Our Klamath Basin
Water Crisis
Upholding rural Americans' rights to grow food,
own property, and caretake our wildlife and natural resources.
Grazing
Klamath ranch seeks $1.5 million from Oregon water regulators, "The state Water Resources Department affirmed the 1864 priority date and the ranch’s right to divert 9.4 cubic feet of water per second between March and November, enough to irrigate the property at a depth of three feet per acre a year...The ranch has since been “regulated off” every year, generally shutting down irrigation “earlier and earlier” each season...the ranch’s carrying capacity was previously 200 head of cattle, it’s now only able to sustain 50 head due to the lack of irrigation..." OSU Paper calls for fewer cattle, more wolves to 'rewild' the West, Capital Press 8/14/22. "Some 110,000 square miles of federal land in the West should be closed to cattle and restocked with wolves and beavers, according to a paper by Oregon State University scientists and others...They propose reducing the amount of federal land grazed in the West by 29% — equal to the size of Nevada — and also limiting logging, mining, oil and gas drilling and off-road vehicles...The proposal identifies blocks of federally owned land in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California, Nevada, Montana, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming and Utah for the rewilding network... (including) the Blue, Klamath and Cascade mountains in Oregon; the Sierra Nevada mountains in California and the Northern Rockies in Idaho." Biden moves BLM brass back to Washington, Capital Press, 9/24/21. "Ninety-nine percent of the 250 million acres managed by the BLM is West of the Mississippi River. Its decisions impact the livelihoods of people who populate rural communities but those decisions are made far from the forests, grasslands and high deserts they call home..." Ranchers blocked again from wolf hearing, Capital Press 10/14/21. "Two judges from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined Oct. 12 to summarily reverse a lower court ruling barring four agricultural groups from intervening in lawsuits filed by environmental groups."
Burnt
Alive cattle in Siskiyou fire
by Shirl Terry Woodson 8/10/21. "Almost
all are accounted for, but we won’t rest til we find the
rest? I took time from the hunt to attend a usfs
permitee meeting which was very good. The phot I’m
posting is not one of our cows but one of our
neighbor's.. yesterday Chuck spoke with a usfs fellow
from Arizona. He told Chuck the group of cows found dead
south of La Honda told a gruesome and heartbreaking
story. The cows were pinned against a massive lava
ridge. All the cows were facing towards the fire their
calves were inside the circle of cows trying to protect
them. How I wish those fools behind the let it burn
policy could see this. Tonight when we checked at la
Honda well we found no cows but a doe with two fawns was
watering there. I wished I could transport them all to
somewhere safer."
Grazing rights rescinded for Hammond ranches, H&N
2/26/2021 Diamond M ranch strikes back in lawsuit over wolf management, Capital Press, posted to KBC 9/21/2020. "The Diamond M has Forest Service permits to graze 736 cow-calf pairs. The ranch has been grazing in the Colville National Forest since 1945 and has never violated its permits, according to the ranch’s court declaration. Wolves began attacking the ranch’s cattle in 2008. Wolf packs saturate the region...The Diamond M has refused to apply for state compensation for cattle losses. The payouts are temporary and entice ranchers to accept an overpopulation of wolves, according to the ranch..." New study: Cattle grazing significantly reduces wildfire spread, Capital Press 9/9/2020. "Recent record-shattering wildfires across California, Oregon and Washington have demonstrated the need for better fire control. Researchers say their study shows that without the 1.8 million beef cattle that graze California’s rangelands annually, the state would have hundreds to thousands of additional pounds per acre of fine fuels on the landscape, and this year’s wildfires would be even more devastating." US appeals court denies bid to resurrect Bundy standoff case, H&N 8/7/20. "Navarro found “deliberate attempts” by the FBI and prosecutors “to mislead and distort the truth.” She blamed FBI agents for “reckless disregard” of requirements to turn over evidence relating to government snipers and cameras that monitored the Bundy homestead...government agents “threatened the Bundys’ lives, killed their cattle, assaulted family members and perpetrated tyrannical executive power over them.” Ninth Circuit Court decision could benefit many Oregon ranchers, H&N 6/24/2020 Lawsuit renews attack on grazing in Oregon national forest, Capital Press 4/18/19.
Groups sue to block grazing permits for
pardoned Oregon ranchers, Capital Press KBC 5/14/19. Wolves target Oregon rancher's animals again. Puppy makes 11th animal taken by Rogue Pack, Medford Mail Tribune, 3/21/19.
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 Ranchers fume as ‘Rainbow Family’ set to camp on federal land in Oregon, H&N 6/22/17. "He said the “takeover of federal ground” is no different than the Bundy group’s occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters...." Judge dismisses lawsuit against grazing on eight Oregon allotments, Oregonian 3/11/17. "A federal judge has rejected environmentalist arguments that cattle grazing has unlawfully harmed endangered sucker fish in Oregon’s Fremont-Winema National Forest."
DOI
Press Release:
Secretary
Jewell Applauds President’s Designation of the National
Monuments to Preserve Pivotal Civil Rights Sites and the
First National Monument to Civil War Reconstruction;
(Jewell) Also Praises
President’s Expansion of Existing National Monuments
Protecting Natural & Cultural Resources in California &
Oregon (Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument)
1/12/17.
LINK includes Cascade-Siskiyou
National Monument expansion Fact Sheet: Preservation plan unveiled for sage grouse. Proposal could affect 10 states, oil and natural gas development, H&N 5/29/15 followed by Interior proposes land controls to preserve Nevada sage grouse, Las Vegas Review Journal. “The economic impact of sage-grouse restrictions on just the oil and natural gas industry will be between 9,170 and 18,250 jobs and $2.4 billion to $4.8 billion of annual economic impact across Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming,”..."Department of Interior is updating management plans covering 165 million acres — an area the size of Texas — in consideration of the sage grouse" Sheriff: Land proposal could spark standoff, H&N 5/24/16: "Sparks flew Monday during a hearing attended by ranchers and environmentalists in the state Capitol on a proposal to turn 2.5 million acres of canyonlands and desert in southeastern Oregon into a federally protected monument...Elias Eiguren, a rancher whose Basque great-grandfather came to the Canyonlands to raise sheep, predicted that grazing rights for ranchers would wind up being litigated if the land became a monument, affecting up to 30,000 head of cattle of Malheur County’s total of 70,000." Washington ranchers wary of (sage) grouse agreement, Capital Press 5/5/15. "Creston, Wash., rancher Dawn Nelson says she would have to reduce her herd of more than 120 by roughly half if she were to sign up...They say it’s voluntary to sign up, but if you don’t sign up and you happen to have a bird die on your place or an accidental take, they can come back and sue you,' Nelson said." How George Soros Attacked Cliven Bundy – And Lost, The Ulsterman Report 4/14/14.
VIDEO
- Fox News reporting
Enemies of the State: the Sagebrush
Rebellion, Wayne Hage Jr. 4/5/14.
LAKEVIEW - Sage grouse management, jobs, habitat at stake; environmental protections may curb ranchers’ grazing rights, H&N, posted to KBC 1/17/14. "...implementing the plan could result in the loss of 750 jobs..." "... BLM’s preferred alternative would retire about 118,000 acres of rangeland in Eastern Oregon..." "Although Hart Mountain has been cattle-free for 23 years, he said sage grouse numbers have declined." "A recurring theme among people voicing concerns was why ranchers are being targeted with the potential loss of grazing lands, while no habitat improvements include predator control."
*
VIDEO:
Ramona Hage-Morrison and Danny Martinez on
Property Rights @ Klamath Falls 16 Nov 2013,
filmed
by Kevin Goodrich, posted to KBC 12/1/13.
Ramona Hage Morrison has been
actively involved in a successful 22-year
long case involving her family's ranch vs.
the USFS and BLM...She served as a title
witness in her family's case, U.S.
v.
Hage. She will talk about the landmark Hage
litigation, and why an exhaustive chain of
title was the key evidence necessary to
defend their vested water rights, forage
rights, range improvements and rights of
ways. HAGE-Federal judge rules in favor of rancher in grazing case, Ag Alert, 6/5/13 Ranchers wary of rules expanding scope of ESA, Capital Press 3/27/13. "cattle can be subject to greater restrictions on grazing near streams that are considered critical habitat even if no endangered or threatened fish swim in them, said Budd-Falen..." Appeals court refuses bid to block cattle grazing, Capital Press 3/22/13. Grazing study doesn't reflect views of OSU, administrator says, Capital Press 11/29/12. "...head of the College of Agricultural Sciences Department of Animal Health, said: 'I think that livestock grazing can be an important part of a range management program...' " Court of Appeals leaves many questions unanswered in its decision reversing Hage’s takings award, Pacific Legal Foundation, posted to KBC 8/5/12. Sage grouse listing would destroy (livestock) industry, H&N letter by Gail Whitsett 1/20/12. "Multi-millions of public acres in 10 states, including Oregon, may become useless if the potential ESA-listed sage grouse habitat is determined to be impacted by the influence of controlled cattle grazing...Cattle remain Klamath and Lake counties’ largest agricultural commodity...Sage grouse listing will do to Oregon agriculture what the spotted owl did to the timber industry and the fisheries biological opinions have done to the Klamath Basin’s economy." Re: California Rangeland Conservation Coalition e-update; US Fish and Wildlife Service Seeks Input on Proposed Easement Program, preceded by letter of "Input" by Dr. John Menke, posted to KBC 7/6/11. Dr. Menke's biography. Grazing Improvement Act introduced, posted to KBC 5/31/11 Cattlemen pack wolf hearing, East Oregonian, posted to KBC 4/6/11 Judge's decision unfairly punishes ranching community, Statesman Journal, written by Senators Ted Ferrioli, Doug Whitsett, Frank Morse and Fred Girod 3/17/11 BLM may post grazing lease, permittee addresses, Current-Argus, posted to KBC 1/2/10 Federal order puts at risk BLM grazing, Natural Resource report, posted 12/21/10 Ranchers lose to bull trout habitat; USFWS quadruples habitat for endangered fish, hikes scrutiny of grazing on federal land, Capital Press 10/14/10 * On Wednesday Dec. 9 the USDA, Happy Camp and Oak Knoll Rangers, will hold a meeting at the Yreka RV park main building from 6 - 8 PM. This meeting is about authorizing livestock grazing in Hornbook, Ash Creek and East Beaver allotments. They are speaking of creating a set of corrals to assist with livestock management. It appears they will be speaking to Term permits with On and Off Provisions and is designed to improve trends in rangeland vegetation conditions, stream condition and forage utilization.
Dunn
Carney News Release, Oregon:
Ranchers
successfully defeat an attempt by environmental groups
|