"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 Dam Removal, KBRA, current and failed agreements, related articles, letters, videos, press releases, documents, and Who's Who
KBC's KRRC / Klamath River Renewal Corporation (Dam Destruction Group) Page
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"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." Matthew 5:6

LaMalfa Reacts to California Legislature Advancing Redistricting, posted to KBC 8/24/25
"...No one can look at these maps—one with a district spreading from Modoc to Marin, another shaped like a giant elephant with a trunk to bring in downtown Sacramento with Tahoe, or sticking Lassen and Plumas counties way over on the Nevada border with Santa Rosa in a coastal county—and say they appear credible..."

 

 

 

 

		KID EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR GENE SOUZA EXPOSES  FALSE CLAIMS OF SALMON IN THE UPPER KLAMATH BASIN (John Hamilton's "misstatements / falsehoods") posted to KBC 8/3/25
“Geological conditions upstream from the site indicate that at one time the river ran over this reef 130 feet above its present bed, and at that point the waters were backed up about 5 miles and formed a lake about 1 mile.” J.C. Boyle 1913    "There is a natural rock dam across the river-below Keno, which it is almost impossible for fish to get over. In their effort to do so, thousands of fine salmon are so bruised and spotted by the rocks that they become worthless.” The Evening Herald, a Klamath Falls paper, on September 24, 1908.    “But the salmon, king of the finny tribes, they had not, for that royal fish ascends the Klamath only to the first rapids below Lower Klamath Lake. Above them there is no deposit of gravel suitable for it to spawn in.” 1877 Tribes of California – Stephen Powers

Secretary Rollins Rescinds Roadless Rule, Eliminating Impediment to Responsible Forest Management, USDA, posted to KBC 7/27/25. "...Rescinding this rule will remove prohibitions on road construction, reconstruction, and timber harvest on nearly 59 million acres of the National Forest System, allowing for fire prevention and responsible timber production..."  Go HERE for our Forests and Logging Page

DR KEN RYKBOST, EXPOSING KLAMATH SCIENCE, DECEPTION AND CORRUPTION received and posted to KBC 7/18/25 Dr. Ken Rykbost, former Superintendent of the Klamath Experiment Station, part of Oregon State University agricultural experiment station system: “This is just a brief summary… as Tribes and radical environmental organizations attempt to eliminate agriculture from the Klamath Basin.” Rykbost played a significant role in research, documenting science and exposing deception and corruption. “I was assured that the Bureau of Reclamation’s Klamath Irrigation Project was the most secure irrigation project in the west....”

 

"As far as our location downstream of Iron Gate, virtually EVERYTHING that depends on the river is still completely DEAD...We still have no irrigation that was supposed to have been replaced long ago but proved impossible due to the horrendous conditions...  We have lost most of our pasture and landscape...long term wells have suddenly gone dry..."The catastrophic results of Klamath River Dam Destruction, by Rex Cozzalio, 3^rd generation Hornbrook rancher by Irongate Dam 6/16/25, commenting on article Beautiful Banks, New growth along Klamath River off to good start" by Lee Juillerat regarding aftermath of Klamath Dam Destruction

State unveils wolf mapping tool to help avoid conflicts, California Farm Bureau Ag Alert, posted to KBC 6/12/25. California ranchers have a new mapping tool designed to provide regular location information on GPS-collared gray wolves in the state to help prevent wolf-livestock conflicts. SEE our KBC Wolf Page for more local wolf info and articles

 "There are 65,000 gray wolves in North America...cattle make up the majority of the diet of wolves in California." by Crystal Emsoff, posted to KBC 6/12/25

James R. Ottoman family of Malin named winner of the national Farm Family of the Year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmers Home Administration.
May 23, 1975 -- 50 Years Ago...Herald and News, posted to KBC 6/9/25

 

Future of Sattitla (Medicine Lake) National Monument remains uncertain, H&N 3/28/25. "The 224,000-acre Sattitla (Medicine Lake) monument includes portions of Modoc, Siskiyou and Shasta counties, while the Chuckwalla monument in Southern California spans 624,000 acres... " 'Ileene Anderson, California desert director at the (Soros funded) Center for Biological Diversity:... “Both these monuments were spearheaded by local Tribes with overwhelming support from local and regional communities, including businesses and recreationists.'"

KBC NOTE: Wrong! Local communities overwhelmingly opposed this, having seen devastating wildfires in our "National Monuments,"  obliterating over 90% of neighboring Lava Beds National Monument, destroying habitat and wildlife. Lava Beds does not permit timber harvest, hunting, mining or aggressive fire suppressing. See our Medicine Lake Page for more on the tribes' annual traditional gatherings with the first being in 2003. Environmental groups used the tribes to combat use of the clean green geothermal wells nearby.

z

 

 

 

RULING: Federal contract controls non-federal Klamath water diversions
Capital Press, posted to KBC 2/1/25. "The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation can restrict a non-federal water diversion under its contract with the Klamath Drainage District, according to a federal appeals court..."

 

 

Klamath Water Users and Bureau of Reclamation Agree to New Programs Funds, $33M and $17M, KWUA, posted to KBC 2/1/25.
"The DRA, which operates a voluntary program to assist with chronic water shortage for irrigation in the Klamath Project, would receive $33 million over the next few years to supplement that program with new, longer-term measures...'We expect the program will include three-to-five-year contracts with producers for voluntary land idling, but with the ability to rotate the idled land in an operation,'...Reclamation also intends to allocate an additional $17 million of IRA funds for programs that it would pursue. These potential permanent reductions of water demand for land not in commercial agricultural production..."

U.S. House Passes Bentz Legislation Benefitting Klamath Farmers, KWUA, posted to KBC 2/1/25. "Under the legislation, federal agencies would not be allowed to pass on the costs of operating or maintaining Keno and Link River Dams, infrastructure built and formerly operated by PacifiCorp, which are not being removed...The legislation would also provide the authority and tools needed for keeping a promise that upstream migration of salmon and steelhead would not impose new regulatory burdens by providing a mechanism for the Bureau of Reclamation to install and pay for costly measures such as fish screens that would not otherwise be needed.."

Interior Dept. Grants $46M for Klamath Basin Restoration, posted to KBC 12/3/24, including Barnes Ranch acquisition for birds and suckers, not water storage, and 90,000 acres gifted to Klamath Tribes. Both have previously been opposed by the public in letters and polls. HERE for scientists' opposition and letters of opposition by the Klamath Basin communities, water districts and public officials.
"...the Service is investing a total of $162 million over five years to restore the Klamath region's ecosystem and repair local economies...will secure reliable water for the national wildlife refuges, advance the restoration of salmon post dam removal, address water quality and conveyance issues, and ..."
$13 million will be used to complete restoration of the Agency-Barnes wetland units of Upper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge and... Covering 14,356 acres, the restored wetland will create vital habitat for waterfowl, federally endangered Lost River and shortnose suckers, and other species, making it one of the largest wetland restoration initiatives in the United States.
Klamath Keystone Initiative, "...$31 million as part of an agreement, commonly known as the “Mazama Funds,” that will allow the Klamath Tribes to acquire nearly 90,000 acres of private land...(USFWS) deployed $26 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in fiscal year 2022 for Klamath Basin restoration projects, including nearly $16 million for ecosystem restoration projects in the Basin and $10 million to expand the Klamath Falls National Fish Hatchery to raise juvenile endangered suckers (C’waam and Koptu)."
KBC NOTE: After the Klamath Reclamation Project water was entirely shut off in 2001 and Barnes Ranch was promoted, the nation's best available science was engaged: According to Dr William Lewis, Chairman of the National Research Council: flooding more ag land won't produce more suckers and won't improve Klamath Lake water quality. Also it will raise lake temperatures and evaporate more water than it can store.  Higher than historic river flows won't help salmon, lower flows didn't kill salmon. NRC: "The water shutoff was unjustified."
The new deal would "secure water reliable water for the national wildlife refuges." However the recent biological assessment mandates denying much water to irrigators, obliterating our water rights. 
The Barnes Ranch acquisition, initially proposed as water storage for Klamath Project, was opposed by Klamath Irrigation District, scientists, representatives, and the public. As with other promises of storage, this acquisition is presently touted as another "restored wetland."
FYI 97,160 acres of agricultural land have been converted into wetlands from ag as primary water usage
(above Klamath Lake).  Wetlands use nearly 2ce as much water as ag lands. Most of these acquisitions were sold to the public as "water storage for irrigation" and (warm) water to help endangered suckers

 

9/13/24 - We Klamath Project irrigators have less than 2 weeks, mid-harvest, to comment on the Bureau's Draft Biological Assessment which, we've heard, will be the end of the Klamath Project.
DEADLINE OCTOBER 2, 2024!

Klamath Irrigation District August 12 Newsletter. 
Klamath Irrigation District anticipates early-mid September Conflict (illegal water shutoffs) with Reclamation's 2024 Operations Plan
Reclamations proposed 5-year action would significantly reduce water allocations, expected foreclosures, decimated ecosystem...
"My research indicates that the thanks for this action are directly tied to the Department of Interiors Senior Solicitor, Robert (Bob) Anderson, who has been involved in Klamath issues since at least the Clinton Administration, Scott Bergstrom, also with the Department of Interior and is directly responsible for the processing of payment for heavily biased flow models between 1996 and 2006 which has further promoted the destruction of agriculture since the mid-1990s, Department of Justice's natural resources attorney Todd Snoddgrass who continues to misrepresent and mislead judges as to the water-right issues at hand which are outside the discretion of Reclamation's obligations under the Endangered Species Act, and his partner in crime Robert Williams..."


Dr. Thomas Hardy, for additional reading: BIA funded Hardy Contracts to pay $1M+ for "science," working for DOI Bob Anderson: Dr. Thomas Hardy (Utah State University): There is some confusion why the Department of Justice (DOJ) is involved. I was already under contract with DOJ, they used an existing contract. But I work for Mr. Anderson and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)."
Hardy was paid well over $1 million to represent BIA in adjudication and science reports for the Klamath River Tribes vs Klamath Project Irrigators, used to set lake levels and river flows to benefit the Tribes.
 

Removing Klamath River dams caused more harm than good by Joan F. Riker, the former CEO and president of Klamath Consulting Service, Inc. "If any of you have seen photos of the Klamath River below Copco 1 and 2 and Iron Gate, you may cry with me for the devastation their removal has done to the environment, to the ecosystem, to the animals, to the fish and the fishermen, to the farmers and to the people who live there (including those of Native American heritage)....All of the Native Americans were duped by the environmental info they were given. My heart breaks for them. Klamath Consulting Service, Inc. worked for the Klamath Tribe over several years to improve fish habitat, and we had some good projects..."
 

Klamath Basin wildlife refuges battle suspected botulism and bird flu outbreak, "...thousands of birds..." have died. Jefferson Public Radio 8/17/24. "In a response to KWUA’s July letter, Karl Stock, regional director for the California-Great Basin region at the Bureau of Reclamation, wrote that “‘flow through’ may have potential to improve project operations and ecosystem health in the future,” but that the proposal needed more analysis."

Klamath Basin waterfowl in peril as recently restored wetlands on national refuges denied water H&N 8/13/24. FOLLOWED BY comments from Klamath Basin Crisis Facebook page. BQ "...There's a lot of water in Upper Klamath Lake evaporating away...Where are the real waterfowl managers. It would have been better to leave it dry." GS "...We have also introduced many options for the federal government to adopt a "flow-through" model to mitigate these effects...We have been ignored.."

A Conversation with Gene Souza, manager of KID
by Brian Gailey, KWUA Director of Communications for Basin Ag News 6/26/24
"Our national security is based upon strong agricultural resources. The enemies of our nation and our Constitution are attacking our agricultural strength on numerous fronts. Many don’t understand the link between food sovereignty and freedom. "...biggest challenge KID has faced?" "I was unprepared for a civilian role in which the bureaucracies do not answer to Congress... I was routinely on a time crunch to answer Congressional inquiries while performing my military duties; these bureaucracies don’t seem to be responsive to our elected representatives..."

< Executive Director Klamath Irrigation District/KID
Bureau of Reclamation's illegal plans for Klamath Project irrigators 2024, Klamath Irrigation District Executive Director Gene Souza responds to inquiry, 5/4/2024, "We at KBC asked Gene Souza, Klamath Irrigation District/KID Executive Director, "Gene Souza, will this be like a recent year when the Bureau illegally denied us farmers our stored irrigation water, bribed us $$$$$$$ to commit to fallowing our fields, then said if a district sued the Bureau, they would deny all the farmers in all the districts their promised fallow payment. ???? Is that what's happening this year again?"  Souza: "...Yes, Reclamation has indicated it will make $8.5 million or so available for a demand reduction program in 2024. This is approximately $4-6 Million short of being able to pay mortgages, weed control, equipment loans, seed loss, etc given the amount of water Reclamation has stated they intend to release to farmers this year..."

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION / FERC letter to Klamath dam destruction group. Posted to KBC 4/27/24. "According to Mr. Sean Iiams’ March 27, 2024 email to Ms. Elisabeth Jacquot-Matt of this office, Kiewit has aborted the Iron Gate Development drilling program in its entirety negating the requirement for the DPP. ...We remind you that you may not proceed with exploratory drilling in any of the project embankments without prior authorization from this office...We cannot authorize the Iron Gate Dam removal at this time based on the above comments." (Note we have not been able to locate the attachments)

KBRC - Indian Farmer Klamath Basin Restoration Collaboration 2024, Memorandum of Understanding. "The purpose of this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is to recognize a partnership among the Klamath Tribes, Yurok Tribe, Karuk Tribe, and Klamath Water Users Association (KWUA)...to collaborate and cooperate on efforts in the Klamath Basin (Basin) in support of their common goals...sustainability and resilience for the Basin, its communities, fisheries, and Tribal trust..."
Klamath Water Users Association draft Restoration Projects and Activities within the Klamath Project 2/5/24.

Newsom announces strategy to help salmon populations, CFBF, posted to KBC 2/28/24. “Many of the strategy actions—from dedicated habitat to dam removal and ecosystem flows—require the participation of private landowners and water rights holders....Other efforts include developing minimum instream flows and a long-term management plan for the Scott and Shasta rivers in Siskiyou County..."

The Klamath River, A Dam Shame, guest editorial by Carol Lovegren Miller, posted to KBC 2/19/24. "Years ago, a Pacific Power employee told me they were ordered to quit lifting their gates annually to release sediment behind the Umpqua dams for fear it would adversely affect spawning...ODOT’s sanding on snowy highways along rivers has been reduced for fear that sand washing into the river will clog spawning grounds. Yet releasing a 100 years’ of sediment accumulated behind four Klamath dams all at once is not supposed to be a problem for spawning salmon?"

Mulholland’s Ghost and the Klamath River The Los Angeles assault on the water resources of the west, 2/4/24 by William Simpson II. "...the life-giving waters of Copco and Iron Gate Lakes have been drained.  And the dams that were created for the greater good of the vast majority of millions of Americans in several counties and two states are being demolished, unleashing an environmental and socioeconomic disaster of epic proportions!...In ’50 Years On the Klamath’, Mr. Boyle outlined a scheme from 1948 to send water from the Klamath Basin to the San Joaquin Valley California....Ever wonder why the last few California governors want to build a $-billion dollar tunnel (first the twin tunnel, then mono-tunnel) under the Sacramento delta to connect the lower Sacramento River to the California Aqueduct? What do they know?..."

"There are now extremely serious infrastructure and national security lenses through which we should re-examine this (Klamath Dam destruction) project," by Ric Costales, former logger and Siskiyou County Natural Resource Policy Specialist, 1/30/24
Ric and Judy Costales clearing dead trees from their property	Ric Costales	Copco Lake before Copco Dam destruction last week	Copco Lake after KRRC destroyed the dam and drained the lake: 8 deer drowned in the sludge
		Photo by Chrissie Ishida Reynolds	Photo from Chrissie Ishida Reynolds Facebook post

 

The Dark Side of Klamath Dam "Renewal" part 2, A local perspective by Chrissie Ishida Reynolds 1/28/24. "At 1:13 this afternoon I got a call from my 77 year old neighbor, Al. Two deer were stuck in the mud near his house..."

 

 

 

 

< Rex Cozzalio
Klamath Dam Demolition places "...the ENTIRE burden of public/private loss, cost, and environmental devastation upon the most affected unrepresented ratepayers, taxpayers, and regional residents…” Rex Cozzalio, 3^rd generation Hornbrook rancher by Irongate Dam, comments on article, Where Our Energy Comes From: Klamath River by Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board (CUB)

 

 

< Siskiyou County Water Users Association Richard Marshall
There are 5000 victims of Klamath Hydroelectric dam destruction’s illegal and unconstitutional Mitigation Fund; they are being ignored by Energy and Commerce Committee, Klamath dam demolition group KRRC, and state and county reps. They need your letters of support. 1/16/24

 

 

Is this recent theft of 70,000 acre feet by USFWS the end of Klamath Reclamation Project irrigation water rights?  rule of law? Major enlargement of Upper Klamath Lake approved, KWUA Newsletter, posted to KBC 11/4/23. "...Barnes/Agency Project will increase the capacity of the UKL by approximately 70,000 acre-feet... resulting in the UKL expanding to cover an additional 13,443 acres beyond its current area..." (note: One acre irrigated ag land uses approximately 2 to 2½ Acre Feet (AF) water. One acre wetlands uses 4 to 4½ AF water. Wetlands use over 2ce as much water as ag lands.)
KWUA: "...Credible parties believe that the project will have important benefits for water quality, habitat for endangered suckers and other aquatic species, and bird populations. Irrigation water users in the Klamath Project are supportive of all those things..."
My question to KWUA: Who are these "credible parties"??  “The National Research Council (NRC) is the operating arm of the United States National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and is overseen by a governing board that consists of councilors from each of the three Academies.” It is the most prestigious science team in America. 
Dr. William M. Lewis, Jr, Chair, National Research Council Committee on Endangered and Threatened Fishes in the Klamath River Basin (2001-2003), attended February 3, 2004, at a DOI sponsored Klamath Science Workshop in Klamath Falls. He spoke regarding the NRC conclusions on suckers, lake level and river flow management, and expanding UKL to lower ph levels and help 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. 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 explained that Clear Lake does not have the habitat that scientists are trying to create in the Upper Basin for suckers, yet Clear Lake has stable populations of healthy suckers..."These have all the characteristics we want in recovered population.  We have to protect these populations."...Lewis was asked about making more wetlands for suckers, and he responded that there are 17,000 acres of restoration already. He cautioned that we shouldn't put too much faith into wetlands regarding the suppression of algae...He added that we should not count on retiring agricultural land land for saving suckers...Jacob Kann, ecologist and scientist for Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust (OBRT president is presently on KRRC Klamath dam destruction board), insisted that timing and flows are related to the ph levels. Lewis responded that the water is always ph loaded, "the increase doesn't matter if it's always been saturated"... When asked if it would work to control the significant part of the ph load, Lewis responded that the lake is 140 square miles...that is not feasible to change... looking at the data, water level management just does not line up." http://klamathbasincrisis.org/science/sciencewkshop020304.htm

Again, KWUA, who are these "credible parties"?

Here are LINKS to KBC's collection of documents, tours, letters concerning adding Barnes Ranch to the previously acquisitions of irrigated ag land with the empty promise of more storage for Klamath irrigators.
2/3/04 Klamath Science Workshop notes: http://klamathbasincrisis.org/science/sciencewkshop020304.htm
Barnes Ranch articles, letters, testimonies, and documents: http://klamathbasincrisis.org/0kbcbarnesandstoragetoc.htm
Letters written regarding Barnes Ranch land acquisition 2005 by scientists, farmers, representatives: http://klamathbasincrisis.org/storage/barnesletters061305.htm
Tour of The Nature Conservancy and Government land acquisitions, Barnes Ranch purchase questioned: http://klamathbasincrisis.org/0kbctnchatfield071603.htm
Over  94,539 acres of agricultural Land has been taken out of production above Klamath Lake with the promise by conservancies to create 'more water to go around'.  More was taken out of production last year
Letter regarding Barnes Ranch acquisition for "storage" by Dr. Ken Rykbost, retired as superintendent of the Oregon State University Klamath Experiment and Professor, Department of Crop and Soil Science 4/18/05: http://klamathbasincrisis.org/storage/rykboststudy041805.htm

<photo Brent Cheyne, President of National Association of Wheat Growers
Fighting for Farmers: Brent Cheyne advocates as NAWG president amid Klamath water crisis, Capital Press, posted to KBC 10/26/23. "...Cheyne worries about what the future holds. As more water is set aside for endangered fish in the Klamath River and Upper Klamath Lake, less is available for farms and wildlife refuges that bring in up to 1 million migratory birds each year along the Pacific Flyway...The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which controls the flow of water, has allocated 260,000 acre-feet from Upper Klamath Lake for irrigators. That still only satisfies about two-thirds of full demand, but a big improvement over the last two years. Last year, Reclamation initially approved 50,000 acre-feet before increasing the allotment to 82,253 acre-feet later in the summer. In 2021, water was shut off entirely. The effects...have been devastating."

Ruling on multiple water rights lawsuits favor endangered species
Magistrate's decision goes against Reclamation and Project...Klamath Drainage District, H&N, posted to KBC 10/27/23. "...the Bureau of Reclamation filed a suit against Klamath Drainage District for diverting flows from the Klamath River in 2021. KDD General Manager Scott White said the district was allowed to divert water in years when the Klamath Project received insufficient water to provide allocations to KDD under a state permitted use granted in 1977. “Since the right was permitted, it was treated as a private and separate right to any Project allocation,” White said. “During times of shortage, the Bureau would inform the district that there was no more Project water available and that the district must use its permit to continue irrigating. That was how operations worked since the ‘70s and just until last year when the United States changed their mind and sued us.”

Reclamation backtracks, won't curtail Klamath Project water, Capital Press Sept 5, 2023. "In its most recent biological opinion for Lost River and shortnose suckers — also known as C’waam and Koptu by the Klamath Tribes — the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service required Upper Klamath Lake be kept at 4,138 feet of elevation by Sept. 30...However, Reclamation boosted that level up to 4,139.2 feet in its 2023 operations plan. The increase was based on a lawsuit filed by the Yurok Tribe and two nonprofit fishing groups.."

Klamath Project irrigators might lose remaining water allocation, H&N, KBC 8/26/23. "Klamath Project irrigators may lose what remains of the promised water supply...Crops are already in the ground, and irrigators in the project are depending on that water...You’ve got people with big investments in these crops, and the potential of having that investment along with the crops in the fields just burn up..."

The river occasionally went dry in the fall before the Klamath Project was built.

Before the Klamath Irrigation 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 deeded 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.
 

Sheriff's office busts marijuana grow operation near Beatty, H&N, posted to KBC 10/27/23  "...579 marijuana plants - the illegal crop on the black market would have been approximately $3.3 million...It is also estimated that 312,660 gallons of water had been used throughout the growing season."

More than 2,800 marijuana plants destroyed in 2 searches near Sprague River, H&N posted to KBC 10/27/23. "deputies found and destroyed 1,907 plants on 10 plots of land...illegal crop was estimated to have been worth more than $11 million...water estimated to have been used was 1,029,000 gallons. A second search conducted on Meadow Lane, southeast of Sprague River,...Officers destroyed 908 illegal marijuana plants. ...estimated at about $5.25 million; about 490,000 gallons of water were used."

In 1996, Robert Anderson (current Interior’s Principal Deputy Solicitor since January 2021) directed the Bureau of Indian Affairs to hire Dr. Thomas Hardy to develop evidence to support the Yurok water rights claim in the Klamath Adjudication.  compiled by Klamath Irrigation District Manager Gene Souza for KID newsletter.

Robert Anderson Nominated as Solicitor of the Department of the Interior April 7, 2021  WASHINGTON – Robert (Bob) Anderson’s nomination as Solicitor of the Department of the Interior was formally transmitted by the White House to the United States Senate today. Bob has served as Interior’s Principal Deputy Solicitor since January 20, 2021.      “Bob has extensive legal expertise with regard to Native American Tribes, public lands, and water – all of which will help advance Interior’s mission to steward America's natural, cultural and historic resources and honor our nation-to-nation relationship with Tribes in accordance with the spirit and letter of the law. He is a thoughtful and trusted senior member of our team at Interior, with my deep confidence, and I look forward to his confirmation process,” said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland...     For 20 years, Bob was a law professor at the University of Washington and directed its Native American Law Center. He has been the Oneida Indian Nation Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School for the past twelve years. He is a co-author and editor of the leading federal Indian Law treatise, Cohen’s Handbook of Federal Indian Law, and is a co-author of a leading textbook on American Indian Law. He has extensive expertise and has published many articles in the fields of natural resources law, water law, and American Indian law.       Bob served as the Associate Solicitor for Indian Affairs and Counselor to the Secretary under Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt. He began his career as a staff attorney for the Native American Rights Fund, where he practiced law for twelve years. Bob also served on the transition agency review teams for President-elect Obama and President-elect Biden.     Bob grew up in the small town of Ely in northeastern Minnesota and is an enrolled member of the Bois Forte Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. Bob received his law degree from the University of Minnesota. ----------- -------------------- The Top Lawyer at the Interior Robert Anderson ’83 contributes his expertise in natural resources and American Indian law as solicitor of the U.S. Department of the Interior...

Dr. Thomas B. Hardy was contracted by the Department of Justice to establish Indian water rights to be an expert witness for (and paid for by) the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in the Klamath River adjudication process.  The BIA authorized Hardy in his 2000 contract $550,086... and he received an additional $1.6 Million of tax-payer funds between 1996 and 2001

 

  < Tens of thousands of acres in the Klamath Project are not being irrigated this year due to the reduced allocation made by the Bureau of Reclamation.
Reclamation releases 2023 drought plan, H&N, posted to KBC 8/5/23. "U.S. Bureau of Reclamation issued what the agency refers to as a “Drought Plan” for the Klamath Project, which will require many farmers to stop irrigating before the end of the growing season... "Tracey Liskey, president of KWUA, commented in response to the news. “Continued federal mismanagement of water is on full display, drying up farms and refuges and creating unnecessary conflict among the residents of the Klamath Basin. Worse, it is not doing anything at all to help ESA-listed species in whose name farms and wildlife are suffering.”

 

 

KLAMATH - As work begins on the largest US dam removal project, tribes look to a future of growth by Adam Beam, AP News, posted to KBC 8/4/23. PRECEDED BY COMMENTS BY REX COZZALIO, a 3rd generation Hornbrook rancher:  "The past more than a decade of empirical studies completely REFUTE the 'rewilding' proponent's prior claimed 'benefits' of Klamath Reservoirs' destruction.  The recent Elwha Study of dams destruction results CONFIRM it being an absolute environmental disaster, with multiple extirpated species, PERMANENT damages to the river and habitat, and total FAILURE of previously 'predicted benefits' asserted by many of the same unaccountable signatories of Klamath destruction...."
The Iron Gate Dam powerhouse and spillway are seen on the lower Klamath River near Hornbrook, Calif, on March 2, 2020. This dam, along with three others on the Klamath River, are scheduled to be removed by the end of 2024. Crews will work to restore the river and surrounding land.	REX COZZALIO, a 3rd generation Hornbrook rancher.

 

Dam demolition begins on Klamath River, Capital Press, posted to KBC 7/28/23. "...Crews recently began demolishing Copco 2 — the smallest of the four dams — officially kicking off what has been described as the largest dam removal project in U.S. history...Completed in 1925, Copco 2 measured 35 feet tall and 278 feet long. It diverted water released from Copco 1 into a series of tunnels and penstocks ending at a rectangular powerhouse capable of producing up to 27 megawatts of electricity..."
   According to Google: "How many homes will 1 MW power? One megawatt equals one million watts or 1,000 kilowatts, roughly enough electricity for the instantaneous demand of 750 homes at once."
  KBC Note: If 1 MW supplies750 homes, 27 MW supplies 20,250 homes with power. And this is "the smallest of the four dams."
 

Erika Ackley: 'I like the independence of farming' by Capital Press, posted to KBC 7/26/23. "Ackley is the owner of Copic Bay Farms, a small hay and cattle operation a couple miles outside Newell in Northern California. When the hay is ready to be cut, Ackley runs the swather. Daughter Helena, 14, is next in the field with a rake. Ackley follows with the baler, and daughter Hannah, 16, operates the bale wagon that hauls the bales to the barn.

 

 

Coalition opposes bills to overhaul California water rights rules, CFBF 6/21/23. “...The bills would authorize the state water board to impose punitive penalties on even law-abiding water right holders, curtail water rights in any year and strip entities of their water rights...data trends show water policy decisions, such as California’s 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, affect land values..."

U.S. Supreme Court issues favorable WOTUS decision in Sackett and cites State Farm Bureaus' Amicus Brief, California Farm Bureau Federation 6/20/23

U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley visits Klamath Falls for annual Town Hall. H&N, posted to KBC 6/20/23. "Among his recent efforts, Merkley noted the $162 million attained for the sake of improving water quality in Klamath County lakes." KBC NOTE - FACT: Our Country's Best Available Science: Dr William Lewis Jr., University of Colorado, Chairman of the National Research Council, "...was asked about making more wetlands for suckers, and he responded that there are 17,000 acres of restoration already... we should not count on retiring agricultural land land for saving suckers...When asked if it would work to control the significant part of the ph load, Lewis responded that the lake is 140 square miles...that is not feasible to change..." 

 

Rex Cozzalio, a 3rd generation Hornbrook rancher, responds to Family Farm Alliance false claims that Klamath Dams provide no flood control or provision for irrigators, 5/11/23 FOLLOWED BY: Why support Klamath deals? Our world needs food by Family Farm Alliance Patrick O’Toole and Dan Keppen for the Capital Press (supporting the KBRA/Klamath dam destruction agreement.)

Judge won't halt water for Klamath Project irrigators by GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press May 11, 2023 "Moss Driscoll, water policy director for the KWUA, said this year's hydrology in the basin is much improved, with up to 200% of normal mountain snowpack.Reclamation allocated 215,000 acre-feet of water from Upper Klamath Lake for the 2023 irrigation season on April 13. Had the agency followed the interim operations plan, Driscoll said officials would have allocated 285,000 acre-feet of water for the project — still short of full demand."

Court Hears Klamath Water Case; Frustration with Lack of Reclamation Plan for 2023
Klamath Water Users Association News Release preceded by KID Executive Director and Manager Gene Souza comments 5/10/23

 
 < Judge Bob Kaster (How homeowners/victims in the path of Klamath Dam destruction are being ruined. A review of the mitigation fund)
SUPPOSE – A DAM FRIGHTENING TALE
by BOB KASTER, retired Superior Court Judge and a long-time Yreka resident
"In the front row, Henry Monroe, who had considered himself to be somewhat of an expert on the Klamath Mitigation Fund, and had been stunned by the way the class discussion had been going, piped up and said, “The KMF website expressly states that public funds “may not be used to compensate property owners for a real or perceived loss in property values that does not involve physical damage.  Why does it say that?”

Some Dam -- Hydro News And Other Stuff
WHISTLEBLOWER - Dr. Paul R. Houser: Klamath Dam removal holds risks, uncertainties
Stanford University July 12, 2012
{KBC NOTE:  An article by Ethics Scientist Dr. Paul Houser, Bureau of Reclamation’s highest level scientist, expert on ‘Scientific Integrity.' Houser was FIRED for exposing scientific fraud by Interior to destroy Klamath River hydroelectric dams} "Lynch disagrees with my comment that a more in-depth engineering analysis is needed to assure that Iron Gate Dam is removed safely. My comment was based on an EIS/EIR comment submitted by Stephen Koshy, who warned that notching the earth-filled Iron Gate Dam may cause it to fail. This concern can be addressed by providing a public response to Koshy along with the relevant engineering analyses."

KWUA NEWS RELEASE: Klamath Project Gets Fraction of Needed Supply; Massive River Flows Anticipated, by Moss Driscoll 4/17/23. "...In a year that is in the top ten percent in terms of snowpack, with over 180 percent of average currently, and when Reclamation expects to release more than 590,000 acre-feet of water to the Pacific Ocean, we have 60,000 acres of farmland along with two national wildlife that are likely to go dry this year...The Klamath Project provides water to roughly 230,000 acres of farms and refuges in northern California and southern Oregon. Farming in the Klamath Project produces half a billion dollars in regional economic activity..."

Bureau of Reclamation News Release: Reclamation increases Klamath River flows to prevent disease and promote salmon health, 4/17/23. "Releases from Upper Klamath Lake through Link River Dam will increase to 5,300 cubic feet per second the morning of April 19...to a peak of around 6,030 cfs beginning late afternoon on April 19. The peak will last for 72 hours. Flows will begin ramping down at Link River Dam the morning of April 22 and that evening at Iron Gate Dam. The rampdown will last through the end of April."

< KBC News photo of Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge 4/14/23.  Our government has dewatered our farms and refuges, even though this year our snowpack is 180% of average.
Historic investments to benefit Klamath Basin refuges for future generations, USFWS article by Elise Hillman April 4, 2023. "...In 1908, the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge was established by President Roosevelt as the nation’s first waterfowl refuge. This 46,900-acre refuge provides feeding, resting, nesting and rearing habitat for waterfowl, making it a key stop-over for migrating birds..."

KWUA’s Annual Meeting Hosts Record Crowd; Given Disappointing News, H&N Basin Ag News April 2023. " 'I thought in a year with more than 180 percent of snowpack, the (Drought Response Agency) would not need to run a program this year,'  (Marc) Staunton remarked...'Unfortunately, I guess I was wrong.' "

Klamath River: First dam removal is this summer, H&N, posted to BC 4/17/23. “We’re optimistic we can stick to the schedule,” Bransom said of removing Copco 2 this summer and the other three dams in 2024.
Chief Executive Officer KRRC Mark Bransom's FICTION, Rancher Rex Cozzalio's FACTS regarding Klamath Hydroelectric Dam Destruction "Benefits" 3/13/23. "

Klamath Irrigation District Manager Gene Souza speaks to Interior Secretary Haaland and Senator Merkley at A Canal, Klamath Basin Crisis Facebook page.
followed by Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland meets with Klamath Project farmers, Basin Ag News by MOSS DRISCOLL KWUA, posted to KBC 4/17/23. Souza: "...I am explaining how the water moves through the A Canal fish screens, into over 200 miles of canals operated by Klamath Irrigation District, serving 8 other irrigation and improvement districts, where it is reused up to 7 times before being passed through to the Tulelake National Wildlife Refuge where it can be reused in the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge by Tulelake Irrigation District's D Plant, and then returned to the Klamath River by Klamath Drainage District with water which is cleaner, with less nitrogen, phosphorus, and other natural nutrients that have been filtered through the farm fields, replicating the natural process once performed by Lower Klamath Lake."

INTISO VS. STATE OF CALIFORNIA – DAVID VS. GOLIATH? Author: Bob Kaster is a long-time Yreka resident and retired Superior Court Judge. Published in Siskiyou Daily News, posted to KBC 4/17/23

 

 

Northern California farmers urge officials to drop drought regulations, Capital Press, posted to KBC 4/12/23. Posted to KBC 4/12/23. "At a State Water Resources Control Board public meeting on April 4, farmers in the valley urged officials to drop an emergency drought regulation that the board put in place last year, saying it is no longer necessary after this winter’s large snowpack. We believe that we have been regulated in an unprecedented and unfair manner, and now that we’ve had a very decent winter, that unfair treatment is looking more and more like abuse...”

 

From Siskiyou County Water Users Association April 3, 2023 NOTICE OF HEARING regarding Klamath Dam Removal Restraining Order "The Intiso Taxpayer Lawsuit is rescheduled for a hearing at(sometime in May at courtroom 2, Siskiyou County Superior Court. The request for Temporary Restraining Order against continued funding of the KRRC (Klamath River Renewal Corporation). The court is being asked to issue a temporary restraining order pending a trial on the issue of illegal expenditure of funds by the State of California Department of Natural Resources from the 2014 Proposition entitled Water Storage and Water Quality Act. The Proposition never mentioned the largest dam removal in history of the world and specifically stated that no funds would be expended on a project which had a adverse impact on a designated “Wild and Scenic River”. The Klamath River is so designated both Federally and State. The FERC (Federal Energy and Regulatory Commission) in its voluminous EIR/ EIS specifically states in several hundred places that the removal of the Klamath Hydroelectric facilities will adversely impact the Klamath River for an indefinite period of time.  No specific mitigation measures are listed for the indicated adverse impacts."

< "Read the draft literature review of coho biology which counters all of the Yurok claims:"
Southern Oregon Northern California Coast Coho Scientific Studies Evolutionary Significant Unit, an Independent Scientific Literature Review and Biological Assessment (based on the best available science) by Klamath Irrigation District Executive Director Gene Souza, August 30, 2022. Posted to KBC 4/2/23: "ABSTRACT: A comprehensive review of the existing body of science describing the affects of Reclamation's Klamath Project upon the threatened Southern Oregon Northern California Coast (SONCC) coho evolutionarily significant unit (ESU) in the light of 16 United States code, Chapter 35: Endangered Species. Created specifically for the examination of the United States Bureau of Reclamation to address during consultation prior to developing future operations plans for Reclamation's Klamath Project."
Yurok Tribe files amended motion to curtail and take control of the Klamath Reclamation Project undermining the Klamath Adjudication, KID Newsletter, posted to KBC 4/3/23

Klamath River dam removal ecoterrorists' 'restoration' deception by 3rd generation Hornbrook rancher Rex Cozzalio regarding Capital Press article Going Natural. 4/2/23
"Deceptive as always. Implies this 'restoration' will go on for decades. If so, it would have to come from somewhere else, as KRRC will essentially do ONLY TWO attempts at planting, one each year... ...and they will 'irrigate' the 100+ acres out of the 1000 for their considered 'critical' areas with water TAKEN out of the Klamath river using an as yet unidentified water right. Some of the WONDERFUL 'native' plants they are going to plant include poison oak, foxtail, turkey mullein, and numerous other noxious weeds I work out every year to keep out of our property.

Director of Oregon DEQ Richard Whitman, forced to resign, IS BACK
Whitman's destructive historical presence in the Klamath Basin, including links and articles 4/1/23.
Whitman was Oregon's key negotiator for the Klamath Basin Restoration "Agreement"/Klamath dam removal, was Governor John Kitzhaber's Natural Resources Policy Director for Klamath "stability," acknowledged downriver has no water right, stated OWRD will not interfere with sending irrigator's stored water downriver in Whitman/Yurok agreement, while working for DEQ praises Klamath Dam destruction (which will put 20 million cubic yards of toxic sediment down Klamath River exterminating any hint of fish, water quality, deep cold water reservoirs, economy, or the successful salmon hatchery). Yurok Tribe has filed an amended motion to curtail and take control of the Klamath Reclamation Project undermining the Klamath Adjudication. 

Chief Executive Officer KRRC Mark Bransom's FICTION, Rancher Rex Cozzalio's FACTS regarding Klamath Hydroelectric Dam Destruction "Benefits" 3/13/23. "(Negligible) public support...suckers are dying from HIGH lake levels...anadromous salmon were NEVER known in numbers in the Upper Basin for at LEAST the last 8,000 YEARS...impassible reefs would have to be blasted for fish to reach upper basin...further ill-fated mandates against Upper Basin and Klamath watershed resident agricultural production that supports it all..."

Klamath Irrigation District Document in February 2023 Newsletter: "Analysis of Dr. Thomas Hardy Flow Studies PH 1 and PH 2 being utilized as the "best available science" for flows in the Klamath River to protect the threatened Southern Oregon Northern California Coast coho salmon." It includes Dr. Hardy Contracts, and Payments from Bureau of Indian Affairs, to develop evidence to support Yurok water rights in Klamath Adjudication and elevated flows. It has curtailed water to Klamath Reclamation Project, and been used to promote destroying Klamath Hydroelectric dams via KBRA/Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement. Those rejecting Hardy's "science" were the National Research Council which is the Best Available Science in our country, and many unbiased scientists. 80+ % of Klamath and Siskiyou Counties' constituents oppose destruction of Klamath Dams, the largest Dam Destruction in the world. Posted 3/11/23.   For Dr. Hardy page, go HERE

PAYMENTS to Dr. Thomas Hardy by BIA to create testimony for Klamath Basin Adjudication and to curtail water to Klamath Reclamation Project, posted to KBC 3/10/23.
$25,000, $15,608, $79,997, $50,000, $550,860, $115,000 ......................

"...Bureau of Indian Affairs (hired) Dr. Thomas Hardy to develop evidence to support the Yurok water rights claim in the Klamath Adjudication."   *** This flawed science is still being used to create high Klamath Lake levels and Klamath River flows, stealing our stored irrigation water. Klamath Irrigation District February 2023 Newsletter. 

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$15 million available for Klamath Basin restoration projects, H&N, posted to KBC 3/5/23. "Up to $15 million is being made available for ecosystem restoration activities that address high-priority Klamath Basin challenges in Southern Oregon and Northern California by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service...the Klamath Basin set to receive $162 million throughout five years to “restore the regional ecosystem and repair local economies...In 2022, F&WS provided an initial $16 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to fund 32 Klamath Basin ecosystem restoration projects and $10 million to expand the Klamath Falls National Fish Hatchery, which will increase rearing capacity and help prevent the extinction of two federally listed species endemic, shortnose and Lost River sucker fish, to the Klamath Basin..." KBC NOTE: So for the past 2 years the BOR/Bureau of Reclamation dewatered/decimated our farms and wildlife refuges (which hosted 433 species of wildlife) to supposedly save two species of suckers. This was after they spent more than $3M to lure Caspian Terns/fish predators to Tule Lake refuge because the terns in the Columbia River were consuming approximately 6 million to 25 million salmonid smolts per year. Somehow now our baby suckers are disappearing??  http://klamathbasincrisis.org/refuges/refugestoc.htm. So the BOR steals irrigators' stored water to 'save the suckers.'
   Klamath Basin received $10 million for a fish hatchery for suckers to " help prevent the extinction of two federally listed species," however, they will rip out the Klamath River fish hatchery for salmon because the Tribes, government agencies and NGOs said that hatchery fish aren't as good as wild fish. So the Tribes, government agencies and NGOs excuse to demolish the Klamath River hydro dams is supposedly to keep the salmon from going extinct, despite the millions of salmon being produced in the hatchery that they will rip out. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Klamath Tribes file notice to sue government (to TAKE Klamath Farmers' STORED water, and Yurok Tribes is challenging too), Capital Press, posted to KBC 3/5/23. "Klamath Tribes filed a 60-day notice of intent to sue the Bureau of Reclamation on Jan. 30, arguing the agency is failing to meet minimum water requirements in Upper Klamath Lake for C’waam and Koptu — two species of critically endangered sucker fish. At the same time, the Yurok Tribe in northern California is also challenging Reclamation’s latest water proposal to protect salmon in the lower Klamath River. The result could be that little to no Project water is available for irrigators this summer, leaving thousands of acres of productive farmland dry."

Oregon should try cloud seeding, FOLLOWED BY: Oregon senator wants state to investigate cloud seeding to alleviate drought, Capital Press View, posted to KBC 3/5/23. "Idaho, which has had a successful cloud seeding program for 20 years, has boosted the snowpack in four river basins by 10% to 12%. That in turn boosted the state’s river flows by 1.24 million acre-feet."

 

FERC Order granting Extension of time to file certified copies of all instruments of conveyance, to KRRC, PacifiCorp, Oregon, California, posted to KBC 2/23/23.

 

Change Is Happening In Tule Lake, Basin Ag News H&N, February 2023 by Moss Driscoll, KWUA. "According to drill core samples from the former lakebed, it has probably been at least 2.4 million years since Tule Lake has been as dry as it is today. However, those same drill cores also indicate that water levels in Tule Lake have always varied, as the region’s climate and precipitation patterns have shifted."

Oregon Water Resources Department says drought permits 'unlikely'. H&N, posted to KBC 2/23/23.  KBC NOTE: The Bureau of Reclamation illegally took our stored irrigation water, sent it to the ocean, forbade irrigators from using our water, then OWRD probably wil shut off the Oregon wells.

Temporary adjustments coming to Iron Gate Dam, H&N, posted to KBC 2/23/23.
 

Klamath Irrigation District testimony by KID Manager Gene Souza in opposition to Oregon House Bill 2647 with Amendment 1, FOLLOWED BY HB2647, posted to KBC 2/18/23. "Klamath Irrigation District (District) is in opposition to HB 2647 as amended. Klamath Irrigation District is a special government district operated under Oregon Revised Statute 545. The District is responsible for distributing the naturally nutrient rich waters of the Klamath Basin to agricultural farm land for beneficial use."

 

Winter Wings speaker Mark Bransom outlines benefits of removing Klamath River dams, H&N 2/17/23, followed by response of KID Manager Gene Souza.
Bransom: "The upcoming dam removal project has the potential to benefit not only aquatic species but also improve prosperity of agriculture and recreation in the Klamath Basin..."
KBC NOTE in response: The 4 Klamath Dams Bransom boasts of destroying provide power to 70,000 households. The 20 MILLION CUBIC YARDS of toxic sediment behind the dams will obliterate any fish or habitat or recreation in it's way. The beautiful lakes with hundreds of wildlife species including many that are endangered will be drained and replaced with tons of sediment. The local communities will lose their dam lake's/reservoir's recreation and famous fishing and tourism supporting Siskiyou County's economy. The reservoirs that support a hatchery producing millions of salmon will be gone as well as flood prevention and water for firefighting that has saved the river communities (including tribal lands) from wildfires. Unlike the historically putrid mineral-laden Klamath Lake water, the dam reservoirs provide deep cold water for downriver fish. Our local counties voted overwhelmingly against dam removal as well as our local representatives. Department of Interior fired the ethics officer, a lead scientist who said the science does not support destroying the dams. When Congress didn't pass the demolition plan, the gov't agencies and NGOs bypassed Congress so Oregon and California taxpayers foot the bill. By the way, the hundreds of government agencies and NGOs do not live near our rural communities.

Industry leaders back legislation to reverse Biden WOTUS rule, Capito Press Release, posted to KBC 2/18/23. "U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, led all 48 of her Senate Republican colleagues in introducing a formal challenge to the Biden administration’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule...An identical resolution was introduced in the House of Representatives by U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.-06), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and is cosponsored by more than 150 House members...(Biden's WOTUS would have)enormous impacts on small businesses, manufacturers, farmers, home and infrastructure builders, local communities, water districts, and private property owners"

< Gene Souza, Klamath Irrigation District Executive Director, responds to court order on Facebook: "2/7/23: Souza: "Another loss for salmon...20+ years of doing the same thing... and some downriver folks are excited to hear Chinook may be soon listed by the ESA using this flawed and biased science. Judge Orrick just undermined the Congressional intent of Section 8 of the ESA and simultaneously eliminated over 40 years of the Klamath River Adjudication establishing rights and priorities under the law. Our refuges have been taken off life support of the water that was naturally there for the Pacific Flyway. What a tragic death our ecosystems and communities will suffer." Klamath Reclamation Project: District court finds that the ESA preempts state agency’s order enforcing state water law, Somach, Simmons & Dunn 2/6/23. FOLLOWED BY RESPONSES by Gene Souza, Klamath Irrigation District Executive Director, from Klamath Basin Crisis Facebook Page regarding court order to obliterate Klamath Project irrigators water rights.    "...On February 6, 2023, the District Court for the Northern District of California issued its order on pending motions for summary judgment in Yurok Tribe, et al. v. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, et al...ruling that the Endangered Species Act...preempts an order issued by the Oregon Water Resources Department that prohibits the Reclamation from releasing water stored by the Klamath Project...for non-irrigation purposes..."

Farm Bureau, others go to court over new WOTUS rule, Capital Press, posted to KBC 2/5/23. "The rule makes clear the agencies “are determined to exert (Clean Water Act) jurisdiction over a staggering range of dry land and water features — whether large or small; permanent, intermittent, or ephemeral; flowing or stagnant; natural or manmade; interstate or intrastate; and no matter how remote from or lacking in a physical connection to actual navigable waters,” the lawsuit states."

Congressman LaMalfa Introduces the ‘Protect Our Water Rights’ Act
with responses by founder of Klamath Forest Alliance and Sierra Club Water Resource Chair Felice Pace (guy in picture on right), Klamath Irrigation District Manager and Executive Director Gene Souza, and Siskiyou County Water Users Association Board Member Chrissie Reynolds, posted to KBC 1/29/23. "Mandates 100% contract water deliveries to water districts by Reclamation in normal or above normal precipitation years and guarantees additional water in dry years...Requires the Bureau of Reclamation to assess and report on what debt is still owed by the irrigators of the Klamath Project...Prohibits the Bureau of Reclamation from releasing stored water created by the Klamath Project in Upper Klamath Lake, except for agricultural and refuge purposes associated with State-adjudicated water rights, and to otherwise maximize total storage volume in Upper Klamath Lake."  

 

Left: Tommy Williams, NOAA, Right: RES/Resource Environmental Solutions geologist Dave Coffman
Panel Discussion on Klamath Dam Removal Science and Monitoring, posted to KBC 1/29/23. Here are a few quotes from some of the ecoterrorist government agencies’ lies about the “benefits” of Klamath Dam destruction experiment, and horrific truths, and lack of information of what the outcome will be, by USGS, NOAA, Yurok Tribe, RES. Please listen closely to this video: Mike Belchik, senior fish biologist for Yurok Tribe: “Now Keno dam is managed for water level only…to keep infrastructure working for the agricultural program…that’s no longer going to be the case. Keno is going to have to be managed for steadyish flow as the water level’s gunna be maintained. ..The day to day flows for lake levels or deliveries to agriculture…that has not been set…the Bureau of Reclamation …doesn’t have any of those plans…”

 U.S. House of Representatives to Secretaries Haaland, Vilsack, Raimondo and Chair Mallory pledging oversight, 1/25/23. "our Republican majority will be using every available resource at our disposal to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse in the departments and offices under your purview." The Congressmen don't need to look far for it: Was it "fraud, waste and abuse when they fired Dr Houser, top scientist in DC, the ETHICS scientist? When he saw the contrived science by gov't scientists who were making science to justify dam removal and he was told that the administration wanted the dams out, wasn't that fraud and abuse? When they trashed our decades long Klamath River Compact, the head of it is now on KRRC, so they bipassed congress and trashed the will of the citizens of Klamath and Siskiyou Counties along with our representatives, wasn't that fraud, and abuse of the citizens and rule of law? They dewatered the most important wildlife refuges in the Pacific Flyway the past two years, and with our stored water they sent it to the ocean, for months, depriving irrigators of their legally stored water...that's abuse. They paid millions of dollars to farmers not to farm. So, when will our wasted and abused community see justice? Lying about fish "returning" to habitat in Upper Basin's warm water assuming they historically climbed 30' natural reefs, the list goes on.

 Copco Lake Fire Chief Francis Gill, property and store owner, responds to Siskiyou County Water Users Association President Richard Marshall in this 10 minute video about the resulting devastation following Klamath dam destruction, posted to KBC 1/29/23. Gill: "After Klamath dam destruction, salmon are “...going to go over low running waterfall that’s 30-40’ tall; it doesn’t seem possible to me...” Copco Lake Fire Chief Francis Gill, property and store owner, responds to Siskiyou County Water Users Association President in this 10 minute video about the resulting devastation."

Letter to Bureau of Reclamation from KWUA /  Klamath Water Users Association regarding the Bureau's plan to deny Klamath Project Irrigators and Tulelake Wildlife Refuges water in 2023, regardless of the projected excess of available water in irrigators' water storage, 1/19/23. "The Klamath Basin is presently at 121 percent of normal, in terms of snow water equivalent...Yet amidst these encouraging hydrologic conditions, Reclamation’s current plan does not include delivering a drop of water for Project purposes." 

President of Siskiyou County Water Users Association / SCWUA Richard Marshall responds to radio host Bill Meyer and dozens of citizens to be harmed by Klamath Dam destruction regarding Oregon and California funding the destruction, agenda vs science, and Klamath River Compact, posted to KBC 1/14/23

Letter from Siskiyou County Water Users Association, and list of KRRC / Klamath River Renewal Corporation (dam destruction) directors, posted to KBC 1/14/23. "KRRC amended its Bylaws in November 22, 2022 and provided for Board members to be appointed by States of Oregon and California. Apparently with the funding and license guarantees made by Oregon and California the Bylaws were revised to provide greater accountability to the States.  Attached is the new revised Board of Directors for KRRC.  Note the appointed officers by California and Oregon.  This further identifies the contemplated Dam Removal as a State Project and further challenges the Compact Clause of the U.S. Constitution."

River Democracy Act more about land than water, Capital Press, posted to KBC 1/13/23. The sponsors are Democrat "Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley...3,215 miles is...a little more than the distance from Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine. That’s in addition to the 2,173 miles of Oregon rivers already designated wild and scenic. That’s 19 rivers..."

Water delivery cuts hurt farmers, fail to benefit fish, AgAlert CFBF by Siskiyou County Farm Bureau President Ryan Walker, posted to KBC 1/13/22. "...one-size-fit-all mandates from policymakers in Sacramento are destined to fail. We need solutions driven by local stakeholders who can consider the unique function and resources of each watershed."
 

Klamath River dam removal project faces lawsuit, H&N, posted to KBC 1/7/23. "Siskiyou County Water Users Association board member Anthony Intiso has filed a lawsuit against Wade Crowfoot, the secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency, claiming Crowfoot is illegally using taxpayer money to fund the historic project..."

Klamath dams provide precedent for Snake River dams, Capital Press by 3rd generation rancher Rex Cozzalio from Hornbrook, followed by Snake River ag stakeholders (Miller) comment on Klamath dam removal, posted to KBC 1/7/22. "Mr. Miller of Northwest River Partners believes 'anyone who goes beyond the headlines” will recognize that the Klamath decision won’t have implications for the Snake River dams. Sadly, that statement would indicate Mr. Miller has only read the special interest media headlines...' "
< Copco No. 1 Dam on the Klamath River near Hornbrook, Calif., is one of four dams slated for removal  

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Hebrews 12:1–2, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith”

$5000 reward offered for information on death of wolf. OR103 found dead Oct. 6 near Upper Klamath Lake
"Earlier this year, FWS said OR103 killed three cattle in the Doak Mountain area near Klamath Falls."
FOLLOWED BY: Rogue Pack injures cow in Wood River Valley 
 H&N, posted to KBC 12/31/22.
See our WOLF PAGE for more on wolves decimating livestock in Klamath County and beyond. "The state Department of Fish and Wildlife has confirmed 50 wolf attacks so far in 2022...95 in 2021"

Letter from 3rd generation rancher Rex Cozzalio from Hornbrook, on the Klamath River, to Channel 12 KDRV regarding Klamath Hydroelectric Dam destruction bias in the media, posted to KBC 12/31/22

Cozzalio reached out to media who grudgingly offer him a small fraction of, if any, time to present the devastation to humans, fish, wildlife, communities if the Klamath Dams are destroyed, the largest known dam destruction in the world. Cozzalio details the lies and facts: “…well over 600 largely ‘peer reviewed’ references, area specific multigenerational experience, historical documentation, and a decade of EMPIRICAL studies REFUTE Special Interest claimed destruction ‘benefits’ and instead predicts the single premise FAILURE and damages from the biggest most factually unsupported ‘experiment’ of all time.”

Lars Larson

Gene Souza

Another Blackmail by ecoterrorist government agency Bureau of Reclamation. National talk show host Lars Larson interviewed Klamath Irrigation District Manager Gene Souza regarding Bureau of Reclamation blackmailing Klamath Farmers while illegally denying them their stored water last August. Posted to KBC 12/31/22 https://soundcloud.com/thelarslarsonshow/gene-souza-is-bidens-interior-department-putting-oregons-farmers-at-risk?in=thelarslarsonshow/sets/interviews-2022e&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

 

Another dam mystery, by Bob Kaster, posted to KBC 12/31/22. "...the removal of the (Klamath) dams and the resulting sediment release (20 million cubic yards) will have an adverse effect on the 'Wild and Scenic River values,' and that FERC’s own Environment Impact Statement expressly acknowledges 763 times that it will do so. He asks the court to declare, among other things, that the proposed expenditure of $250 million of taxpayer funds toward dam destruction violates the provisions of the Bond Act itself and is therefore illegal..."

PRESS RELEASE: Siskiyou County Water Users Association (SCWUA) filed California Taxpayer Complaint regarding $250M to destroy Klamath Dams in Wild and Scenic designated area December 12, 2022

Letter from 3rd Generation Hornbrook, CA rancher Rex Cozzalio to FERC / Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regarding Klamath Dam destruction 12/12/22 "Congratulations!   As predicted in my recent unacknowledged and most likely unread submission, you have held tight to policy-directed blinders in imposing unaccountable special interest devastation upon the Klamath Region, nullifying literal lifetimes of experience and knowledgeable sacrifice ENHANCING the ‘naturally occurring’ Klamath environment, INCLUDING fisheries..."

 

 

Dam celebration, Pending removal of Klamath River structures feted, H&N 12/10/22. "Haaland, the first Native American Interior Department secretary, praised ongoing efforts to remove the dams,...saying, “Clean water, healthy forests and fertile land made the Klamath River Basin and its surrounding watershed a home to tribal communities, productive agriculture, and a place where abundant populations of migratory birds, suckers, salmon and other fish could thrive. We must take urgent and necessary action to protect this special place.” "about $5.8 million is being made available to Klamath Rivers tribes...Haaland said the funding supplements nearly $26 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocated this year for Klamath Basin restoration projects."
KBC NOTE: THE ECOTERRORISTS ARE WINNING. Historically water going down the river from Klamath Lake was so bad horses couldn't drink from it according to historic journals. The Bureau of Reclamation dewatered our beautiful refuges in 2021-2022 (which included 433 species of wildlife including suckers) in the guise of saving suckers. Destroying dams will release more than 20 million cubic yards of sediment, destroy deep dam reservoirs which cool the warm Klamath water for salmon and and are used for firefighting, and diminish agriculture.
Our local and regional representatives, including our CA and OR US Congressmen, and the vast majority of our population oppose hydroelectric dam removal. Those most effected by dam destruction, farmers, ranchers, and the people living along the dam reservoirs, were not invited to their meeting. Klamath Irrigation District Manager and KWUA member Gene Souza, along with SCWUA members, were forbidden to attend and turned away at the gate near the exclusive "celebration". Most reporters did not even stop to ask the mostly elderly locals, holding signs standing in the freezing weather for four hours, why they opposed dam removal. Our government and media have abandoned us dumb expendable farmers and ranchers and veterans.

< a fresh Miller Lake lamprey wound is found on a brown trout caught by Jordan Ortega. Photo by Jordan Ortega
Lamprey found in (Klamath County's) Miller Lake — the first findings since the 1950s, H&N, posted to KBC 12/2/22. "In the Lake, the report says, “it’s likely fish are not killed by lamprey feeding on them....Miller Lake lamprey were nearly eliminated from the lake in the 1950s...fish biologists thought the lamprey harmed other game fish...Research team partners have been capturing Miller Lake lamprey downstream of the lake. Captured lamprey are moved to streams above the lake. The goal has been to have the captured lamprey return to Miller Lake."

Modoc Nation: New chief focused on moving forward, H&N, posted to KBC 12/2/22. "...formerly known as the Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma...the goal is to improve and develop the tribe’s California lands, which include about 1,200 acres at and near the Tulelake Airport...the tribe’s primary goal for its far northern California lands is focused on rehabilitating about 1,600 acres of sagebrush range lands the tribe has purchased near north of Lava Beds for a commercial bison herd. The tribe, according to its stewardship proposal, is also hoping to buy another 700-plus-acres north of the existing tribal-owned property..."

<Photo of Klamath Lake water storage
Water rules add to challenges for farmers, CFBF Ag Alert, posted to KBC 12/2/22. "...more farmers are feeling the added pinch of groundwater regulations as local agencies implement plans that include pumping limits and new fees to balance long-term groundwater resources as required by the state..." KBC NOTE: We Klamath Project irrigators paid in full for the Klamath Reclamation Project for water storage in Klamath Lake to be used to irrigate crops and massive bird refuges, reused 9 times, then sent down the Klamath River and into the ocean. Bureau of Reclamation has cut off irrigators from their stored water, decimating farms and National Wildlife Refuges, sending the water directly down the Klamath River into the ocean, way more than mandated for "endangered" suckers. In our deeds we have water rights to our stored water forever, along with rights to the groundwater under our land. Now that the Bureau  illegally took our stored water, California can illegally regulate groundwater as thousands of acres of land lie fallow. Our Klamath Lake storage is full, and at times this summer Klamath River was at flood stage because the Bureau denied us our stored water. So far within Tulelake Irrigation District, our groundwater is not at a critical stage yet to be regulated.

A plan to fill Upper Klamath Lake 11/22/22, Klamath Water Users Association 11/22/22. "...for the fish and the farmers alike, the last three years have more thanconclusively demonstrated that the alternative of not filling the lake is far worse than short-term (and likely beneficial) reductions in river flows. The fact is, there is no possible worse outcome
for the Klamath Basin than repeating what has transpired over the last three years."

Letter from Rex Cozzalio, 3rd generation rancher on the Klamath River at Hornbrook, to FERC/Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioner Glick regarding the massive destruction and costs to the communities, ecosystems, salmon, and people if Klamath dams are destroyed. Days later FERC approved destroying Klamath River dams, despite science and vast opposition. "ALL future water MUST come from ‘unnaturally’ stored Upper Klamath Lake water OWNED BY and TAKEN FROM Upper Basin residents during the most CRITICAL times for crop production, causing massive ADDITIONAL HARM to the Upper Basin." posted to KBC 11/20/22

*Letter by Klamath Irrigation District Manager Gene Souza regarding FERC's decision to allow destruction of Klamath River hydroelectric dams 11/17/22

*11/17/22 - Today FERC/Federal Energy Regulatory Commission voted to destroy Klamath River hydroelectric dams. < Here are hundreds of letters, petitions, documents, of farmers and ranchers, their communities and representatives expressing their horror at the concept of destroying our dams which will effect our irrigation water supple, habitat and lives of hundreds of species, many endangered, in and near the dam reservoirs, fire fighting water, and the economy of the entire Siskiyou County.

 

YouTube video after Bureau of Reclamation suddenly, illegally shut down Klamath Project irrigation water just weeks before harvest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP4O6g_CZms

 

From our archives: Karuk Tribal members' petition against Klamath Dam removal, 11/25/08
 

For October & November 2022 chronological news, see Archive 242

For Main Archive Page go HERE.

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