"Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act." Dietrich Bonhoeffer - Christian Pastor executed by Nazi Germany 1945

Klamath River Hydroelectric Dam Page and the former KBRA/Klamath Basin Restoration "Agreement" and related Klamath Dam Removal settlement agreements, articles, letters, videos, press releases, documents, and Who's Who
KBC's KRRC / Klamath River Renewal Corporation (Dam Destruction Group) Page  
Includes:
* Who's Who  Who are these people, groups, and tribes who have shut down: more than 40 saw mills, Klamath River Basin's suction dredge mining, and much use of surface and well water to irrigate. And who do they have associations with. Who have they sued over logging, mining, and water rights.

COMMENTS DUE September 25! Press Release 9/18/18: Reclamation releases draft environmental document for Cold Creek Coho Passage and Screening Project. 43 page Draft Environmental Assessment Cold Creek Coho Salmon Passage and Screening Project. “The project would be funded in the amount $116,054.77 by the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and administered through National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to Trout Unlimited (TU) as part of the 2016 Klamath River Coho Habitat Restoration Grant Program (Grant Program).” More on TU and Klamath HERE

PRESS RELEASE - CA Congressman LaMalfa Urges Strong Forest Management in Final Farm Bill Conference Report, posted to KBC 9/21/18

Project water relief funding advances, H&N, posted to KBC 9/21/18.

$500,000 in water study funds cut, H&N, posted to KBC 9/21/18. "...Klamath Tribes stated in a press release last week there is now no flexibility to even consider water allocation negotiations until significant progress is made on improving water quality in Upper Klamath Lake..." KBC Note: Klamath Tribes have been suing Klamath Water Users to shut down our deeded irrigation water all summer.  

FAA supports Tulelake airport sale (to Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma) as settlement hearing (with Tule Lake Committee) looms, H&N, posted to KBC 9/21/18.

Klamath's JC Boyle Dam removal complies with water quality, H&N, posted to KBC 9/21/18. 

Mikkelson continues (Klamath) water talks; details vague, H&N, posted to KBC 9/21/18. “We believe that it will be a process that will be open and will lead to public discussion and involvement across the board,” ...Mikkelsen was vague on the details of an agreement in process but said he could say more on his next visit."

Tule Lake Committee seeks injunction to stop airport sale, H&N, posted to KBC 9/1/18. KBC NOTE: The H&N editor again did not collect comments from the agricultural community, which consists primarily of WWI and WWII veteran homesteaders and their families who are dependant on the Tulelake Airport for crop needs, emergency services, and the many services of an airport. It services a 200x200 mile area (40,000 square miles). The activist Tule Lake Committee has continuously sued our town, county and Macy's Flying Service for many years petitioning against an airport security fence to save lives of pilots and passengers. Their stated goal is to acquire our airport, along with the 1400 acres already acquired to tell their story of being relocated here for 4 years after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. The city chose to sell the Tulelake Airport to the Modoc Tribe from Oklahoma because the tribe committed to keeping our airport as a functioning airport to service our communities. For more on the legal attacks on our community by this group for several years, and their ties with CAIR, go here:  Japanese vs Tulelake controversy

TuleLake Committee 1st amended complaint for Injunction: TLC vs Tulelake and Modoc Tribe from Oklahoma 8/22/18.
TuleLake Committee Injunction, TLC vs City of Tulelake and Modoc Tribe from Oklahoma 8/21/18

Finch and Fires, by Oregon State Senator Dennis Linthicum, posted to KBC 9/1/18. On wildfires and dam destruction

"But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.," Hebrews 3:13

DOI Secretary Ryan Zinke: ‘Environmental Terrorist Groups’ Play Role in Western U.S. Wildfires, Breitbart, posted to KBC 8/18/18. Excellent Audio of interview with Zinke in the Breitbart link. Follow above link regarding ESA, forest management, ... “We have been held hostage by these environmental terrorist groups that have not allowed public access — that have refused to allow [the] harvest of timber,” Zinke told Washington Deputy Political Editor Amanda House on Breitbart News Saturday on SiriusXM Patriot 125. This includes as many as 80 million acres of land filled with trees that have died from beetle infections or other causes..."

KID's manager, office specialist on administrative leave, H&N, posted to KBC 8/18/18.

California Farm Bureau Federation Friday Legislative Review 8/17/17. Proposed bills: replacement of diesel agricultural vehicles and equipment; industrial, agricultural and large commercial sector energy efficiency programs, sellers of electricity to procure a minimum of 60% of their electricity products from eligible renewable generation resources by 2030, forestry, hemp, Farm Bureau opposed land use bill, waste hauling, wildfire preparedness and response,  WILDLIFE: "...if AB 2528 were to pass the state would require additional protects for salmonids in the areas of the state the bill designates as strongholds..."
CFBF Friday Legislative Review 8/10/18.

OFS Oregonians For Food and Shelter legislative update e-newsletter 8/17/18. Suspected carcinogen lawsuits, WOTUS is back, Ryan Zinke: 'Environmental Terrorist Groups' Play Role in Western U.S. Wildfires, forest management, politics.

Renowned wolf OR-7's a father again, Mail Tribune, posted to KBC 8/18/18. OR-7 was "the first wolf in western Oregon since 1937..." According to OPB, there are at least 124 wolves in Oregon and 12 packs, and growing: https://www.opb.org/news/article/oregon-wolf-population-2018-count

Water case moves to Portland, H&N 8/15/18. "A Klamath County court case that could affect both endangered Lost River and shortnose sucker and the outcome of the irrigation season in the Klamath Basin has been moved from San Francisco to Portland...in the case brought by Klamath Tribes..."
Judge transfers Tribes' lawsuit to Oregon court, denies injunction, H&N 7/26/28.

Klamath Project Drought Response Agency hires help, Forms committee to negotiate with BOR, H&N 8/15/18. "A group tasked with facilitating the disbursement of $10.3 million in drought relief funds..."

Judge urges state to act on Upper Klamath Lake water distribution, H&N, posted to KBC 8/15/18. "...judge...ruled in favor of the Klamath Irrigation District...by urging the Oregon Water Resources Department to make a determination on the distribution of water in Upper Klamath Lake..."

Klamath County Commissioners float concept of new gauge in Wood River, H&N, posted to KBC 8/15/18. "...The goal here is to make sure that we have captured all the water in the river so that we have accurate data for all the stakeholders..."

*Tulelake Irrigation District notice of election to file for board of directors, deadline Aug 10.

Tulelake Irrigation District Notice of Election for Board of Directors, Filing deadline August 10, H&N, posted 7/18/18.

City of Tulelake election for 3 council members. Nomination papers due to office of Tulelake City Clerk by August 10, 2018.

Oregon State Senator Dennis Linthicum comments to ODEQ regarding JC Boyle Dam removal, posted to KBC 7/18/18.

Tribes oppose irrigators’ $50 million bond request, H&N 7/18/18. "...the Tribes filed a motion for a preliminary injunction directing BOR to maintain lake levels at a minimum required to ensure fish survival...the Tribes are required by federal law to put forward financial security to cover losses incurred as a result of the injunction...the annual crop value of irrigators within the Klamath Project was reported at $169 million in 2016..(Klamath Tribe) chose to seek a remedy at a time that would inflict the worst possible damage on the agricultural community...
(Court hearing is) this Friday in San Francisco before Judge William Orrick.."
KBC NOTE:
* There are 10's of thousands of suckers in Klamath Lake
* There is no number of how many suckers the tribes or government want in the lake to unlist them as "endangered"
* After the 2001 complete water shut off to the Klamath Project, the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences in 2004 wrote that the 2001 Klamath Project water shut-off was not scientifically justified. This was after there were millions of dollars worth of crop and contract losses, bankruptcies, heart attacks, suicides, and mass exodus of our Hispanic Community that had lived and worked here for decades.
*Land in the south end (Tulelake) of the Klamath Project was historically a navigable lake, up to 30' deep, over where our crops are now. It was rerouted and diverted OFF that land and INTO the Klamath River to "feed a hungry nation". Now the Tribes and government agencies want to deny us 2 feet of water to irrigate our crops.

* The biological opinion calls for historically high water levels in the Klamath Lake. Before the Klamath Project was created, the Klamath River occasionally went dry. (no water, no fish).

*Klamath Project irrigators supported removal of Chiloquin Dam, an experiment that was supposed to bring back 90% of sucker habitat, restore the suckers and irrigation water certainty. In spite of that permanent experiment, the Klamath Tribe has called on irrigation water.
* 97,160 acres of land was taken out of agriculture from ag as primary water usage (above Klamath Lake) just through 2006.  Government agencies and TNC promised that these farm and ranch acquisitions would save water, improve water quality, benefit fish, and store water for the rest of the irrigators and put more water into the Klamath River. The opposite was true.
*Dr William Lewis Jr NRC/National Research Council said we should not count on retiring agricultural land land for saving suckers, and fish kill information does not support that fish are dying by changing water level.
*"Caspian tern population along the Columbia River has been responsible for around 15 million to 20 million salmon smolts being eaten annually." So they made artificial islands on Tule Lake and Klamath Lake to lure these fish-eating Caspian Terns to the Klamath Basin.

Tule Lake Committee (Japanese activists) makes counter offer for Tulelake airport land, H&N, posted to KBC 7/15/18.
HERE for Japanese vs Tulelake page. KBC NOTE: Read about their constant litigation against our airport to shut it down; they want it in addition to the already 1400 acres of Tulelake Land already acquired to tell their 4-year story of the Japanese at the Tulelake relocation camp after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Their website calls us locals "white supremacists." And in the above article they claim to want to "work with all parties in good faith."

Tulelake council approves first step to sell land underlying airport, H&N, posted to KBC 7/15/18. "Tulelake City Council held the first reading of an ordinance authorizing the sale of the land underlying the airport to the Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma. The airport itself is owned by Modoc County... In two legal challenges, the Tule Lake Committee, which includes Japanese Americans who were incarcerated at Tule Lake and their families, fought the construction of the (security) fence..."

Tulelake City Council ordinance to sell Tulelake Airport land to Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma, July 2018

< Soaring through the ranks, H&N, posted to KBC 7/15/18.  The U.S. Air Force promoted Andrew P Hansen, from Klamath Falls, to brigadier general this past month.

Why I stand in opposition to dam removal along the Klamath River, by Oregon State Rep E Werner Reschke, posted to KBC 7/11/18.

County intervenes in Klamath Tribes water allocation lawsuit, H&N, posted to KBC 7/11/18. "...On May 29, the Tribes requested an injunction that could lead to a shutoff of irrigation water...Multiple other parties have filed their intents to intervene in the case, including the Hoopa Valley Tribe, Yurok Tribe, IFFR/Institute for Fisheries Resources, Klamath Riverkeeper and PCFFA/Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations. The case is assigned to Ninth U.S. District Court Judge William Orrick, in San Francisco..." KBC NOTE, FYI: Klamath Riverkeeper was formed by and includes Karuk Tribe spokesman Tucker and director Hillman and Klamath Tribe board members. PCFFA created IFFR.

Lava Beds re-designation effort resuming, H&N, posted to KBC 7/11/18. 

President Trump Pardons Dwight & Steven Hammond, LaMalfa Press Release, posted to KBC 7/11/18

Comments due July 6 for Klamath refuges acquiring irrigator's water

KWUA pushes back on (Klamath) Tribes lawsuit, H&N, posted to KBC 7/3/18. “ 'I would suspect that if the Tribes prevail, we could expect a shutdown extremely soon after that,' said Scott White, executive director of the KWUA..."

Science behind listing of endangered fish should be public, by Christine Hankins, Bonanza, letter to H&N 7/3/18. "...has anyone ever wondered how the ”endangered” short-nosed sucker existed for millennia before the local dams ... made it possible to keep lake and river levels so high?"

Tulelake City Council Meeting 7/3/18 to read ordinance for sale of Tulelake Airport to Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma

"A meeting to discuss ways to work with the Modoc, Klamath and other tribes and with Rep. Doug LaMalfa, who's far Northern California congressional district includes Modoc and Siskiyou counties, (was) planned 1 p.m. Monday, (July 2) at the Natural Resource Conservation Office, 611 Main St., in Tulelake," H&N 6/29/18

American Indian tribes (Modoc Tribe from Oklahoma) used by convicted payday lender Scott Tucker settle with feds, Kansas City Star 6/26/18

What is the Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma? Tribe in negotiations to purchase Tulelake Airport, Herald and News, posted to KBC 6/27/18.

 

Bly imposes water restrictions, H&N, posted to KBC 6/27/18
 

PRESS RELEASE: Reclamation releases 2018 Klamath Project operations and drought plans, Bureau of Reclamation, posted to KBC 6/27/18

Department of Interior adviser Alan Mikkelsen in the Klamath Basin: Water solutions a long way off, H&N, posted to KBC 6/27/18

California Farm Bureau Federation Friday Legislative Review, posted to KBC 6/27/18. Truck rules, CEQA, Commercial Feed, CPUC, Cal Fire and timber harvest, labor, land use, rural crime, taxation...

Environmental, fishing groups sue Oregon over coho salmon, Statesman Journal, posted to KBC 6/27/18. "...Poor logging practices by the Oregon Department of Forestry is causing real harm to the Oregon coast coho and commercial fishing families who depend on these magnificent fish for their livelihoods," Glen Spain (PCFFA/IFR attorney) said, the northwest regional director for the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations and the Institute of Fisheries Resources, both plaintiffs in the case..."

"Rather than seek out yet another unrelated non-profit to funnel the money through, PCFFA created a new organization..." IFR / Institute for Fisheries Resources. KBC NOTE: That link directs you to PCFFA/IFR page detailing their many Earthjustice (partially funded by George Soros) lawsuits against Klamath Irrigators in the takings case, power rate case, shutting down suction dredge mining, Klamath River water quality TMDL's, essentially against timber harvest, farming, mining and river dams.
 

KID forms drought response agency, H&N, posted to KBC 6/27/18
 

Comment period til June 15 for recreation sites after dam destruction
 

Tulelake News: The Disputed Second Life of an American Internment Camp, CityLab, posted to KBC 6/14/18. "...The ( Tule Lake Committee, a Japanese-American civil rights organization based in the Bay Area.) group’s actions to halt the fence project—and their goal of eventually moving the airport—is not sitting well with Macy, or the Tulelake community at large. 'We’ve been here for 65 years and now people are coming in here and saying this belongs to us, you have to leave,' Macy told the Bee. “I think what happened to the Japanese in 1942, we’re back in the same boat, the tables have turned on us, we don’t have any money or political muscle to fight this in the courts.”...The City of Tulelake recently started negotiations with the Modoc of Oklahoma—a Native American tribe based in Ottawa County, Oklahoma—that wants to buy the airport. If sold, it is unclear how tribal sovereignty would interfere with the Tule Lake Committee’s preservation efforts. For the Japanese American members of the Tule Lake Committee, regaining access to the land beneath the airport would be more than another reparation. Instead, the land could serve as testimony to this dark chapter in the country’s history for future generations."

Tribal call restricts Chiloquin water use, H&N, posted to KBC 6/14/18. "...residents in Chiloquin cannot use city water for anything other than human consumption following a call on water by the Klamath Tribes..."

Notice of potential litigation for defamation by Kogan Law Group against Herald & News, Ed Bair, Ross Fleming, Jason Chapman, more... posted to KBC 6/13/18.

* (Public Comment) meeting on J.C. Boyle Dam removal Tuesday at OIT, H&N 6/10/18. "Written comments are due by 5 p.m. on Friday, July 6"  * Response by Senator Dennis Linthicum

***Tulelake Japanese Relocation Camp plan finalized: Press Release on the TuleLake Unit GMP/General Management Plan, posted to KBC 6/10/18
***Tule Lake Unit World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument General Management Plan and Environmental Assessment Finding of No Significant Impact Modoc and Siskiyou Counties, California May 2018.
KBC News editor comments: Lava Beds National Monument Superintendent did not include in his press release that most of the Tulelake Community, settled by WWI and WWII veteran homesteaders, opposed their multimillion dollar GMP plan C and supported Plan A, including Modoc County, the City of Tulelake, Tulelake Growers Association, Tulelake Irrigation District, Macy's Flying Service, and our representative and U.S. Congressman Doug LaMalfa as well as surrounding communities that our airport services (40,000 sq miles). Our local concerns were drowned out by national groups like Tule-lake Committee (Japanese group suing our local airport and deems our local farmers and ranchers as "white supremacists"), our NPS who campaigned for the massive plan C with a national campaign, and Manzanar (WWII relocation camp) Committee's partner CAIR, Council on American-Islamic Relations, which advertised broadly. A driving incentive for these groups is "Under an incoming federal administration that threatens a Muslim registry and mass deportations if not incarcerations, the lessons of Tule Lake are needed more than ever."  http://resisters.com/2016/11/28/adopt-alternative-c-for-public-access-to-tule-lake/
   Stated in the General Management Plan includes how these developments will contribute to getting the designation changes to being Tulelake National Historic Landmark, opposed by our county and community due to the local impacts. The GMP supports willing sellers, easements, land exchanges, partnerships, donations, and acquisitions beyond the 1380 acres already acquired for their construction and agenda.
   HERE for our Japanese vs Tulelake Controversy web page of articles, documents, letters, litigation info against our airport

KWUA: Court should move Tribes case, H&N 6/10/18. "Klamath Water Users Association is asking that a federal court in Sacramento or a federal court in Oregon be used to hold a hearing about the lawsuit, stating that San Francisco is outside the purview of where the case originates...'They (Klamath Tribes) want to require Upper Klamath to be held at an unprecedented and artificially high elevations for suckers year-around,” said Brad Kirby, president of the association and the association’s operations committee chairman, in a news release. “I wouldn’t expect there to be any water at all available for Klamath Project irrigation and wildlife refuges until there are new biological opinions, which is not expected until 2020.' ”

Klamath farmers fear midseason water shutoff, California Farm Bureau Federation Ag Alert, posted to KBC 6/10/18. "They have little guarantee they will receive enough water to finish the season—and continuing legal action could shut off water this summer..."

2 1/2 years ago: Record number of suckers recovered. Biologists find 732 juvenile suckers near A Canal screen, H&N 12/18/15. "A record number of juvenile Lost River and shortnose suckers were recovered from the headwaters of the A Canal earlier this year. According to a news release, biologists with the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) found the largest number of juvenile Lost River and shortnose suckers since fish salvage operations began in the Klamath Project in the late 1990s..."
Klamath Tribes sue to protect fish, H&N 5/25/18

Water, federal aid enroute to Klamath Project, H&N, posted to KBC 6/10/18. "The Bureau of Reclamation’s Klamath Basin Area Office said that there is roughly 55,000 to 56,000 acre feet available to the Klamath Project during June, with a total of about 195,000 to 200,000 acre feet anticipated for the summer irrigation season..."

Siskiyou County Water Users Association / SCWUA Spring Edition Newsletter 2018, "Save the dams, Save the salmon"

Feds OK expert panel for Klamath River dam removal review, Eureka Times Standard, posted to KBC 6/2/18

FERC ignores salmon mandates, recommends keeping Klamath dams, Capital Press 11/16/07. "Federal licensing authorities Friday recommended keeping PacifiCorp's four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River, siding with the utility and ignoring calls from fisheries agencies to build fish ladders...Federal Energy Regulatory Commission chose trapping and hauling fish around the dams rather than building expensive fish ladders and reducing power production to help salmon..."

Water quality: State issues JC Boyle removal draft certification. Public hearings June 12 at OIT: posted to KBC 6/2/18. "Klamath River Renewal Corporation (KRRC) submitted its application to the DEQ in September 2016 for water quality certification..."  Who is the KRRC?

KLAMATH FALLS - Enviros squabble over governor's (Kate Brown) nominee (Greg Addington) to Environmental Quality Commission, The Oregonian, posted to KBC 6/2/18. "...Addington was the executive director of the Klamath Water Users Association...He was heavily involved in the 2010 Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement and the accompanying settlement to remove four dams on the Klamath River...In a letter to the Senate, Rothert said the historic Klamath agreements would not exist without Addington. 'American Rivers is confident that Mr. Addington would serve the EQC as a constructive member with great skill and integrity.' "
Here for KBC's Who's Who Page for American Rivers: "George Soros helps fund Earthjustice, who pays for American Rivers attorney fees..."

North Coast Regional Water Board: Klamath Water Quality Report Card: released October 2016  supporting Klamath Dam Removal, posted to KBC 6/2/18.

Strategy to form the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement: Cal/EPA Environmental Justice Action Plan May 18, 2005. Lead Agency: State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB)

Dam removal leaves need for new recreation sites, followed by Comment Period extended to June 15, H&N, posted to KBC 6/2/18. KBC Note: with the vast majority of Klamath and Siskiyou Countys' residents opposing Klamath hydro dam removal, the latest strategy seems to be planning destruction of old, and creation of new "recreation sites", and assuming the dams are coming out. After all, that's the statement from Department of Interior, tribes and liberals wanting rural America to be wild and pristine for their vacation enjoyment. Well, not to mention the 20 million cubic yards of sediment between the remaining mucky stream and the devastated communities and obliterated scenic reservoirs.

*** PUBLIC COMMENT: Klamath Dam Removal ODEQ Meeting Notice for June 12th, and Response by Senator Dennis Linthicum, Oregon District 28, posted to KBC 5/28/18."...There is estimated to be in excess of 20 million cubic yards of accumulated sediment behind these structures...equivalent of 2 million ten-yard dump truck loads of silt, sediment and sludge which should be removed. Is ODEQ willing to dump that into the river system? ...if your company owned 100 dump trucks it would take 20,000 round-trip excursions to remove and discharge that much debris somewhere on our pristine landscape...there won’t be any reservoirs available for flushing-flows or regulating the volume of dilution flows and the result will be degraded river conditions..."

* Draft Principles for Potential Klamath Basin Resource Management Discussions, April 30, 2018 * REFINED Draft Principles for Potential Klamath Basin Resource Management Discussions, May 2, 2018 * Mikkelsen visits Basin stakeholders, releases framework for water agreement, H&N, posted to KBC 5/12/18. *  What the Herald and News Mikkelsen article did not mention was that comments were due by June 15th from 'chosen' stakeholders, to be sent to Ed Sheets, the facilitator in the KBRA and allied closed door Klamath Dam Removal 'agreements'. See Ed Sheets page, and his track record in Montana

Klamath Tribes sue to protect fish, H&N 5/25/18.
Klamath Tribes vs USBR, USFWS, NMFS
Klamath Tribes Press Release regarding sucker lawsuit 052418
KWUA PRESS RELEASE - Klamath Water Users Association,Klamath Tribes action will hurt basin, fish benefits unlikely, 5/24/18.  "...why haven't Klamath Tribes shared this information...that lake levels will work now when they haven't for over 25 years..."
Dr. William Lewis Jr, National Research Council, at Science Workshop in Klamath Falls "Lewis explained that the suckers were listed since 1988 because of over harvest.  They stopped fishing in '87 but they did not recover. The lake has gone from 3' range under natural conditions to experiencing 6' deep in current dry years. With charts and graphs he showed the habitat and water quality, algae and chlorophyll. He said that the committee looked extensively at water levels, and they find 'no hint of a relationship'. He also said that there was no relationship between lower water levels and extreme ph levels. And "the committee cannot support the idea that water levels effect algae growth.' "It can not be achieved by lake levels." '92 was the lowest water year, and they expected it to be the least favorable for fish. 'The lowest water year produced the same amount of larvae as other years.' He said that fish kill information does not support that fish are dying by changing water level." 2/3/04

Water on the way to Klamath Project, H&N, 5/24/18. "...up to 3,500 acre feet is available for delivery to Klamath Project irrigators starting today and running through May 31 before deliveries start on June 1..."

Emotions run high as water dips lower, H&N 5/23/18. “I feel like we should have access to the water that’s above the projected Biological Opinion thresholds, and currently we do not, even according to the Bureau’s modeling...Reclamation is currently implementing the court-ordered dilution flows that resulted in 3,000 cubic feet per second in the Klamath River for 13 days, or roughly 50,000 acre feet. Ironically, POI and spore concentrations dropped prior to implementing the flows,” White said in a news release. “Then POI increased when the dilution flows began. Family farms and ranches have suffered this month for another failed experiment and continued mismanagement of the water.”

Karuk Tribe questions restoration of Ruffey Rancheria, Eureka Times-Standard, 5/25/18.  Here for questions and answers from the Ruffey Tribe: Ruffey Rancheria Setting the Record Straight

State water actions taken without first determining what the actual facts are, by Senator Dennis Linthicum, Commentary for H&N, posted to KBC 5/21/18. "Scientific examination would clarify that some wells do impact surface waters while others do not. OWRD seems to suggest that in all cases, at all times, and in all circumstances, groundwater wells impact surface flows...OWRD ought to know with certainty that an individual well is harming a senior water right-holder, before shutting-down specific water resources..."

PacifiCorp lends more water to Reclamation, H&N 5/22/18. " '...the question for the Bureau is how much of that 9,500 acre feet will actually be able to go to the Project and how much of it is to just keep required Upper Klamath Lake levels,' Gravely said."

Malheur occupation's Ammon Bundy to speak in Yreka May 26th, H&N, posted to KBC 5/21/18. "Bundy... plans to share his passion for individual land rights with Siskiyou County residents. 'I think they have some good reasons to be concerned with what’s happening in their area...The destruction of the dams is certainly a part of it...' "

Growers wait on federal drought declaration for aid, H&N, posted to KBC 5/21/18, followed by contacts for Modoc, Siskiyou and Klamath Counties.

'Ruffey' tribal recognition bill passes committee, H&N, posted to KBC 5/21/18

Local water supply faces threat, H&N letter by Scott Bunyard, posted to KBC 5/21/18

Survival mode: Pacificorp, irrigators to share water, H&N, posted to KBC 5/21/18

Ecclesiastics 10:2 - "A wise man's heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish man's heart directs him toward the left."

5/12/18 - USDA FSA and NRCS / The Farm Service Agency offices in Klamath, Modoc and Siskiyou counties are planning an informational meeting on Tuesday May 15. The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. at the Merrill Civic Center 365 Front Street, Merrill Oregon. Topics include reporting requirements needed to maintain eligibility for USDA programs, an overview of prevented planting-failed acreage reporting and available disaster programs.  Representatives from crop insurance, Natural Resource Conservation District and Risk Management have been invited to present information.  For more information contact your Farm Service Agency office.  Klamath County 541-883-6924 x 2, Modoc County Farm Service Agency 530-233-4137 x 2, Siskiyou County Farm Service Agency 530-842-6121 x 2. Modoc County Farm Agency Employees will be available after the meeting to accept acreage reports.

Klamath Irrigation District holds off on water delivery, H&N, posted to KBC 5/12/18. "...Martin said the court-ordered flushing flows by U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick that the Bureau is required to meet, is another reason the district did not start water delivery..."

PRESS RELEASE: Reclamation begins emergency dilution flows early Monday (May 7) in Klamath River; Water releases from Iron Gate Dam will continue through May 21; public urged to take safety precautions, posted to KBC 5/12/18. "The emergency dilution flows will utilize approximately 50,000 acre-feet of water from Upper Klamath Lake..."

WELCOME TO CALIFORNIA! California Farm Bureau Federation Friday Legislative Review, 5/11/18. "...given an additional $2.5 billion funds, the Governor included three main proposals..." "...proposes $28.3 million in 18-19, $21.7 million in 19-20, and 79 positions to fully staff the CalCannabis program at CDFA...." "...Manure management..." "...a new tax on all services purchased by businesses in California..."

The State has turned off all of our water including our wells! by Brandan Topham, Sprague River, Newsletter 5/7/18. "Most of the irrigation wells have been drilled since 1950...we have river data for 32 years before the wells were drilled. In those 32 years the average flow is 860cfs. Since 1951 the average flow is 1052cfs. That means since the wells have been drilled there is almost another 200 cfs in the rivers. That does not sound like the wells are drying up the rivers...Every few years they keep changing the rules to shut off more stuff. This year they figured out how to shut off ~140 wells in addition to what they have been shutting off in the past for the Klamath Tribes. Last year they shut off every thing even with river flows well above average..."

Fish die-off below Keno Dam, H&N, preceded by Not a fish die-off, letter in response by Tricia Tryon Plass, Tulelake, posted to KBC 5/9/18. "Adding a large, false inflow of water into the river at this time of the year and then drawing it down quickly, is going to leave a few fish trapped in artificially made pools... "

Psalms 16:8: "I will keep my eyes always on the LORD. With Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken."

* Letter from engineer Stephen Koshy, regarding Klamath dams catastrophic collapse, to our KBC News readers, posted to KBC 5/5/18.

Letter from Ann SeCoy, Beatty, Oregon to Klamath County Commissioners, Oregon State and Federal Representatives & Senators regarding 140 Upper Klamath ag wells shut off, and responses from Senator Linthicum and Rep. Reschke, posted to KBC 5/5/18.
   "At the "Open House" with ORWD tonight at the Sprague River Community Center, all I heard repeatedly was:
1) how their hydrology science is fact, but
2) it isn't perfect, so therefore it is their best estimate
3) how the Klamath Tribes have no need to demonstrate the water they are claiming is being put to good use (unlike the similar demands made of the ranchers, who have 5 years to demonstrate productivity with their well water use or their loose their rights)
4) the law is the law, and it doesn't matter that it isn't equally applied, it MUST be enforced.
   We are all in a horrific position of what on earth we are going to do with the proper management of our fields, pastures, and livestock.  Do we sell our herd of cows in a bad market?  Do we put them out to graze on what is our hay crop that is just coming up?  Do we have to get rid of our children's 4H sheep breeding program?
   All these questions that we would not have to deal with if our well was simply ONE FOOT farther than one mile from the tributary that feeds into the Sprague River..."

$10.3 million in drought relief OK'd, H&N, posted to KBC 5/5/18. "The top-level approval frees up the funds for the Bureau of Reclamation to issue a proposal to distribute the money to on-Project irrigators, Walden said. A proposal from Reclamation could be released as early as Friday or on Monday at the latest... The money is slated to fund pumping, land idling, and disaster relief."

Walden to speed up relief for on-Project irrigators, H&N, reposted to KBC 5/5/18. "Bureau of Reclamation’s Klamath Basin Area Office Manager Jeff Nettleton also addressed the order issued by Orrick, with intentions to appeal it."

Project water delivery discussed following judge's decision. Walden, BOR to address irrigators today, H&N, posted to KBC 5/5/18. "A tentative time frame for Klamath Project water delivery of somewhere between June 1 and 15 was announced Tuesday by the Bureau of Reclamation...Part of BOR’s plan going forward, according to officials, is that the agency is considering asking for a total 14,500 acre feet of water from the Horsefly and Langell Valley irrigation districts. That amount, coupled with 10,500 acre feet borrowed from PacifiCorp reservoirs, could help irrigation districts make it through the month. 'They feel like that would cover KID (Klamath Irrigation District) and Tulelake Irrigation District through the month of May...' "

Tensions rise as OWRD regulates wells in Sprague River; 35% revenue loss expected in Upper Basin, H&N, posted to KBC 5/5/18. "...More than 80 notices to shutoff groundwater wells within up to a mile of surface water in the Upper Basin. Up to 114 of the 140 known wells in the area could be regulated...'They were regulated last year even though we had 140 percent of snowpack.' "

Republican lawmakers are upset with a federal judge's order to spill water that could be saved for other uses from four Snake River dams to help speed migrating salmon to the Pacific Ocean, US News, posted to KBC 5/5/18. "The four dams, built in the 1960s and 1970s, provide hydropower, flood control, navigation, irrigation and recreation benefits, supporters say. But the giant dams are also blamed for killing wild salmon, an iconic species in the Northwest."
Species battle pits protected sea lions against fragile fish, posted to KBC 4/16/18. " the mammals’ numbers dropped dramatically but have rebounded from 30,000 in the late 1960s to about 300,000 today due to the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act...Last winter, a record-low 512 wild winter steelhead completed the journey, said Shaun Clements, the state wildlife agency’s senior policy adviser. Less than 30 years ago, that number was more than 15,000...Of all the adults that are returning to the falls here, a quarter of them are getting eaten.”

Farm to School program pilot project. Local beef makes 4,200 hamburgers for Klamath County students, H&N, posted to KBC 5/5/18. "The 700 pounds of meat to make those burgers came from Flying T Ranch in Sprague River, where Topham has been raising specialized Salers cattle for more than 40 years...Connecting students with their food and where their food comes from is the goal of the Farm to School program."

When can we kill wolves? Ranchers press speakers on protections for predators, H&N, posted to KBC 5/5/18.

PRESS RELEASE posted 5/5/18: Siskiyou County Water Users Association represented by attorney James Buchal announced today that they have filed a "Motion to Dismiss" with (FERC) in the matter of the application of PacifiCorp and the Klamath River Renewal Corporation / KRRC, which was served on the parties involved on April 24, 2018

California Farm Bureau Federation Friday Legislative Review 5/5/18. Pests, land use, marketing, nutrition, pot
California Farm Bureau Federation Friday Legislative Review 4/27/18. Animal welfare, pot, commodities, energy, forestry, labor, land use, nutrition, crime.
California Farm Bureau Federation Friday Legislative Review 4/20/18. Antibiotics, budget, commodities, energy, labor, land use, nutrition, pot, water, wildlife
California Farm Bureau Federation Friday Legislative Review 4/13/18. Ag, energy and utilities, depredation, forestry, taxation, nutrition, pot, land use, water

SF Judge denies Klamath Basin water users motion to delay, modify injunction, H&N 5/1/18. "Plaintiffs in the case, the Hoopa Valley Tribe and the Yurok Tribe, contend that their cultural heritage and economic wellbeing revolve around the salmon's health, as well as * Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations (PCFFA), *Institute for Fisheries Resources (IFR), and *Klamath Riverkeeper."

KBC Editor - Who litigated against the irrigators, and their prerogatives?: * PCFFA attorney Glen Spain writes how they created IFR to get non-profit funding by, namely, George Soros-funded Earthjustice. HERE IS PCFFA/Glen Spain/IFR page. Browse the lawsuits against Klamath River miners, lawsuits against Klamath Irrigators in the Takings Case of 2001, lawsuits against Klamath Irrigators' power rate deal with Pacific Power (when Klamath Project was built and paid for by Klamath farmers, Pacific Power wanted the free regulated river water for inexpensive power in exchange for at-cost power rate for irrigators).
*Klamath Riverkeeper Page Craig Tucker is Karuk Tribe spokesman, former community organizer, Green Peace activist and Friends of the River Activist. His goal: get rid of all the Klamath irrigators and "removal of four dams on the Klamath River which would represent the largest dam removal project in history." Tucker was on the steering committee of *Klamath Riverkeeper before it spun off from umbrella group Klamath Forest Alliance, and he’s presently on the board.  

Federal Judge Upholds Fish Disease Prevention Flows on Klamath River; Hoopa Tribe Celebrates Victory in U.S. District Court, Two Rivers Tribune 5/1/18.

ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR RELIEF FROM THE JUDGMENT AND CLARIFYING INJUNCTION ORDERS April 30, 2018.
    "...Interveners’ argument mainly rests on the effects of the Klamath River Project on the family farms and ranches in the Project’s irrigation districts...I am not free to favor economic or other interests over potential harm to endangered species..."
   "...the injunctions prioritizes first and foremost the wellbeing of the endangered species (both the Coho salmon and the sucker fish to the extent that they are affected), then the federally-protected rights of the tribes, and finally the rights of the irrigation districts. Federal defendants have not shown that so-called partial implementation cannot meet the objectives of the injunctions, nor that even some lesser amount of Reserve Water would provide no benefits...."
   "...Because the injunctions demand partial compliance in the event that full compliance is not possible, federal defendants’ proposal of releasing water to the Project is clearly inconsistent with their duties. Under the injunctions, they are not permitted to release any water to the irrigation districts that could be instead used to implement Measure 4, even if only partially..."

(Japanese) Balloon Bomb Exhibit At Klamath County Museum May 3rd, Klamath Falls News, posted to KBC 4/30/18. "A new exhibit on the Japanese balloon bomb that killed six people near Bly in 1945 will open next week at the Klamath County Museum."

KID (Klamath Irrigation District) seeks state control over water distribution, H&N, posted to KBC 4/30/18.
KID letter to the state, H&N, posted to KBC 4/30/18

Wolf-livestock update set for Wednesday, H&N, posted to KBC 4/30/18

KID talks water, efficiency with Tribes, H&N 4/30/18

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BEFORE THE FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, Siskiyou County Water Users Association / SCWUA, Motion to Dismiss, posted to KBC 4/28/18: "Siskiyou County Water Users Association (“SCWUA”), hereby moves to dismiss the application for transfer filed by PacifiCorp and the Klamath River Renewal Corporation (“KRRC”), on the ground that Congress has not consented to the transfer, and that an arguable mechanism of the expression of such consent, the Klamath River Compact (the “Compact”), has not been invoked. Absent Congressional consent, the KRRC is not qualified to receive the license. Put another way, it would be unconstitutional and a violation of federal law for FERC..."

3 Open houses for OWRD plans to shut off off project irrigation water:
Sprague River: April 30th (somewhere)
May 1 Chiloquin 10-1
May 1 Klamath County Fairgrounds 3-6
OWRD to regulate groundwater wells in upper Basin, H&N, posted to KBC 4/28/18. "We will be regulating surface water and groundwater at the same time," he said, noting water users can expect to receive notices to shut off water use for both surface and groundwater..." (said Matt Anderson, OWRD).

Tensions rise at KID (Klamath Irrigation District); Irrigators allege water mismanagement, H&N, posted to KBC 4/28/18. "KID members claim PacifiCorp is sending excess water down the Klamath River and that the BOR is not managing their water effectively. “That water is basically getting stolen from us,” Kliewer said. “The Project has the superior water right in the Basin. PacifiCorp has a junior water right to us, and right now, and the way PacifiCorp has operated, basically whatever way they want, they just take it … We are a big body of water that’s really easy to steal.” "(Klamath Project irrigators are awaiting a) ruling from Judge William H. Orrick regarding water delivery for the Project."

Irrigators await Federal court ruling, H&N, posted to KBC 4/28/18. "...The local irrigation districts claim that the prevalence of infection of fish are “misleading” and have asked that the court stay the injunction. The delay is holding up much needed spring water for irrigators in the Basin, as water supply canals low and inactive..."

Irrigators may get their water as judge mulls altering injunction, H&N, posted to KBC 4/28/18.

Mikkelsen speaks to long-term water solutions. Hundreds attend KWUA annual water meeting, H&N, posted to KBC 4/16/18. "Alan Mikkelsen, senior advisor to Sec. Ryan Zinke on water and western resources, is working with a team of congressional and state leaders on what he calls a “skeletal framework” for a long-term solution to the ongoing water conflicts in the Klamath Basin...“The skeleton is under review of everybody on my team,” Mikkelsen said. “We developed this within my office to start with.” "...Mikkelsen was mum about the details of the “skeleton” framework...I think that will begin to bring people together in a way that they, the people in this Basin, all the way from the Ocean to here..."

Upper Basin ranchers get reprieve to water cattle, H&N, posted to KBC 4/16/18. "Ranchers in the Upper Basin of Klamath County — and the town of Chiloquin — received an emergency exemption from the call on water Friday allowing them to use water for their stock cattle and for human consumption...The Klamath Tribes has the first rights to the water, which it uses to protect endangered short-nosed sucker and Lost River sucker."
Klamath Tribe complaints regarding ranchers being allowed drinking water and water for livestock. Watering crops and pasture on Upper Klamath private land is presently forbidden by Klamath Tribes.

Guest opinion: Klamath issues, by Richard Marshall, President, Siskiyou County Water Users Association, Fort Jones, posted to KBC Apr 16, 2018. "...(KRRC is) in the “mix” for one reason only, that is by agreement with the states of Oregon and California and PacifiCorp and numerous environmental and tribal groups to destroy the dams and “remove the liability of the “parties” to the amended KHSA of any potential monetary damages resulting from the destruction of the mighty Klamath River and the aquatic life within and along the river...That corporation (KRRC) which has only two employees by last count, entered into an agreement with a Canadian corporation, AECON, which is about to be acquired by a Chinese conglomerate known as CCCI, an arm of the Chinese government..."

Uncertainty grows for water deliveries, H&N, posted to KBC 4/16/18. “The April 23 start date hangs in the balance of what happened (in San Francisco),” Kliewer said. “And I don’t know if ... we don’t have any water till July or if we don’t have any water this year....The farmgate value of commodities out of Klamath County is $292 million, and the Oregon State University economic multiplier after that gets spent in our community, that’s over $500 million. And how can this community live without that?”

Water Resources Dept. has only itself to blame for its high legal costs, by Randall Kizer, guest writer for H&N, posted to KBC 4/16/18. " ...OWRD has control over whether it follows the law or not in regulating water users in the Klamath Basin. And irrigators in the Upper Klamath Basin are tired of the agency not carrying out its regulatory responsibilities..."

Species battle pits protected sea lions against fragile fish, posted to KBC 4/16/18. " the mammals’ numbers dropped dramatically but have rebounded from 30,000 in the late 1960s to about 300,000 today due to the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act...Last winter, a record-low 512 wild winter steelhead completed the journey, said Shaun Clements, the state wildlife agency’s senior policy adviser. Less than 30 years ago, that number was more than 15,000...Of all the adults that are returning to the falls here, a quarter of them are getting eaten.”

Late water information sickening for users, Bill Heiney, letter to the editor of H&N, posted to KBC 4/16/18. Heiney is board member of Tulelake Irrigation District, and former board member of Klamath Water and Power Agency/KWAPA. "2018 feels like a repeat of 2001. Our current watershed conditions are similar to 2015, but we have no allocation, no start date, and no tools to develop a water bank...2001 was a year when I saw many homesteader veterans lose faith..."

'A lot on the line' in water hearing. Irrigators wait on Klamath River court decision, H&N 4/12/18 KBC NOTE/short update: Presently the Bureau of Reclamation will not allow Klamath irrigators to even put water in the ditches to prepare for spring irrigation until they get direction from District Judge William Orrick. We can not plan to borrow money to plant fields, or not to plant. Will we keep or lose contracts from buyers who purchase grain, onions, potatoes, mint... , keep or lose fields, keep or lose those renting our fields. One judge can determine the fate of our entire farm community,  when or if he will allow us to irrigate, thus farm, this year. Will our perennial crops that took years and tens of thousands of $ to establish, live or die? Our stored irrigation water is being sent down the Klamath River, with not a drop on our farms.

Drought 2018: Estimated losses no small potatoes for Malin packing shed, H&N 4/8/18

PRESS RELEASE - Reclamation to increase water releases to Klamath River today to address fish health concerns. Increased flows to begin this afternoon and continue through Monday; Public urged to take safety precautions on or near the river while flows are high, BOR 4/6/18

Klamath water users to attend pivotal court hearing, Capital Press 4/6/18. "The Yurok Tribe, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, Institute for Fisheries Resources, Klamath Riverkeeper and the Hoopa Valley Tribe sought the injunction to protect juvenile coho after several years of deadly C. shasta outbreak.

Sucker fish success requires cooperation, H&N by Tracy Liskey, posted to KBC 4/5/18. "In the past all we have done is keep the water levels higher and the fish population has done nothing but continue to decrease and the basin economy decrease because of water restrictions..." KBC NOTE: It's been stated at meetings for more than 15 years that the fish die-offs happen when water managers mandate historically high lake levels for the fish. The Klamath Science Workshop Feb. 3, 2004: Dr William Lewis Jr of the National Resources Committee "explained that the suckers were listed since 1988 because of over harvest.  They stopped fishing in '87 but they did not recover. The lake has gone from 3' range under natural conditions to experiencing 6' deep in current dry years. With charts and graphs he showed the habitat and water quality, algae and chlorophyll. He said that the committee looked extensively at water levels, and they find 'no hint of a relationship'. He also said that there was no relationship between lower water levels and extreme ph levels. And "the committee cannot support the idea that water levels effect algae growth.' "It can not be achieved by lake levels." '92 was the lowest water year, and they expected it to be the least favorable for fish. 'The lowest water year produced the same amount of larvae as other years. He said that fish kill information does not support that fish are dying by changing water level. 'We need to look at other locations.' "

4/1/18 - Powerpoint: Position on water for tribes by Alan Mikkelson, Acting Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation and the Chair of the Working Group on Indian Water Rights Settlements.

In the Battle for the American West, the cowboys are losing. "Now, the Hage cows are gone from that private pasture and the family ranch is in foreclosure." WSJ 3/30/18
* Hage v. U.S. AgLifeNW Magazine November Issue by Scott Johnson, 11/15/04
* More Hage articles throughout our Grazing Page

*A letter to the Secretary of Interior Zinke by Oregon Senator Dennis Linthicum: It's wrong to remove Klamath Dams, H&N 11/3/17
* Argument to retain dams doesn't hold water, Guest commentary by Ron Crete, H&N 11/26/17
* Alternatives exist to removing Klamath dams, H&N by William Kennedy 11/30/17

Happy Easter! He is Risen!

Klamath Lake 3/19/18	Klamath Project Water Update 3/31/18 Yesterday March 30th was a Tulelake Irrigation District meeting let by manager Brad Kirby with more than 50 farmers attending. Bureau of Reclamation will not tell us when we can begin irrigating our fields. Klamath Lake, Sprague River, and Klamath River are full. TID paid 78% to build the Lost River Diversion, however we are not allowed to use that overflow presently; the water is being diverted into the Klamath River to flow to the ocean. The Hoopa Tribe (they live on the Trinity River, not the Klamath) sued to send more of our water down the Klamath River, so the liberal judge will not even hear the case until 2 weeks after our normal start-up date. The Hoopa Tribe took 10 times their limit of salmon. Klamath Tribes filed a lawsuit to take more water into the lake for suckers. There are 10's of thousands of suckers. FWS planted million$ islands in Tulelake and Lower Klamath to attract fish eating birds. We may not learn until mid May or June when or if we will be allowed to use our deeded water in 2018.
Sprague River overflow 1 mile	north of Beatty 3/24/18	Klamath River at Keno 3/24/18

Merkley to host town halls in Klamath, Lake counties April 3. "Merkley will update constituents on his work in Washington, D.C., answer questions and invite their suggestions about how to tackle the challenges facing Oregon and America." KBC NOTE: Hopefully Merkley has turned over a new leaf, as he supported close door "settlement" meetings, giving land to the Tribes they previously sold, downsizing agriculture, and still supports destroying Klamath River hydro dams despite 70% opposition of Klamath County and 80% opposition Siskiyou County. Did our "suggestions" matter?

Hoopa Tribe Went 10 Times Over Trinity River Salmon Catch Limit, WONews.com, posted to KBC 3/31/18. Hoopa's catch was "...1,660 fall salmon last year when its quota was only 163 fish, the Hoopa Tribe admitted it knowingly went over its limits and allowed tribal members to continue fishing, even though the fall salmon season for sport anglers was completely shut down last fall in the Klamath and Trinity rivers, and ocean seasons were severely curtailed as well to protect Klamath Basin salmon." 

Hoopa Tribe questions BOR Plan, Feds eye scaling back antiparasite Klamath dam releases,  Eureka Times Standard, posted to KBC 3/31/18. "...The bureau wrote in its court filing that it also evaluated the option of releasing a smaller dilution flow, but that the questions about these flows effectiveness still existed. Including a smaller dilution flow would also cause a complete irrigation shutoff in the Klamath Project until as late as June 15, according to the bureau."
KBC NOTE: Obama-appointed District Judge William Orrick, who ruled against President Trump in the sanctuary city policy, and "ruled in favor of the Hoopa Valley Tribe, Yurok Tribe and environmental groups’s arguments in February 2017..." stated “courts are not permitted to favor economic interests over potential harm to endangered species.” He will hear this Klamath case April 11th, and could potentially determine the fate of the Klamath Basin irrigators.

The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws, Oregon State Senator Dennis Linthicum District 28, March Newsletter. "..partisan tax scheme will force 192,000 small businesses to pay $258 million in 2018 taxes while protecting large multinational corporations..., ...two Cap and Trade bills...would burden taxpayers with a minimum of $700 million dollars in extra taxes, annually...neither would make a discernible difference in global greenhouse gas emissions..."

2018 Short Session Summary E.Werner Reschke, Oregon State Representative, posted to KBC 3/31/18.

OSU Study: Coast Range Trout Thrive After Logging, Oregonians for Food and Shelter, News Channel 21, KTVZ 3/28/18.

California Farm Bureau Federation Friday Legislative Review 3/23/18: land use oversite, nutrition, funding replacement of diesel trucks and equipment, ag equipment emissions, anitbiotics, heat illness prevention, commodities, education.
California Farm Bureau Federation Friday Legislative Review 3/16/18: $4.1 billion bonds itemized (Environmental and social equity, parks, trails, greenways, more, the highest allocation - Wildlife Conservation Board, California Natural Resources Agency, and Salton Sea Authority of $767 million. Industrial hemp, farm guest worker programs, "proposal also provides $1.4 million loan, for seven new positions, to the Department of Food and Agriculture to impose and collect a fertilizer tax, include an additional deduction from milk producer’s payments and a tax non-dairy confined animal facilities. These loans will be repaid through the aforementioned taxes.."  " Department of Fish and Wildlife is proposing to transfer $26 million in Carl Moyer funds to augment its budget.... The Governor’s budget proposes an additional $50.6 million...these funds would come from the General Fund, the Motor Vehicle Account, and the Tire Recycling Management Fund and would be used to increase funds for DFW to meet its mandates."
California Farm Bureau Federation Friday Legislative Review 3/9/18: Pollinators, tax, budget

USFWS releases water from the refuge, H&N, 3/29/18.

Idaho tribes want fish passage above Snake River dams, Capital Press, posted to KBC 3/29/18.  "Biologists have said the Snake River above the dams is so degraded it couldn’t support salmon and steelhead without significant rehabilitation."

BOR recommends reduced water allocation. Pending court action, no water start date guaranteed, H&N, posted to KBC 3/29/18.

Walden talks (Klamath) drought relief, education funding, mental health, H&N, posted to KBC 3/27/18

BOR PRESS RELEASE: Reclamation Responds to Klamath Water Users’ Motion in District Court, Outlines Proposed 2018 Operations, 3/24/18. "Reclamation’s proposal includes implementing a full surface flushing flow, augmented with non-Project water; forgoing an emergency dilution flow; and providing Klamath Project irrigators with a supply of 252,000 acre-feet – 65 percent of a full project supply – with deliveries commencing on April 19 with charging of main canal networks."

KID threatens to file suit against BOR; District requiring BOR response by Wed, H&N, posted to KBC 3/23/18. " '...by the Bureau not distributing water in accordance with water law as it exists, they're causing irreparable harm to every irrigator in the state,' Reitmann said."

Agency may be awash in red ink from water litigation; The Oregon Water Resources Department is on track to overspend its litigation budget by $1.3 million in the 2017-2019 biennium, Portland Tribune, posted to KBC 3/24/18. "Litigation over water has increased mostly due to more regulatory calls cutting off water to junior irrigators in the Klamath Basin...The agency has a legislatively adopted budget of $98.6 million for 2017-2019."

* BOR public meeting Tuesday 1 p.m. March 20; Water delivery start date not expected at BOR meeting Tuesday, H&N, posted to KBC 3/18/18

* Klamath dam removal entity (KRRC) to host open house Tuesday, H&N, posted to KBC 3/18/18. HERE for KBC's KRRC Page

Tule Lake Basin Advisory Group Membership for North Coast Regional Water Board Program for Discharges of Waste Associated with Agricultural Lands in the Tule Lake Basin. (quote from Klamath Riverkeeper's website in 2010: "Our successful lawsuits, nonstop policy advocacy, and targeted grassroots pressure forced PacifiCorp to sign a stakeholder agreement to un-dam and restore the Klamath River in 2010.

Environmentalists file lawsuit claiming dams harm fish in Willamette Basin, Capital Press 3/15/18.

CALIFORNIA - Undocumented immigrant appointed to statewide post in California, Fox News 3/15/18

(Klamath) Water users push back on injunction, H&N, posted to KBC 3/15/18. “Even last year, when it was wet, we almost weren’t able to start irrigation on time because of the possibility a dilution flow might be required, and letting that water out of Klamath Lake would end up affecting ESA requirements for suckers,” said Brad Kirby, president of KWUA..."

Wyden talks Basin water crisis, bipartisanship at town hall, H&N, posted to KBC 3/15/18. “What we’ve learned is that you can’t leave parts of the community out of the solution...”  KBC NOTE: Democrat Senator Wyden has been are the forefront supporting closed-door, partisan meetings with tribes, government agencies and environmental groups that promote destroying Klamath hydroelectric dams, giving land to tribes that the tribes sold, downsizing agriculture, etc. "Becky Hyde, a Klamath Basin rancher, said she especially wanted to see more people stray away from insults based on partisanship, adding that true solutions could only be reached if people kept away from giving each other metaphorical 'black eyes.' " Go HERE for response to Becky Hyde's letter to former Rep Harper

Gov. Brown signs drought declaration; Continued requests to be made for federal assistance, H&N 3/14/18.

(Klamath) Irrigators seek answers on water year, H&N, posted to KBC 3/15/18. “Bill Heiney, a third-generation Basin irrigator and descendant of a homesteader:... 'When I bought my first piece of ground, my grandfather, he said, 'One thing you won't have to worry about is water,' ” Heiney said, referring a water pact his grandfather had from the U.S. government"

Klamath gets mixed bag out of short session, H&N, posted to KBC 3/15/18. "House Bill 4016 would have allowed irrigators within the Klamath Project to temporarily transfer water rights from one property to another to help mitigate potential droughts...'Despite multiple supporting testimonies from local constituents, this bill died in committee, due to opposition from Portland environmental and local tribal groups,' said (Rep)Reschke."

Environmental groups sue over survival of steelhead, chinook, The Spokesman-Review 3/13/18.
    US considers protected status for wild spring Chinook, H&N 2/28/18. "California's Karuk tribe, which joined the Salmon River Restoration Council environmental group in petitioning for more protections for the fish, say the species is nearly extinct throughout much of its range in Oregon and Northern California. The tribe blames Klamath River dams..."

Fish & Wildlife weighs drawdown of 10k acre feet from lower refuge, H&N 3/13/18

Groups seek protection for unique Oregon salamander, The Oregonian 3/13/18.

Cannabis vs Water: water theft to grow pot undocumented, H&N, posted to KBC 3/14/18. "California legislators said the estimated 50,000 illegal grows in the state were having a significant impact on water availability. Senator Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, said illegal grows were “literally sucking rivers dry” in a Scientific American interview and connected grows to dying fish populations."

Reclamation to host annual public hydro meeting Friday, H&N, posted to KBC 3/7/18. Subject: water.

(Oregon Senator) Wyden Renews Call for Klamath River Basin Solution, YouTube video 9.5 minutes, discussion with Reclamation's Deputy Commissioner Alan Mikkelsen. Mikkelsen: "...we have a trust responsibility and an ESA responsibility to make sure that the 2 species of endangered suckers do not go extinct...FWS have a hatchery grogram...in 2018 we will be releasing the 1st 2 year old fish from that program..." 
KBC NOTES regarding above statements by Mikkelsen: Mikkelsen and Wyden support destroying 4 Klamath River Hydroelectric Dams as a "solution" to Klamath Basin's water issues, and keeping high river and lake levels by taking stored water from irrigators. Peer reviewed science suggests otherwise:
* From Klamath ESA Congressional hearing: On July 17, 2004, "Loggers, Farmers, Ranchers, Scientists, Settlers, Indian Tribes, Coastal Fishermen, Congressmen, and Government Agencies, came together to examine the Endangered Species Act, the ESA. Fish Scientist David Vogel said, 'In 1986 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff responsible for whether or not to pursue these (ESA) listings believed there were only 12,000 Lost River suckers in Upper Klamath Lake..they didn't believe they were endangered. A couple years later...we now know for a fact that number's exceeded by tens of thousands of Lost River suckers. Now they flip flop and they say they are endangered. What constitutes endangered?' "
* From DOI sponsored Klamath Scientist Workshop, Chairman National Resource Counsel Committee on Endangered and Threatened Fishes in the Klamath River Basin,  Dr. William M. Lewis Jr spoke regarding the NRC conclusions on suckers: "Lewis explained that the suckers were listed since 1988 because of over harvest.  They stopped fishing in '87 but they did not recover. The lake has gone from 3' range under natural conditions to experiencing 6' deep in current dry years. With charts and graphs he showed the habitat and water quality, algae and chlorophyll. He said that the committee looked extensively at water levels, and they find 'no hint of a relationship'. He also said that there was no relationship between lower water levels and extreme ph levels ... '92 was the lowest water year, and they expected it to be the least favorable for fish. 'The lowest water year produced the same amount of larvae as other years...He said that fish kill information does not support that fish are dying by changing water level."
* More on Dr. William M. Lewis Jr

California Farm Bureau Federation Friday Legislative Review, posted to KBC 3/7/18

Defendants Drop Lawsuit in Malheur Refuge Case, posted to KBC 3/5/18. "Today We: Shawna Cox and ryan-c: family of Bundy have made the decision to withdraw our complaint against those individuals who are responsible for the death of our friend LaVoy Finicum, for our attempted murder of ourselves, Victoria Sharp, Ammon Bundy and Ryan Payne (an honorable veteran)..."

Water rights of non-Indian purchasers of Klamath Indian Reservation lands, To: Commissioner of Indian Affairs From Solicitor 3/14/58

California Farm Bureau Federation Legislative Review, posted to KBC 2/25/18: Cap and Trade, Farm Ag Emissions, milk and livestock waste, forests, sick leave, "program to provide documentation to undocumented workers," harassment and discrimination, housing, invasive species, wild pigs, Monarch butterfly habitat, school food, additional trucker requirements, mandates for old farm trucks.

Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma - Scott Tucker nears trial for payday loan rent-a-tribe scheme, Native Finance, followed by Oklahoma tribe agrees to pay $48 million to avoid prosecution in payday lending scheme, posted to KBC 2/24/18. "To skirt state loan interest caps, Tucker entered into agreements with three federally-recognized tribes- the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, Santee Sioux of Nebraska, and Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma. In exchange for one percent of the profits from the payday lending operations, the tribes agreed to provide Tucker’s businesses with sovereign immunity.
Payday Lenders Join With Indian Tribes, posted to KBC 2/24/18. "We don't want to brag," said Bill Follis, a former loan officer at a bank who has been the Modoc chief since 1974. "But it's good."..." Because of the sovereign immunity granted to tribes by the U.S. government, they are shielded from interest-rate caps and other payday-loan regulations..."
Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma buys 800 acres near Lava Beds Oct 22, 2017

 

For February 2018 chronological news, see Archive 189
For Main Archive Page go HERE.

God Bless America !

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