More on Barnes and storage, go HERE. 

Buying Barnes was promoted as a "storage' silver bullet by the Bureau of Reclamation, however this scheme is another acquisition by US Fish and Wildlife, regardless of the detriment to water quality and regardless of the evaporation, and regardless of water temperature. And it's only a mere $7 million to take yet another ranch off the tax rolls.

Wyden, Smith secured dollars for Barnes Ranch acquisition for refuge. Senate approves funds for Oregon Natural Resource Project, Wyden news release, posted to KBC 7/12/05. (For 3 years the environmental groups and government agencies have been begging support from irrigators to buy Barnes Ranch for 50,000 acre feet storage, "more water for fish and farms." Read the lie! Regardless of letters and lack of community support, and lack of science according to Dr William Lewis, Natural Research Council subcommittee chairman, this will be bought and run by Fish and Wildlife for more refuge, breaching dykes into the lake, evaporating more water than farmland and worsening water quality.  Nearly 100,000 acres of upper basin ag land have been bought by federal agencies in the past few years in the Upper Basin, decimating the cattle industry and tax base. KBC)

Geologist Gail Hildreth Whitsett comments to USFW regarding Barnes Ranch federal acquisition 5/19/05

Letter from Oregon Senator Doug Whitsett 5/18/05

Letter from Klamath County Commissioners on Barnes Ranch, 5/12/05

Letter from KWUA responding to Barnes Ranch land acquisition posted to KBC 5/16/05

BARNES RANCH: Flooding more ag land  Klamath Courier posted 4/21/05.

BARNES RANCH: Put irrigation at the core of water proposal, H&N posted to KBC 4/21/05.

Barnes Ranch proposed acquisition for refuge, More study needed before going ahead with refuge addition, H&N by Dr Ken Rykbost 4/18/05   The author Ken Rykbost recently retired as superintendent of the Oregon State University Klamath Experiment and Professor, Department of Crop and Soil Science. Opinions expressed are mine alone and do not represent Oregon State University, the Klamath Experiment Station, or Klamath County.

Barnes Ranch won't work for water storage, by Barnes' neighbor Paul Little, 11/13/03. KBC transcript from video, "The way it is now, we might get 2 feet on the 2400 acres, which is less than 5000 acre feet.  Most of that would evaporate."

Undated letter by Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner John Keys on behalf of Gale Norton, Secretary of the Interior, concerning the purchase of Barnes Ranch.

The following shows the decline in Upper Basin flows in the past 55 years, primarily from converting ag lands to wetlands.

Part of Dr. Ken Rykbost's POWERPOINT PRESENTATION

Williamson River Flows at Modoc Point Road, Dr. Rykbost audio *Williamson River accounts for about 46 % of inflow to UKL according to several studies *Williamson River watershed yield per inch of precipitation at Klamath Falls or Crater Lake has declined significantly over the past 50 years *Changes in the upper Williamson, Sycan, and Sprague Rivers seem apparent