"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.

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.

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