California Farm Bureau Federation Friday Legislative Review, 9/30/16: includes ag vehicles, fire prevention timber harvest, heat illness indoor mandates, drone restrictions, and more...

BREAKING NEWS - REIMBURSEMENT OF A-CANAL HEAD GATES AND FISH SCREENS ON THE KLAMATH PROJECT, Office of Inspector General, U.S. Dept of the Interior, Michael P. Colombo (Western Regional Manager for Audits, Inspections, and Evaluations, sent to David Murillo Mid-Pacific Regional Director, Bureau of Reclamation on 9/27/16, "... From limited documentation that was available to us, however, it appears the design and construction costs alone represent between $16 million and $20 million of costs that should be recovered from KID..."   Board members at the time of the agreement were  David Cacka, Ed Bair, Greg Carlton, Ross Fleming and Jason Chapman. Paying patrons of irrigation districts were allowed no vote on whether they supported the KBRA.

BETC / Business Energy Tax Credit Audit Raises Serious Questions, News from Oregon State Senator Doug Whitsett 9/27/16.  "...it did find circumstantial evidence inferring suspicious activity on at least 75 BETC transactions totaling nearly $350 million..."

Dennis Linthicum is a consensus builder, H&N letter to editor by Virginia Topham, Sprague River 9/27/16

Our Federal and State Governments reject the voices of the Klamath River Basin people:
* POLL - Should the four Klamath River hydroelectric dams be removed? Herald and News Poll, 9/24/16 results:
NO - 581 votes   YES  180 votes   No Opinion  8 votes.  Should the four Klamath River hydroelectric dams be removed?
* November 2010 election: 80% of Siskiyou County, home of 3 Klamath River Hydroelectric Dams targeted for destruction, oppose the KBRA / Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement that mandates 4 Klamath Dams be removed. Nearly 50% of Klamath County oppose their current County Commissioners' being at the table in support of the KBRA They voted out Klamath County Commissioner John Elliott who supports the KBRA, and voted in a newcomer, Dennis Linthicum, who opposes it. They voted to keep a state representative Bill Garrard who opposes the KBRA, and voted against Karl Scronce, a supporter. 77% of Tulelake voters opposed the KBRA/Dam removal.
* VIDEO 2011: Toby Freeman, Pacific Power's Community Manager, speaks about being "forced" "into an agreement that would result in dam removal," YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibZUMJ96ywA,  6:14 minute video
* KBC News KBRA and dam removal videos, polls and petitions
* 12/29/08 - Karuk Tribe petition against dam removal. 250 signed petition
* Klamath County Commissioners and Siskiyou County Supervisors (elected officials) voted against supporting the Klamath dam removal agreements.

Utility, renewal corporation file to remove 4 hydro-dams, H&N 9/23/16. "There is also opposition to dam removal, both in Klamath and Siskiyou counties. Both county commissions are on record opposing the removal." "It will be the largest dam removal project in U.S. history."

Upper Klamath Basin Nonpoint Source Pollution Assessment and Management Program Plan; Klamath Tribal Water Quality Consortium, Aug 16, 2016, Comments WERE due Sept 18, 2016. Who knew about this plan to eradicate agriculture and all the dams in the Klamath River Basin? received and posted to KBC 9/20/16. KBC NOTE: Participants are 6 tribes (including Karuk and Hoopa), many federal and state agencies, Trout Unlimited, The Nature Conservancy, Klamath Basin Rangeland Trust, California Coastal Conservancy, ODEQ, State and Regional Water Quality Control Boards, and dozens more; most of the agencies, tribes and environmental groups are "stakeholders" in the Klamath Basin dam-removal agreements.  "Given the large volumes of water in the Klamath Basin, very large wetlands (on the order of thousands of acres or tens of thousands of acres) would be necessary to have basin-scale effect...", they want to get rid of "... water rights, water availability, and landowner willingness issues...", " TNC recently acquired approximately 4,000 acres adjacent to Agency Lake Ranch and Barnes Ranch which it is in the process of restoring back to wetlands", Wetlands, by the way, evaporates nearly 2ce the amount of water used by irrigated agriculture, "The Upper Klamath Basin Comprehensive Agreement...calls for inflows to Upper Klamath Lake to be increased by 30,000 acre-feet per year to be achieved by reducing the net consumptive use of water for irrigated agriculture," Roads that are no longer necessary would be considered for ... removal,"..."The Consortium supports reduced irrigation and improved grazing management as a method to reduce irrigation demand," "Once plans are developed for how to remove the dams and appropriate permits are obtained, the dams should be removed. The KHSA targets 2020 as the year in which dam removal would occur."
Comments on the Klamath Tribal Water Quality Consortium by Siskiyou County Water Users Association Rex Cozzalio, received by KBC News 9/20/16

Fixing the VA, letter from Congressman Doug LaMalfa, California's 1st District 9/18/16

 Energy Bill’s Hidden Provisions Undermine Western and Rural U.S. Property Owners, Western States Constitutional Rights LLC, posted 9/18/16. "Senate Bill S. 2012 (Murkowski, AK) has secretly swallowed up S. 3085 (Roberts,KS) - a Forestry Management Bill that transfers management of any national forest within 100 miles of a tribal reservation, or to any tribe with ancestral or cultural ties to a national forest.  This will give tribal governments: 1) control of all water (snowpack mountain run-off); and 2) let tribal governments determine appropriate uses of the national forests regarding hunting, fishing, trail-hiking, recreating by non-tribal citizens. When strong opposition emerged opposing numerous forestry management bills in the Senate and House that were transferring forestry management to tribal governments, Senators and Congressmen played "hide the ball" quickly last week by tucking this egregious Tribal Forestry Management provision into an Energy Bill that is close to a vote - perhaps this week or next. Call your Senators and Congressmen and raise holy hell.  This could easily transfer national forestry management to tribes for every national forest in the Western States." Elaine Willman

PRESS RELEASE - Jeffrey Nettleton Selected as the New Area Manager for the Klamath Basin Area Office in Klamath Falls, Oregon, BOR 9/18/16

California Supreme Court Rules in Favor of State Authority over Mining! – September 2016, The New 49ers. "Now that the California Supreme Court has ruled, my best guess is that any prospector using a motor to remove or process streambed material within 100 yards of an active waterway without a permit (which is not being made available), if caught, is likely to be successfully prosecuted." Link includes link to memo by miner's attorney James Buchal

California governor signed climate change mandates and farm labor overtime after 8 hours, CFBF Friday Legislative Review 9/13/16

Oregon Legislative Review, and Whitsetts' highest conservative rating in Oregon, 9/13/16

Resist the bad liberal ideas in Legislature, H&N letter to the editor by E. Werner Reschke, Republican for State Representative 9/10/16

< Tulelake Parade Marshal; A grand time for Jerry LeQuieu 9/10/16. 

White House as Originator and Promoter of Klamath Basin Agreements, Canada Free Press by Laurence Kogan 9/8/16.

(Klamath) Irrigators intervene against Hoopa Tribe lawsuit, H&N 9/4/16

Voters at last have voice on dam removal, Tom Mallams, Klamath County Commissioner Letter to the editor of H&N 9/3/16. "I still find it extremely troubling that a few dam removal supporters and PacifiCorp went to such great lengths in their attempt to prevent voters from having their voices heard..."

Dam removal advisory vote remains on ballot, H&N 9/1/16. "PacifiCorp will not own any of the land..." if the Klamath River dams come out. Presently, "....overall, the utility pays about $1.6 million annually in county taxes..."