissioners wrong, H&N posted to KBC 8/15/04. "To even consider trading $71.3 million for $15 borders on insanity..." More articles and testimonies on COB, go HERE.

Cob tax petition ruled as invalid, H&N posted to KBC 8/15/04.

KWUA weekly update for August 13, 2004, KWUA LITIGATION,.is the same as the August 6 update. Since it was so long, KWUA is running it again. For past updates, go to the KWUA Website.

PRESS RELEASE: Walden to visit Klamath Falls August 17, posted to KBC 8/14/04

Walden to Hold Resources Subcommittee Hearing in Sisters on Forest Restoration and Rehabilitation, Washington DC posted to KBC 8/14/04. "goals are to protect and restore forest ecosystems, recover economic value of timber, protect and restore watershed conditions and fishery habitat, and reduce the threat of future high severity wildfires."

Please come and support Congressman Walden August 17...rsvp by August 12. For information, go HERE.  For latest on Walden, the man from Hood River, go HERE.

Endangered Species Act Sparks Battle, Fox News William LaJeunesse, 8/14/04.  "There has to be balance. If we continue down this road -- doing away with the ESA to solve this problem -- we are deceiving ourselves," said Allen Foreman of Klamath Tribes." (KBC: every witness at the congressional hearing voted that the ESA needs to be improved, and there should be peer review, because now there is not.. And not even one wanted to "do away with the ESA" as Foreman would have the media beleive. And regarding "knocking down dams", go HERE for Klamath Water Users assessment of that scenario.)

8/14/04 "Final briefs for the contested case argument against COB in the Langell Valley location, by Save Our Rural Oregon. All of the Klamath County Commissioners and the Klamath Falls City Council members who will be voting on the extension of the enterprise zone have been given copies of these documents (delivered to their offices August 13th) as soon as they were filed with the State of Oregon today.  Oregon State Representative Bill Garrard has publicly stated that he would now vote against this , given all of the circumstances he was not aware of at the time (ie: EFU land, etc)."

9th Circuit ruling reaffirms species law, Times-Standard 8/14/04. (KBC apparently they still do not see what we farmers and loggers see...that owls, bluebirds, deer, baby eagles, trees, bugs, fish, die in wildfires, however, owls are smart enough to relocate if someone cuts down a tree. This insanity has destroyed Oregon and N California's economy, and burnt up millions of acres of habitat in the guise of saving an owl.)

Ninth Circuit Upholds Lower Court Injunction to Protect Salmon, 8/14/04 enn.com. Supported by Gov. Kulongoski, Earth Justice, Sierra Club, American Rivers, etc...

Judge says listings stand pending revised hatchery policy, posted to KBC 8/14/04, cbbulletin.com.

Bureau wringing out Klamath-Trinity plan for fall, Times Standard 8/12/04. "The impetus behind the plan is the 2002 fish kill, which killed 34,000 to 68,000 chinook salmon in the lower Klamath. A huge portion of the Trinity River run died before it ever reached the confluence of the two rivers."
   "Troy Fletcher, executive director of the Yurok Tribe, sees a dichotomy in the plan. He said Reclamation denies its operations harm fish on the Klamath River, but is using Trinity River water purchased at taxpayer's expense to bump up flows for salmon. All the while more water is flowing to irrigate farms than is being allowed down the river, he said."  (Isn't it amazing that Fletcher can say that? The Klamath Project provides less than 4% of the water at the mouth of the Klamath. And downstream flows have increased 30 percent over discharges before settlement, according to the Bureau's undepleted flow study. Our entire basin was a huge lake, up to 30' - 40' deep, and now the Bureau is depleting our aquifer with a water bank, sending more down the river than ever possible historically., before the Project diverted it downstream. KBC)

Done Deal on Coho, Coho salmon ESA listing affects farmers, ranchers and loggers in Siskiyou County, at the top of the State of California, Pioneer Press posted to KBC 8/12/04. " 'Today’s rush to judgment appeared to be driven by partisan politics rather than finding the most workable solution for all stakeholders,' said LaMalfa. 'Worse, as with the listing of the northern spotted owl, we’re going to be seeing the negative impacts of this decision for decades to come. LaMalfa added that the listing was a 'huge slap in the face to the local farmers, ranchers' that have worked to find solutions for both the fish and state law water rights."

Appeal rejected on plan to poison California stream to aid "rarest trout", een.com 8/12/04. Many older residents remember when our government poisoned the 'endangered' sucker fish in Klamath, however all  proof has mysteriously disappeared. Looks like the 'single species management' in Sacramento is Klamath revisited. You wonder what new 'endangered species' will surface when all agency remembrance is gone.

OTHER PLACES: County hears update on Jarbidge case, Elko Daily 8/12/04. For those following the Forest Service's determination to close a road in Jarbidge, here is a rare case where, after years of Forest Service harrassment and expense, the government agency lost the court case. "(Forest Service) have spent tens of thousands of dollars on this $150 fine." Followed by another agency atorcity: Closure of escape route worries forest residents, San Bernadino County Sun, posted to KBC 8/12/04.

A global view of our forests, Washington Post posted to KBC 8/12/04, "As wood consumption rises, some forests outside the United States are being cut at record levels. According to University of California-Berkeley forestry professor emeritus William J. Libby, for every acre of forestland not harvested for timber here, at least two acres must be harvested in Third World forests."

TID well report 8/11/04.

PRESS RELEASE: BLM, Public Scoping Meetings on Juniper Management, Tulelake 8/11/04

Water in the West: Klamath tribes know its worth, Indian Country Today, posted to KBC 8/11/04, Followed by response quoting the NAS Committee, KWUA,  MBK engineers, Dr. Calvin Hunt and KBC, addressing numerous false and misleading statements.

Occasionally someone sends us names of donors to activist groups who are typically anti-farming, anti-timber industry, anti-utilization of American natural resources. For the latest list sent 8/11/04, go HERE.

Don't take a chance, H&N 8/9/04.

In an August 7article below on Spotted Owls, KBC sort of posed a question to George Sexton, conservation director for the Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center, wondering how he could justify burning forests and all the wildlife within. Sexton responded to KBC: "Good morning folks.
This might help answer the question that you posed to me on the KBC site: go HERE . For the bunnies, George Sexton." (KBC---perhaps a burnt snag can eventually become habitat for a lucky owl that was not in the forest fire, but we still do not feel that allowing our forests and wildlife to burn up, along with our economy, is justified. Owls can fly to another tree when there is logging, but they cannot escape a forest fire.) HERE for more on our forests.

Great collection of Klamath Archives have been compiled by Julie Smithson, www.propertyrightsresearch.org .  Go to her Klamath page, then go to her Klamath Archives .

Ex-commissioner moves to block Cob, H&N 8/9/04.  "A representative for Cob has asked the county to grant the power plant $71 million in property tax breaks over 15 years, in exchange for a payment of $1 million a year in lieu of taxes." Go to the COB page for more input from our community on the proposed siting.  (Why do you, the energy companies and licensing board, ask our opinions, then disregard our wishes and concerns? We have spoken, but you do not hear. Where is the justice? KBC)

David Carman, Tulelake homesteader

AgLifeNW Magazine, August issue, David Carman testifies on behalf of Klamath Basin Veteran Homesteaders for Field Hearing July 17, 2004  "Our community has become the poster child of abuse by the Endangered Species Act. I respectfully request that the members of this congressional committee never allow us to be betrayed by an Act that has become a tool to destroy rural America."

Tulelake Irrigation District well report, posted to KBC 8/8/04

9th Circuit ruling buttresses spotted owl protection, The Times-Standard 8/7/04. "George Sexton, conservation director for the Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center, said in a statement: 'For years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been handing out spotted owl kill permits in critical old-growth habitat like candy. The open season on spotted owls has finally ended.' "  One has to wonder how wildland advocates like Mr Sexton justify allowing our forests to burn along with owls, deer, wolves, bunnies in forests with no roads or fire protection, in the cult of "natural", however they believe harvesting forests, and saving wildlife and the economy, is like getting an "owl kill permit'.
  Return to Eden,  a story on the Wildlands Project, by Tim Findley Range Magazine

Oregon State University Klamath Experiment Station field day; Klamath aquifer being depleted, river flows historic high, new crops and methods and adjudication discussed KBC News 8/6/04.
"Marbut, OWRD, 'We are in a short term depleting the aquifer."
Sabo, BOR, "We ran a lot of water down the river, and if we'd known how the water situation would shape up, we wouldn't have done that."
Sabo, "They (U S Fish and Wildlife Service) haven't done a recovery plan on suckers since 1994."..."There's plenty of suckers around.  I think if they were looking at the population of suckers today, they wouldn't be listed."

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE; What can you say when the methane police show up? Larry Gabriel, Secretary, South Dakota Department of Agriculture, posted to KBC 8/8/04, "

KWUA weekly update for August 6, 2004, KWUA LITIGATION. "This week's edition is our annual summary of ongoing and past litigation pertinent to the Klamath River watershed. Inside, you will find summaries of nearly 30 legal cases, organized in general categories"
* Water Rights Adjudications
* Klamath Project Operations / ESA
* Litigation Challenging Diversions to Rogue River Basin
* Tribal Water Rights
* Lease Lands
* Water Quality
* FOIA

Coho put on state endangered list, Press Democrat.com 8/6/04

Hardy surfaces in CDFG report, The Tri-County Courier posted to KBC 8/6/04. "JUST WHAT HE WANTED -- Glen Spain, a field director for the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen--despite the name, only one of the group's 12 members are outside of California--told the Associated Press the CDFG report says what he knew all along....."

Smith: Bush re-election will resolve water dispute, H&N 8/5/04.

L.A. Times: Our Forests May be on a road to ruin, by Bill Clinton. Bill Clinton was the 42nd president of the United States 8/5/04

Wrong place for powerplant, H&N 8/4/04. "Very few people in the region want a power plant in Langell Valley, especially the people in Langell Valley, Bonanza, Poe Valley, and, from what I have heard, most of the people in Klamath Falls do not like the idea of it either."

Klamath Experiment Station Annual Field Day Planned for Thursday, August 5. For details and agenda, go HERE  Nematode control, Chiloquin Dam, groundwater studies, project operations are among the topics being presented. 

The Klamath Basin Water Crisis, by Klamath County Assessor Reg LeQuieu April 2002, posted and submitted to KBC 8/4/04. For more on economics, go to Economics Page.

Judge rejects tree selection process, Oregonian 8/4/04. "A federal judge Tuesday blocked logging of six parcels of timber scorched by the 2002 Biscuit fire..."

The rest of the story; the outcome of the unanswered May letter from Klamath Drainage District (KDD) to the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) regarding pumps in disrepair.8/4/04'

Want some manure?  H&N 8/4/04. "When I moved to an "exclusive farm-zoned area," the last thought on my mind was the need to protect myself from people like you who think you can push your unwanted pollution-producing industrial plants into farming communities because we do not have the population to stop you."

Tribes enlist Arnie's help in fishing feud, The Scotsman posted to KBC 8/4/04.

Getting It All Back,  RJD 8/3/04, "My god, how could we have ever allowed the “Klamath Project” and the consequent farming to have happened !   Tell me.  Are we not responsible ?"

National Research Council quotes regarding the 2002 fish die-off,  and lake levels/river flow management for suckers and coho. Posted 8/3/04

Congressman Walden Shares Views with the NWRA on Improving Endangered Species Act July 20, posted to KBC 8/3/04. "...peer review and sound science. These are principles that we’ve used in developing research and health care, medicine, and in many other areas of science. It seems incredible to me that we don’t require that basic scientific principle in peer review in the decision as to whether or not a species is going to live or die; whether or not a community, economically, may live or die, based on the consequences of decisions."

Wildlife vs. potatoes, Jim McCarthy, ONRC posted to KBC 8/3/04. According to California Waterfowl Association President Ph. D. Robert McLandress, UC Davis ecology, ( HERE FOR AUDIO), the farms on refuges and private land provide over half of the feed needed for our waterfowl. KBC.

8/3/04: Prayer request submitted by Dawn Hoffner: go to PRAYER PAGE

ACTION Alert: The New CARA bills HR 4100 and S 2590 must be stopped. Hearing Deadline Tuesday, Aug 3rd.  GO HERE

ESA Testimony for the House Resource Committee by Marcia H. Armstrong, Supervisor. District 5, Siskiyou County. " posted 8/2/04. "Employment opportunities have all but been eliminated over the past decade through restrictions imposed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and used in litigation by extreme environmentalists to stop all timber harvest, mining and now fuels reduction work" For more submitted testimony, go HERE

ESA Testimony for the House Resource Committee by Bill Pauli, California Farm Bureau Federation posted 8/2/04."Independent peer review is an essential part of the scientific process in the United States. Scientific journals will not publish scientific findings until a scientifically rigorous review and critique of the study’s methods, results, and findings by others in the field with requisite training and expertise occurs. This process is known simply as "peer review."

ESA Testimony of Langell Valley Irrigation District and Horsefly Irrigation District, pdf file posted 8/2/04.

08/02/04 Bucket Brigade Board member Barb Hall spent July 21 through the 24th in Reno, Nevada attending the 5th Annual Freedom 21 Conference.  The Conference covered "Sustainable Development - Smart Growth", Agenda 21, Private Property Rights, and the Wildlands Project.  You'll find Barb's notes on our You Need to Know - The Truth Index. (Toward bottom of page--KBC)

PacifiCorp maps (pdf file) and Briefs on the Klamath River Dams, 8/2/04. For more power issues, go HERE "As summarized by ODFW (1997): "Because of existing habitat problems, loss of native stocks, risk of disease introduction and potential competition with remaining native redband trout, it does not appear feasible, or prudent, to attempt re-establishment of anadromous salmon or steelhead to the Upper Klamath Basin in Oregon, now or in the future".

Forest Battles Escalate in Oregon, Counterpunch 8/2/04.  "'Indeed Biscuit could be a landmark battle for the future of Northwest forests. "Turning native forests into fiber farms is like a religion to these guys,' Sexton contends." {I, KBC, twice have been camping in  forest camps that were evacuated from wildfire because wilderness areas prevented fire suppression. The last one had bald eagle nests all around the lake, deer, wolves, bears and owls in the forest. They all burned up. I'd say that the "religion" Sexton attributes to forest harvesters (Biscuit fire logging is burned, rotting wood) should be fixed on the "natural" "wildland" proponents who would rather see a forest burn than be thinned or harvested as a renewable resource}

Washington Post goes off its rocker, H&N 8/2/04. Commentary by H&N editor followed by original Washington Post article.

ONRC using Basin issues, H&N 8/2/04

Thomas to chair endangered species field hearing, Casper Star Tribune 8/1/04.

TID well reports, posted to KBC 8/1/04.  For past TID reports go HERE.

July Klamath Congressional Field Hearing – What Was Learned? "This interview was publicly released by the National Water Resources Association (NWRA) earlier this week." Interview with Dan Keppen, Executive Director of Klamath Water Users Association, posted to KBC 8/1/04.

______________________________________________________

8/1/04  With an upcoming court date for a judge to decide why Trinity River fish died in 2002, Dept of Fish and Game decided to double the amount of fish they say died 2 years ago and blame the Klamath Project irrigators. They have devalued or ignored the National Research Committee report that states that there is no empirical support that the Project irrigators killed fish.  They ignore the fact that, "flows have increased 30 percent over discharges before settlement." according to the Bureau of Reclamation Undepleted Flow report. A coalition of environmental groups are barraging the press with propaganda, so, here goes:
Klamath fish died from dearth of water, Times Standard posted 8/1/04
Fishermen, environmentalists cheer Klamath Report, Bend.com posted 8/1/04
DFG Releases Final Report About Fish Kill On Klamath, Eureka Reporter  posted 8/1/04
Klamath River fish kill may be worse than originally thought, Seattle Times posted 8/1/04
Number of fish deaths in Klamath questioned, Oregonian 8/2/04

For scientist David Vogel's reports:
Major Problems with the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) 'Fish Kill' Report.  In 2002, the  DFG was the major source of allegations regarding the Klamath River fish die-off, blaming the Klamath Basin irrigators, 200 miles away. In this presentation Vogel personally gave to the DFG Director and those employees who wrote the report, he exposes the agency's inaccuracies.
 Document by fish-scientist David Vogel, directed to the Fish and Game's statements on the 2002 fish die-off.  posted to KBC 10/7/03
 Go HERE for Assessment of Klamath River Water Temperatures Downstream of Iron Gate Dam During September and October 2002, by David Vogel.
MORE articles and facts on 2002 fish die-off page.
_______________________________________________________

Scott River Water Trust, by Marcia Armstrong, Siskiyou County Supervisor, posted to KBC August 1, 2004.

Recent articles regarding the proposed COB energy  plant, posted to KBC 8/1/04:
Take it or leave it, H&N
Bargain hard, then build the Cob plant, opinion by Tim Fought, H&N editor
Why give up tax revenue, H&N
Taken for a ride? H&N

Bills to watch, Washington Watch 8/1/04

OTHER PLACES: Save the Dolphin scam exposed by Coos County Commissioner John Griffith, posted to KBC 8/1/04.