2001

1905 Tule Lake

2000

Voices of the
Klamath River Basin
Resource Users -
Farmers, Ranchers, Miners
Loggers, Indians and Fishermen

Wildlife and Farmland
"There are (489) species of wildlife here in the Klamath Basin. The biological opinion deals with three." Ph. D. Robert McLandress, UC Davis ecology.
HERE FOR AUDIO.
Here in the Pacific Flyway, "...Klamath Basin is the most important waterfowl area in North America. Waterfowl eat 70 million pounds of food here, and more than half comes from the farms.

You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:32
"With God all things are possible" Matthew 19:26

About Us

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Table of Contents

Weather, Flows, Maps

KBC News Webpages

$20,000 reward - Jerry McKoen

SCIENCE

Oregon Senator Linthicum

Oregon Rep Reschke

Ca. U.S Congressman
Doug LaMalfa

Former Oregon
Senator Whitsett

Former Oregon
Rep Gail Whitsett

Tom Mallams, Former Klamath County Commissioner

Calif. U.S. Congress-
man Tom McClintock

OR. U.S. Congressman
Greg Walden

Adjudication

Agenda 21, The Big Picture

2020.

* Here is KBC's KRRC (Dam Removal Group) Leadership page updated...Who's Who

Interior Secretary Bernhardt came to Klamath Falls to help find water solutions, Liz Bowen Column in Siskiyou Daily News, posted to KBC 7/18/2020

	Submitted photos taken off of Tingley Lane here in Klamath Falls July 12, 2020. The pasture is KID “A” land west of Tingley Lane. One is KBID land at the NW corner of Tingley Lane and Cross Road. "I never saw Tingley Lake like this growing up here in the 70s and 80s. There are a good number of KBID and Warren Act lands upstream from Tingley Lake which are not receiving water…in addition to my requirements to reduce flows, minimize spill, and otherwise constrain farming practices, there is not enough return flow into Tingley Lake to keep it healthy."

Jesus: "This is my commandment to you: love one another." John 15:17

< From left to right: Congressman Greg Walden, BOR Brenda Burman, Secretary of Interior David Bernhardt, and Congressman Doug LaMalfa speak Thursday on a field in Midland
Secretary of Interior Bernhardt tours Midland field of crosses, H&N, posted to KBC 7/12/2020. "Gasser said Bernhardt is responsible for returning the Project to receive 140,000 acre feet of irrigation water. 'He saved this community … even though there are still a lot of farmers out there who have no water. There’s a lot of hurt still going on, but if he wouldn’t have done what he did, it really would’ve been horrific because a lot of investments were made planning on the (140,000 acre feet) … millions of dollars would’ve been lost and a lot of growers would’ve been lost.' "

Interior Secretary Bernhardt and Reclamation Commissioner Burman travel to Klamath Basin at LaMalfa’s Request, Congressman Doug LaMalfa News Release 7/12/2020. "After Congressman LaMalfa continuously engaged with the Trump Administration, water allocations were restored to the April commitment, and the tens of thousands of acres of already planted crops would be able to survive the growing season. Congressman LaMalfa and Congressman Greg Walden (OR-02) extended the invitation to Secretary Bernhardt and Commissioner Burman to visit the Basin for today’s events..."

Interior officials tour Klamath Basin, promise solutions, Western Farm Press, posted to KBC 7/12/2020. "U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman promised to seek a resolution to the decades-long water conflicts in the basin after meeting with growers, local water officials and other affected parties.

Congressional Delegation pushes flexibility in $10M water relief, H&N, posted to KBC 7/12/20.

Ninth Circuit Court decision could benefit many Oregon ranchers, H&N, posted to KBC 7/12/2020

'Takings' case closed, H&N, posted to KBC 6/24/2020. "After nearly two decades, the takings case stemming from the water shutoff to the Klamath Reclamation Project in 2001 is closed. The U.S. Supreme Court made the announcement on Monday that it has denied a petition to review a lower federal court’s decision that ruled that Project irrigators of about 175,000 acres on the Oregon and California border are not entitled to compensation for the re-allocation of water under the Endangered Species Act in 2001..."

SCOTUS Blog Coverage: Baley v. United States, posted to KBC 6/24/2020.

Klamath Project, Siskiyou Daily News by Liz Bowen, posted to KBC 6/24/2020. "The saga of the government taking away legal water right allocations to 1,200 farmers in the government-encouraged Klamath Project continues...But, last month, federal agencies said the project’s water allotments would be reduced – again – meaning no water for July, August and September...A rally called “Shut down and Fed Up” was held on May 29, 2020 with more than 2,000 people showing-up with tractors, log trucks, hay trucks, pick-ups and cars rolling from Merrill, OR. into Klamath Falls, OR. and down through the basin to Midland, OR. It was over 20 miles long..."

Wolf call: Oregon ranchers frustrated by criteria of state investigators, Capital Press, posted to KBC 6/24/2020. " 'You can go murder somebody and be convicted quicker than you would convict a wolf, with the criteria they have...' Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife released its annual wolf report documenting 158 wolves statewide in 2019 — a 15% increase from the previous year..."

Judge in Seattle to rule on wolf removal, Capital Press, posted to KBC 6/24/2020. "The Wedge pack has attacked at least four calves in Stevens County between May 11 and June 17, but the department has not opted for lethal removal. The calves belonged to two different producers."

Jesus' brother James 1:5 - "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you."

Walden, LaMalfa, Bentz: Supreme Court must prevent uncompensated theft of Western water, Pens Op-ed in Washington Examiner, posted to KBC 6/21/2020. "

Earthjustice plays fast and loose with the truth about the Klamath Project, SDFU / Shut Down and Fed UP, posted to KBC 6/21/2020. "One of the biggest challenges about Klamath Basin agriculture are the false narratives that get treated as fact. Maybe it’s accidental, but in most cases it’s calculated misinformation to push an agenda. When these bits of fiction get pushed out to the public, it creates an atmosphere that makes it hard for everyone up and down the Klamath River to find a solution to save fish and farms...."

April's EXTREME "pulse flows", 6000cfs, dewatering Klamath irrigators' stored water, posted to KBC 6/21/2020 from rancher Rex Cozzalio, Hornbrook, CA on the Klamath River. The 3 photos of flooding are Iron Gate flow wasted over the spillway, Hornbrook on the Klamath River, and Klamathon Bridge near Hornbrook.

On our Klamath Basin Crisis Facebook Page, a question was asked "Why are the Yutok stating they did not receive the 40,000af flushing flows per the Herald and News ? "
Klamath Irrigation District manager Gene Souze responded, "the 40,000 is an additional augmentation to 400,000 environmental water agreed to by Reclamation to stay a 50,000 litigation for more in this drought year. To date they have received nearly 250,000 + 7000 + 8000...and should have well over 422,500 by the end of September. For them to complain about not getting water..."

6/14/2020 - We just received this message from Rex Cozzalio, from Hornbrook on the Klamath River, after the flood last week: "Just found out about it (extreme high water) when the flood occurred. 1780 cubic feet per second, or the equivalent of the top 10-20% WETTEST years on record. No idea yet why, other than assuming the 'triggering' spore count is above 5 spores/liter, though the OSU report site doesn't support that, so it is likely a 'behind closed doors' special interest arrangement. The 'flushes' are insane on their own, ESPECIALLY in a drought year, considering the already 'confounding' (their words) results from prior 'experiments' (last year REALLY didn't fit their modeled 'profile'). Since Copco and Iron Gate lakes are already way down from 'borrowed' water to support the prior waste, I can only imagine where the water is coming from, beyond possible programmatic UKL sucker fish reduction of lake level, more from the irrigators, or tapping possible unexpected input flows. Ironic and worst part is, their 'collaborators' already acknowledge that under their (defective) scenario, due to the studies that prove the environmental benefits the deep water lakes provide, that once the dams are destroyed, the required 'pulses' using confiscated 'unnatural' artificially stored water will INCREASE in 'programmatic' perpetuity.

! Klamath Irrigation District requests a temporary restraining order against OWRD, Director Byler and Watermaster Watson, filed 6/12/2020. Bureau Of Reclamation, with an agreement with PacifiCorp, is presently diverting an extreme amount Klamath Irrigators' stored water into Klamath River, and Upper Klamath Lake elevation is rapidly lowering: "...enough to supply one acre foot of water to at least the 10,342 acres of land in Klamath Basin Improvement District, 3,911 acres of land in Shasta View Irrigation District, 2,981 acres of land within Enterprise Irrigation, and 904 acres of land in Pine Grove Irrigation District, which are shut-off and not receiving any water from UKL reservoir..."

Reduce Klamath Cormorant population to save the fish, by Debbie Klaja for H&N, posted to KBC 6/14/2020. "Has anything been done to reduce the number of fish-eating Cormorants? It seems everyone thinks the problem with no surviving baby sucker fish is the water level..." KBC NOTE: See our Refuge Page articles for more on fish-eating Caspian Terns lured to Tulelake and Lower Klamath refuges on million-dollar, FWS-made islands from eating baby salmon.

Fairness and Justice For Farmers, by Oregon Rep E. Werner Reschke, 6/14/2020. "For far too long farmers have been stereotyped as environment-trashing know-nothings. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is the favored tool of litigious-happy, urban environmental groups who attack rural America and are rewarded with court-ordered attorneys’ fees. In the Klamath Basin of southern Oregon and northernmost California, farmers and ranchers using water from a federal water project are on the bleeding edge of the onslaught..."

The Deep State destruction of rural America, (the Klamath Crisis), American Greatness 6/12/2020. "On May 29, in Klamath County, Oregon, thousands of farmers and community supporters showed up to protest reduced water allocations, announced earlier this year, which threaten to destroy the region’s agricultural economy. The protesters formed a convoy of more than 2,000 vehicles that passed through downtown Klamath Falls and ended up at a rally site in Midland, Oregon. This convoy, with a majority of the vehicles either farm tractors or semi rigs, was over 30 miles long."

BLM names state director for Oregon/Washington. Farmer and agriculture policy professional Barry Bushue named to oversee more than 16 Million acres of public land, BLM, posted to KBC 6/14/2020. "...Bushue was the President of the Oregon Farm Bureau Federation for nearly 20 years, where he advocated on behalf of the Federation’s farming and ranching members. He also served as the Vice President of the American Farm Bureau, based in Washington, D.C."

PRESS RELEASE: LaMalfa Applauds Trump Administration for Restoring Water to Klamath Basin Farmers, Congressman Doug LaMalfa June 9, 2020. "While Basin farmers are still only receiving 40% of their legal water right from Upper Klamath Lake, it will help to get them through the remainder of the growing season with the crops they currently have in the ground. I was pleased to partner with my colleague from Oregon, Congressman Greg Walden, in this fight to restore water to our farmers on both sides of the border."

Water Users React to Restored Project Allocation, KWUA PRESS RELEASE 6/9/2020

BOR PRESS RELEASE: Reclamation secures 2020 water supply for Klamath Project, 6/9/2020. "...Reclamation will deliver approximately 140,000 acre-feet to the Klamath Project from Upper Klamath Lake in 2020..."

Midland rally Klamath County tractor convoy spans 20-plus miles; Going the distance for ag, H&N, posted to KBC 6/3/2020.
< More than 2,000 people attended the "Shut Down and Fed Up" rally on Del Fatti Lane in Midland Friday afternoon
"Congressman Doug LaMalfa, (R-Richvale) said he and Congressman Walden will be fighting to provide more water for farmers to finish their irrigation season...'This is your water,' LaMalfa told the crowd. 'It doesn’t belong to BOR (Bureau of Reclamation), it doesn’t belong to NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service), it doesn’t belong to Fish and Wildlife. It doesn’t belong to anybody else.' LaMalfa emphasized that the Klamath Project was created over 100 years ago for one purpose and that was for agriculture for those who came and settled in the Basin and were given the opportunity to farm...“We’re going to fight for getting the full allocation back right now...'We’re going to take what is rightfully ours...' "

Join our Convoy for Change May 29th
to protest the shut down of the Klamath Irrigation Project

People who are concerned about the repercussions of bad government policy and the failure of the ESA, are urged to join farmers, ranchers, and businesses from across the west in a Convoy for Change on May 29. Starting in Merrill, Ore. at 10 a.m., and moving through Klamath Falls, Ore., the convoy will protest the shut down of the Klamath Irrigation Project. Protesters are taking part to show a united stand for agriculture, what it means to the economy of the Klamath Basin and the rural west. Please join us and show support for the farmers and ranchers of the Klamath Project who are Shut Down, and Fed Up. Today, it’s the Klamath Project being shut down. Tomorrow, it could be your community.

For more information, please visit https://shutdownfedup.org or www.facebook.com/shutdownfedup

* Momentum grows for May 29 tractor convoy event, 5/24/2020
* Convoy to rally community support for ag May 29, 5/22/2020

"My Name is Orvin Ray Ackley IV. Most people know me as Lucky. Well, these days I don’t feel so lucky." 5/26/2020. "...I am a third generation Rancher in the Klamath Basin. Here is a little background of my family so that you can understand the full story and why I feel the way I do. My great grand father Orvin Ackley I, was a Kansas farmer who lived through the dust bowl and the Great Depression..."

Copco and Iron Gate reservoir levels to remain below normal through June, H&N, posted to KBC 5/26/2020

Court denies Yurok Tribe effort to increase downstream Klamath River flows, H&N, posted to KBC 5/26/2020.

Image may contain: 4 people, including Erika Ben DuVal, people smiling Klamath water decisions will cause farms to close, by Ben DuVal for H&N, posted to KBC 5/26/2020. "The only reason it’s even available (for Klamath River Salmon) is the reservoirs that were built for a single purpose - storing irrigation water for the Klamath farmers. How does a legitimate Biological Opinion include water that naturally would have never even existed?...My farm, like many on the Project, was developed on land that was under 10’ or more of water until that time. Now, we are told that there isn’t even 0.5 acre-foot available for that same acre...(Also) Upper Klamath Lake (UKL) is being held at a higher level than necessary, purportedly to allow sucker populations in UKL to access spawning habitat. Unfortunately, for the past 20 years, agency-imposed higher and higher UKL levels have contributed to a whopping 0% survivability....Does it seem rational to continue to ruin the economic base of the Klamath Basin in order to save zero fish?"

Klamath water users oppose Yurok Tribe request for flow increases 5/19/2020. "Klamath Water Users Association (KWUA) filed its opposition with a federal court to a motion filed the Yurok Tribe and Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association that was filed May 13. The tribe’s motion requests that the court re-open a lawsuit that was put on hold for two years in March, and that the court immediately require increased flows below Iron Gate Dam in the Klamath River.."

How high can a salmon jump? by Judge Bob Kaster, Siskiyou Daily News, posted to KBC 5/21/2020. "It seems that everyone is on the bandwagon to yank out four dams along the Klamath River which have existed for decades and which do what they were designed to do, including flood control and clean hydroelectric power generation. Everyone is on the bandwagon, that is, except for the majority of those of us who actually live here in the California and Oregon counties where the dams are located; and except for many of us who are actually paying for it, i.e., the PacifiCorp electric utility ratepayers...."

VIDEO - Six minutes: Calif. U.S. Congressman Devin Nunes water update on Central Valley irrigation. President Trump on "...water being poured out into the Pacific..." Trump signed an executive order for water to be released to the farmers two years ago, however California Governor Gavin Newsom is blocking California farmers from receiving millions of gallons of water. https://youtu.be/VQSTQG-gYRk

Klamath Dams - Attack Planned and Carried Out? Followed by: Ottawa blocks Chinese takeover of Aecon on security grounds. Commentary by Rudy Hiley, Tulelake, for KBC News 5/21/2020

JESUS: "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you took me in..." Matthew 25:35

5/18/2020 - "54 Million Americans are fighting hunger," according to a Whitehouse Meeting today with President Trump and restaurateurs. All the while the Bureau of Reclamation is sending Klamath Project stored water and that of California's Central Valley to the ocean, denying water to millions of acres of productive farmland.."

Yurok Tribe joins lawsuit seeking temporary restraining order to restore essential water flows for Klamath River salmon, Del Norte Triplicate, posted to KBC 5/18/2020. "The Yurok Tribe joined the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations and the Institute for Fisheries Resources in pursuit of a temporary restraining order to reinstate water flows on the Klamath River."

* Deadline June 10 - Klamath Project Drought Response Agency continues helping farmers

Now is the time to comment on California groundwater plans, CFBF April 1, 2020, posted to KBC 5/18/2020. "The new deadlines for the public to comment on the posted plans are May 15 and June 3, depending on when the GSP was posted online."

Irrational Klamath water management a formula for failure commentary by Tulelake farmer Ben DuVal for the Capital Press, posted to KBC May 18, 2020. "While it looks like the Klamath Project will only get as little as 55,000 acre-feet in a year that irrigation demand would be approximately 400,000 acre-feet, we are going to send a minimum 152,000 acre-feet of stored water from Upper Klamath Lake down the Klamath River. That’s 152,000 acre-feet, or more, of water that never, under any circumstances, would have been provided by nature. The only reason it’s even available is the reservoirs that were built for a single purpose — storing irrigation water for the Klamath farmers."

Two steers killed by wolves in Fort Klamath, H&N, posted to KBC 5/18/2020.
Farm Bureau: WDFW should let ranchers see where wolves are, Capital Press, posted to KBC 5/18/20

Klamath Irrigation District and Shasta View Irrigation District vs Bureau of Reclamation, Judge Clark decision, filed May 15, 2020.

Klamath Irrigation District vs Oregon Water Resources Department, filed May 14, 2020.

Water crisis looming on Klamath Project, by Lyle Ahrens, KOBI KOTI TV, posted to KBC 5/18/2020. KID Manager Gene Souza: “Based on the information that I have from Reclamation, we could be seeing a cutoff for Klamath Irrigation District as soon as June 15th...Hundreds of millions of dollars in workers, in restaurants, in equipment, transportation, fuel, everything that keeps this basin going is at risk right now...”

California workers’ comp benefits expand, CFBF, posted to KBC 5/18/2020. "Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order last week requiring that "any COVID-19-related illness of an employee shall be presumed to arise out of and in the course of the employment for purposes of awarding workers' compensation benefits..."

On 75th anniversary, Bly remains connected to tragic WWII event - Japanese balloon bomb, Bend Bulletin, posted to KBC 5/18/2020. "...a tragic incident that caused the only American casualties of World War II on continental U.S. soil..."

Supreme Court scales back scope of groundwater pollution ruling, Capital Press, posted to KBC 5/18/2020.

Pacific Power proposes 10% rate increase for irrigation customers, Capital Press, posted to KBC 5/18/2020. "One of Oregon’s largest electric utilities is seeking a 10% rate increase for irrigation customers in part to help pay for more renewable energy and transmission upgrades."
KBC NOTE: * PacifiCorp owns four green, clean, renewable-energy Klamath River hydroelectric dams servicing 70,000 households
* When the Klamath Project was built, it allowed Pacific Power to have cheap regulated water for power in exchange for affordable rates to irrigators who paid for the Klamath Project.
* With lawsuits from Tribes and environmental groups, Pacific Power raised rates more than 2000% to Klamath Irrigators
* Soon thereafter, Tribes and the environmental groups "assured" irrigators they would agree to affordable power rates if Irrigators would support destroying the Klamath River dams, among other things in an "agreement"
* Pacific Power began charging Klamath Basin farmers, ranchers and residents on their monthly bills for the Power Company to destroy our clean green renewable-energy dams.
* The citizens of Siskiyou and Klamath Counties have voted overwhelmingly against destroying our hydro dams

American Farm Bureau urges Supreme Court to hear Klamath water case, CFBF AgAlert, posted to KBC 5/18/2020. "Under the rule announced by the (appeals court), farmers and ranchers in the arid West operate under the constant threat that federal bureaucrats will unilaterally override their water rights in service of federal interests once more, just as they did in 2001," the brief said, adding that "the stakes for farmers and ranchers thus could not be higher."

Klamath Project Drought Response Agency is accepting applications for 2020 programs due May 15

INTERESTING TIMELINE of Blackmail
PCFFA and Tribes temporarily halt lawsuit if Irrigators agree to less water
Irrigators forced to agree to plan of 140,000 a.f. of water allocation
Bureau later cuts allocation from 140,000 a.f. to 55,000 a.f.

4/1/2020 - PRESS RELEASE - COMMENTS DUE APRIL 10! Reclamation seeks public input on proposed Klamath Project interim operations (We were given 9 days to respond to a 178 page technical report, which severely decreases available water to the Klamath Project irrigators)
4/3/2020 Bureau of Reclamation issues new three-year plan for Klamath River, Capital Press. "...the Yurok Tribe and fishing groups said the interim BiOp “allocates more water for river flows in most hydrologic years to help the salmon,” allowing the groups to temporarily halt the lawsuit and withdraw their request for a preliminary injunction."
4/1/2020 Yurok Tribe and commercial fishing families (PCFFA) secure more water for salmon - Victory was declared by Soros-funded Earthjustice in Press Release:
4/22/2020 Reclamation releases Interim Operating Procedures and 2020 Operations Plan for the Klamath Project, Bureau of Reclamation News Release "the Project supply from Upper Klamath Lake for the 2020 irrigation season is approximately 140,000 acre-feet. This volume is approximately one-third the historical irrigation demand of the Klamath Project.
4/22/2020 THEN: this was thrown in the Mix: Environmentalists and farmers lose lawsuits over Klamath refuges, Capital Press . "The agricultural plaintiffs argued these burdens would threaten the viability of farming and interfere with a federal law governing leases of refuge lands."
WISH LIST FOR SUCKERS NAILS FARMS, February 11, 1992. KBC NOTE: The FWS Wish List for Upper Klamath and also Tulelake Refuges is finally coming true. "“Marshall Staunton, president of the Tulelake Growers Association, said the proposal ignores the impact on farmers in the Basin. He said he felt betrayed by the wildlife service. “We thought we were shooting for a win-win situation...I think it shows tremendous bad faith when we’re supposed to be working together.”
4/28/2020 Project irrigators protest Reclamation's unlawful use of water, H&N 4/28/2020. "An interim order put in place by Oregon Water Resources Department on April 21 gave the state agency charge over the water distribution and demanded that Reclamation not use water from Upper Klamath Lake, including in a flushing flow down the Link River Dam, unless it follows specific guidelines outlined in the order. The order has not stopped the recent 40,000 acre foot flushing flow... The federal government’s stealing from us.”
5/8/2020 A disaster on our hands, H&N, "The water allocation of 140,000 acre feet for the Project announced (by Reclamation) in April will likely drop to...an unofficial estimate of 55,000 acre feet left for the remainder of the irrigation season...For comparison, 350,000 acre feet is a full allocation..."

Yurok Tribe joins lawsuit seeking temporary restraining order to restore essential water flows for Klamath River salmon, Del Norte Triplicate 5/18/2020. "The Yurok Tribe joined the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations and the Institute for Fisheries Resources in pursuit of a temporary restraining order to reinstate water flows on the Klamath River."

Klamath in Peril - Three Decades as a Klamath Project Irrigator: Observations Heading into a Grim Irrigation Season, by Klamath Irrigation District President Ty Kleiwer, farmer and rancher 5/13/2020 "...We are on a pathway to doom and it appears this year brings another disaster, likely with worse consequences than what we faced in 2001, the first and only time until now that the Klamath Irrigation Project was shut down for the perceived benefit of fish protected by the Endangered Species Act (ESA)...this federal water project...was developed solely to provide stored water for irrigation of local farm and ranch lands...this largely government-caused “drought” has the same roots of cause as the 2001 crisis: a scientifically unjustified, narrow focus on lake levels and downstream flow releases to avoid jeopardizing ESA-listed fish. While our local farming community will once again carry the burden of these devastating federal directives, the imperiled fish populations show no positive response to these actions...Many farmers in the basin are descendants of World War I and World War II veterans who won homesteads in the basin, or are descendants of Czechoslovakian immigrants who fled wartime unrest in Europe to find security and prosperity in the Klamath Project..."

A disaster on our hands, H&N, 5/8/2020. "The Klamath Project ...is now facing a possible water shutoff by or before July. The water allocation of 140,000 acre feet for the Project announced (by Reclamation) in April will likely drop to...an unofficial estimate of 55,000 acre feet left for the remainder of the irrigation season...For comparison, 350,000 acre feet is a full allocation for the Project... 'This is a significant reduction from the 140,000 acre feet we were told in April,” Souza said in an email on Friday. “Farmers have planted crops, hired workers, and have made plans based upon the 140,000 acre feet … and the rug is currently being pulled out from underneath them.' "
KBC NOTE: Yesterday, May 8th, approximately 100 farmers and ranchers gathered to be told that the Bureau will probably shut off their water in June, contrary to what they promised in April. Also the Bureau is sending massive amounts of water down the Klamath River contrary to a court order: "The BOR is hereby ordered to cease releasing stored water from UKL reservoir..."
The Bureau's interim report concludes, "the cumulative impacts (to help fish) are likely to be minor, as sucker recovery, coho enhancement, and changes to the biological resources would require a much longer time frame to be implemented and their effects are speculative beyond the period of analysis.”

Project irrigators protest Reclamation's unlawful use of water, H&N 4/28/2020. "An interim order put in place by Oregon Water Resources Department on April 21 gave the state agency charge over the water distribution and demanded that Reclamation not use water from Upper Klamath Lake, including in a flushing flow down the Link River Dam, unless it follows specific guidelines outlined in the order. The order has not stopped the recent 40,000 acre foot flushing flow... The federal government’s stealing from us.”

OWRD/Oregon Water Resource Dept: Interim Order Concerning Release of Stored Water, 4/23/2020, posted 5/4/2020. "The Department confirms that as of April 16, 2020, it has taken exclusive charge of the UKL for the purpose of dividing and distributing the water therefrom in accordance with the respective and relative rights of the various users of water from the ditch or reservoir..."

ALTERNATIVE WRIT OF MANDAMUS, KID v OWRD 4/21/2020, posted 5/4/2020.

Response to massive flows diverted out of Klamath Project irrigation water storage by Klamath River resident Rex Cozzalio, Hornbrook, posted to KBC 5/4/2020 "...For them to continue water wasting against court orders is revealingly ironic, when BOR, OWR, and 'collaborators' are all too happy to comply when court orders are AGAINST the Upper Basin irrigators. I truly hope this can intervene soon enough to avert total Upper Basin carnage this year..."

Klamath Project operations unchanged by OWRD ruling, H&N 4/26/2020. KBC Note: The article reads: "The order urges the Bureau of Reclamation to stop releasing stored water from Upper Klamath Lake..." The court order reads: "The BOR is hereby ordered to cease releasing stored water from UKL reservoir..." They continue to divert our stored water out of Upper Klamath Lake.

Reopening Oregon, by Representative E. Werner Reschke, H&N Guest Commentary 4/26/2020. "...I continue to advocate for reopening our state sooner, rather than later, in a safe and responsible way. One size does not fit all. That’s why I recommend reopening Oregon regionally, based on objective criteria within a particular community..."

Klamath water allocation short of demand for farmers, ranchers, Capital Press 4/24/2020. "The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will provide approximately 140,000 acre-feet of water to farms and ranches from Upper Klamath Lake in 2020...only one-third of historical demand for the Klamath Project...The plan, finalized Wednesday, comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed by the Yurok Tribe, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations and the Institute for Fisheries Resources against the bureau, seeking an additional 50,000 acre-feet of water for salmon..."

Psalm 46:1 - "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble"

OWRD takes charge of Upper Klamath Lake, H&N 4/24/2020. "The (court) order said it prohibits U.S. Bureau of Reclamation from diverting stored water in Upper Klamath Lake through Link River for purposes of a 50,000 acre-feet flushing flow without a water right." KBC NOTE: Rumor has it that the Bureau is defying the court order and continues to divert our stored water into the ocean.

TID, KID anticipate significant Klamath water supply shortfall, H&N, posted to KBC 4/26/2020. "...We fear being able to start and then getting shut down for the rest of the season, like mid-season...”

Reclamation releases Interim Operating Procedures and 2020 Operations Plan for the Klamath Project, Bureau of Reclamation News Release 4/22/2020. "the Project supply from Upper Klamath Lake for the 2020 irrigation season is approximately 140,000 acre-feet. This volume is approximately one-third the historical irrigation demand of the Klamath Project...The 2020 Operations Plan ... provides increased water flows in the Klamath River for Endangered Species Act-listed coho, as well as Chinook salmon, and maintains Upper Klamath Lake elevations important for endangered Lost River and shortnose suckers..." KBC NOTE: Rec concludes "...Finding of No Significant Impact related to the Interim Operating Procedures..." however the plan states that "...involuntary land fallowing of productive irrigable land within the Proposed Action Alternative area would occur leading to an increased risk to local rural agricultural communities.” OUR "risk" of them putting our stored water into the ocean: No water, no farms.

Matthew 5:6 - “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

!!! Bureau of Reclamation NEWS RELEASE: Reclamation to implement Klamath River flushing flow for salmon health 4/21/2020. "Increased flows to begin April 22 and continue through May 1; public urged to take safety precautions on or near the river while flows are high...flows below Iron Gate Dam will increase from approximately 1,325 cubic feet per second up to 6,000 cfs. Increased releases out of Upper Klamath Lake will occur simultaneously..." KBC NOTE: The Klamath Project is projected to receive less than 50% of their deeded water this season. With this huge increased taking of Project water, the Bureau of Reclamation's draft Project operation plan, (https://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_project_details.php?Project_ID=42926) states: “During the three-year period of the Proposed Action Alternative, the cumulative impacts (to help fish) are likely to be minor, as sucker recovery, coho enhancement, and changes to the biological resources would require a much longer time frame to be implemented and their effects are speculative beyond the period of analysis.” However they operation plan promises, "...involuntary land fallowing of productive irrigable land within the Proposed Action Alternative area would occur leading to an increased risk to local rural agricultural communities.” After the three years they will inform us of their NEW plan after they destroy the Klamath River Hydroelectric Dams and downsize agriculture in the Klamath Project.

Environmentalists and farmers lose lawsuits over Klamath refuges, Capital Press 4/22/2020. "The agricultural plaintiffs argued these burdens would threaten the viability of farming and interfere with a federal law governing leases of refuge lands."
WISH LIST FOR SUCKERS NAILS FARMS, February 11, 1992. KBC NOTE: The FWS Wish List for Upper Klamath and also Tulelake Refuges is finally coming true. "“Marshall Staunton, president of the Tulelake Growers Association, said the proposal ignores the impact on farmers in the Basin. He said he felt betrayed by the wildlife service. “We thought we were shooting for a win-win situation...I think it shows tremendous bad faith when we’re supposed to be working together.”

The Population Living In Acute Hunger May Double This Year Due To Coronavirus April 21, 2020, NPR. KBC NOTE: Should we be downsizing Klamath Basin agriculture more than 50% this year for only "possible" results for fish?

Letter to Bureau of Reclamation on Lower Klamath Project; Klamath River dam removal, by Dr. Richard Gierak, posted to KBC 4/22/2020.

Federal Government agrees to reevaluate Northern Spotted Owl habitat after Supreme Court ruling, H&N, posted to KBC 4/22/2020. "The coalition brought legal action after the Fish and Wildlife Service designated 9.5 million acres of mostly federal lands as NSO critical habitat across Washington, Oregon and Northern California in 2012...The ESA requires the federal government to take “into consideration the economic impact, the impact on national security, and any other relevant impact, of specifying any particular area as critical habitat.”

Baley v. United States: Water Users in the Klamath Project Petition the U.S. Supreme Court for Certiorari, posted to KBC 4/22/2020, Somach Law firm.

Diverse Crowd of Parties Supports Request for Supreme Court Review in Klamath Water Takings Case, KWUA News Release, posted to KBC 4/22/2020.

The real thing or a wolf in sheep’s clothing? by Tom Mallams, posted to KBC H&N 04/22/2020. "I fully support State Senator Cliff Bentz for Congress....Cliff Bentz is not from Portland, is not a flip-flopper... and is not receiving major donations from out of our area...Cliff Bentz has a well known public record of supporting Oregon values such as Right-to-Life, pro Second Amendment and opposing Klamath Dam Removal...Cliff Bentz is endorsed by Congressman Bob Smith, Oregon Cattleman's Association, at least 32 County Commissioners, 17 elected County Sheriffs and many other State Legislatures..."

Oregon has at least 158 wolves, a 15% increase over last year, Annual Wolf Report released, DFW posted to KBC 4/22/2020.

Bureau of Reclamation ERROR - TODAY April 2014 by 11:59 pm you must RESUBMIT your public comment letter with a new address on the Klamath Project interim operations because they gave you the wrong email address. First they gave us only 9 days to review their entire plan to downsize irrigated agriculture, then they threw in one more day. Just yesterday, April 13, late afternoon they said they didn’t receive our public input because of their error and only gave us ONE MORE DAY to hopefully see their email and RESUBMIT our comments, in the middle of spring farming! 4/14/2020.
Public Comment by Oregon Rep E Werner Reschke on Klamath Project Operation Plan, submitted 4/10/2020.
Public Comment by Rex Cozzalio on Klamath Project Operation Plan, resubmitted 4/14/2020.
Public Comment on Klamath Project Op Plan, resubmitted by Tulelake Farmer 4/11/2020.

KWUA Announces Projected Klamath Project Irrigation Allocation; Drought Response Agency Expects to Open Programs April 15, posted to KBC 4/14/2020. “Bottom line, we’re looking at less than half of the water that’s needed,” said TID Manager Brad Kirby

PRESS RELEASE - Congressman LaMalfa: Farmers Need Maximum Water Allocations to Ensure Stable Food Supply Chain, April 9, 2020, followed by LaMalfa's full letter to President Trump. "...I ask that you direct the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Commerce to waive any restrictions on granting 100% water allocations to farmers and water districts, along with waiving outdated Endangered Species Act requirements..."

Letter from the Siskiyou BOS Attorney NOSSMAN to FERC requesting delay for KRRC / Klamath River Renewal Corporation's Application for Klamath Dam transfer and surrender, posted to KBC 4/14/2020

U.S. Democrat Reps letter to FERC requesting immediate transfer to Klamath Hydroelectric dams so they can be destroyed, posted to KBC 4/14/2020. KBC NOTE: This is contrary of the will of the vast majority of the Klamath Basin Residents in Klamath and Siskiyou Counties where the hydro dams are located, and local Oregon Senator Linthicum, Oregon Rep Reschke, and Northern California U.S. Congressman LaMalfa.

The Executive Director of the California State Water Resources Control Board issued a water quality certification for the Lower Klamath Project License Surrender and certified the Final Environmental Impact Report for the Lower Klamath Project License Surrender, posted 4/14/2020

State Water Board Issues Key Documents That Further Efforts to Remove Klamath River Dams 4/7/2020

CA Department Of Fish And Wildlife Commissioner Wants To Close Sportfishing Season Due To COVID-19 posted to KBC 4/14/20.

*** PRESS RELEASE - COMMENTS Period extended to APRIL 11! Reclamation seeks public input on proposed Klamath Project interim operations 4/1/2020. Please send your comments on these massive water acquisitions for whales, salmon, tribes and suckers; this is a temporary mandate to run through the projected Klamath dam removal in 2022-2023. Then they will unveil another plan made in coordination with the Yuroks (that are suing us for more water acquisitions) and other Tribes and government agencies to come up with much more water for whales, salmon and suckers after dam removal and dam reservoir storage is obliterated.

Matthew 5:9 - "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God"

4/4/2020 - KBC NOTE: PCFFA (Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen), IFR and Yurok Tribe sued to take another 50,000 acre feet of Klamath Project stored water to dump into Klamath River. Klamath Water Users settled for giving up 23,000 acre feet of their deeded water. Yuroks celebrate their victory: Yurok Tribe and commercial fishing families secure more water for salmon, from an Earthjustice news release April 1, 2020. "The Yurok Tribe, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA), and the Institute for Fisheries Resources (IFR, represented by the nonprofit environmental law firm Earthjustice, have successfully obtained a new three-year plan from the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) for operating the Klamath Irrigation Project to increase springtime flows in the Klamath River..."
Here is the story by PCFFA how they created IFR to get funding as a non-profit. Several other NGOs (non-governmental agencies like Klamath Riverkeeper/Karuk Tribe) join in the lawsuits against irrigators, miners, loggers, grazers, and mostly use George Soros-sponsored attorneys like Earthjustice. They sued against Klamath Irrigators in the Takings Case, water quality, our former affordable power rate, costing irrigators millions$. Litigants PCFFA and Yuroks are also instrumental in proposed Klamath dam destruction.

*** PRESS RELEASE - COMMENTS DUE APRIL 10! Reclamation seeks public input on proposed Klamath Project interim operations 4/1/2020. We were given 9 days to respond to a 178 page technical report, which downsizes available water to Klamath Project irrigators.

Agreement Buys Time on New Klamath Project Ops Plan, KWUA 3/30/2020.

For March 2020 chronological news, see Archive 214, April 2020 see Archive 215
For Main Archive Page go HERE.

God Bless America !

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Before the Klamath Project was built, there were up to 30 feet of water where our farms are now. It was a navigable lake. That's why on our deeds, signed by US President, we were allotted 2+ acre feet of water for our crops, as all the runoff we pump uphill, at our expense, out of our closed basin and into the Klamath River? The river often went dry in the fall before the Project was built.

..There's nothing down here, you should be checking out the whole site. Ron

Feb