Our Klamath Basin Water Crisis
Upholding rural Americans' rights to grow food,
own property, and caretake our wildlife and natural resources.

Archive 79 - December 2008
also see main archive page

Around 1900, Link River, between Upper Klamath Lake and Lake Ewauna, occasionally went dry before the Klamath Project was built. There was no hydropower, no hatcheries, occasionally no fish (fish need water), no artificially-raised river flows or lake levels. HERE for more

"When one gets in bed with government, one must expect the diseases it spreads."- Congressman Ron Paul M.D.

*****2005 Strategy of the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement*****
Rerun- Cal/EPA Environmental Justice Action Plan, May 18, 2005.
Lead Agency: State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB)
What they did not do on their list of strategies plans was, "In each step of the solution process, public input will be sought." Why are they still holding secret meetings in Sacramento with no disclosure, no public input or awareness, and far from the Klamath Basin where nearly 3000 petitions have been collected opposing the agreement or parts of the agreement in the past few years?)

From the archives - Saving the Klamath Salmon: Development of an Intervention Strategy or What to Do Between Disaster Relief and the Dams Coming Down, minutes from the July 20, 06 meeting of PCFFA, NMFS, Karuks, Yuroks Hupas, FWS, F&G, Water Quality, Congressman Thompson's office, ...(discussed was strategies to obtain money, dam removal, money, Dr Hardy studies, money, need of higher flows, and "Top Down approach"..)KBC notes that they are accomplishing their agenda.

ESA 2005-2006 Expenditures - Federal and state endangered and threatened species expenditures for fiscal Years 2005-2006, Fish and Wildlife Service, posted to KBC 1/1/08. (Pg 149) "Lost River Sucker: $682,303,476, Shortnose Sucker: $689,978,803..." Total expense on Lost River and Shortnose Suckers as of 2006: $1,372,282,279
Bureau of Reclamation spent

http://www.fws.gov/endangered/pdfs/expenditures/expenditures_report_fy05-06.pdf Includes expenditures, including land acquisitions, for birds, fish, butterflies, mice, toads, plants, etc.
LINKS REPAIRED > Here for expenditure reports from 1998 through 2006.

Please pray for the family of Nicholas Huffman.

Let us make this a happy, memorable New Year, to keep us, or set us, free to farm, fish, ranch, mine, pray, carry firearms and The Bible. Freedom begins with each of us; if we don't fight for freedom, others are fighting to take away that freedom. - KBC

President of the Board of Tulelake Irrigation District, Ed Baley, passed away Saturday December 27. Ed had been on the Board since 1966 and president of the Board since 1985. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.

Deadline for 2008 Salmon Disaster Relief Program is Dec. 31.

Oregon Governor Kulongoski and the Pacificorp Klamath Dam Agreement in Principle, Oregon Senator Doug Whitsett, posted to KBC 12/30/08 "(Senate Bill 76) is written to implement the Klamath Agreement in Principle for the removal of four PacifiCorp owned hydropower dams on the Klamath River... Governor Kulongoski and his staff are so focused on the Governor’s legacy, that they have ignored the reality that Oregonians will pay for the costs of the destruction of this critical energy infrastructure. The agreement they brokered will apply 90% of the costs of dam removal directly to the monthly bills of more than half a million PacifiCorp customers in Oregon."

Hydro power shows signs of comeback, Seattle Times NW, posted to KBC 12/30/08

OREGON - Kulongoski to pursue mileage tax, Albany Democrat Herald, posted to KBC 12/30/08. More Oregon News.

College students seek to use concealed carry gun permits, Mountain States Legal Foundation 12/30/08.

Amish farmer charged for not registering animals, Capital Press 12/30/08. (KBC NOTE: initially the National Animal Identification System promised to be voluntary. More articles on Agriculture Page.)

(Oregon) Governor unveils environmental agenda for Legislature, Capital Press, posted to KBC 12/26/08. "...he will introduce ...bills to implement a cap-and-trade program, end field burning and develop a statewide water resources management strategy...The package also includes a bill facilitating the removal of four Klamath River Basin dams. The bill authorizes the Public Utility Commission to raise rates to pay for the dam removal."

Calif.- 2008 was a wild ride for agriculture, Capital Press, posted 12/26/08

Science and its proper role, Democrat Herald posted 12/26/08

Merry Christmas!
      Luke 2: 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
      Tonight a KBC reader sent us the following short video of The Seven Wonders of the World, and the Greatest Wonder of all. Go HERE
         Happy Birthday Jesus!

Christmas Poem, The Story of Lonesome Cowboy, by Marcia H. Armstrong

See a video of some of the Klamath Basin's major crops: onions, potatoes, grain, mint and mint plants, alfalfa, horseradish, strawberry plants, and pasture. The video is narrated by Harry L. Carlson, director and farm advisor at the Intermountain Research and Extension Center in Tulelake.

Klamath Basin harvest brings good prices, many challenges Fertilizer and fuel expenses up 30 to 50 percent in some areas, Capital Press 12/14/08

Klamath Water Report 11/24/08, Bureau of Reclamation.

Advocate: Watch your water rights, Capital Press 11/24/08. "Right now the Supreme Court has made the determination that we are going to protect species at any cost. ... It won't make a difference if 25 million people in Southern California are without water."

States move to curb off-highway vehicles as federal efforts lag, E&E Reporter 12/24/08

Wilderness hearing brings out the boos for new proposal, Inyo Register, posted to KBC 12/24/08

Deadline for 2008 Salmon Disaster Relief Program is Dec. 31. Go to Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission for information.

Klamath Falls' Invisible Foe, Henry Lamb, WND 7/23/01. (lest we forget) "Klamath farmers are victims of public policy that originated in the international community."

THE BILL designed to destroy the Klamath River hydro dams producing green power for 70,000 households beginning 2020, by implementing the Klamath Agreement in Principle. Draft summary and bill LC946 to be offered by the Governor's office by the beginning of the 2009 Legislative Session.
HERE are the Chosen "Stakeholders" privileged to receive communication and information regarding the fate of our power, water, water and property rights, communities, and newly-formed governing powers to rule over us, borne behind closed doors by those claiming to represent you. This document was NOT noted as SECRET.

Alternative Energy, talk on KFLS by Oregon Senator Doug Whitsett , Klamath Falls District 28, 11/22/08. "It does not require a mental genius to figure out that increasing our biofuel production to meet all of our needs is flatly impossible. In fact, we could only produce about 15% of our current energy needs if we dedicated all of our tillable farmland to grow corn for ethanol production. The collateral damage would be certain starvation. The “biofuel energy independence plan” being advanced by President-elect Obama and by our Congressional leadership is an economic con and a scientific deception."

Oregon unemployment, by Oregon Senator Doug Whitsett , Klamath Falls District 28, 12/22/08. HERE for Whitsett Page.

Send comments by Dec 22, Oregon firearms

Posted 12/22/08 - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior; National Marine Fisheries Service; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Commerce. ACTION: Final rule of Endangered Species Act. Effective Date Jan. 15, 2009. Or HERE.

Fall in wood products market redirects environmentalist strategy, OR. Congressman Greg Walden's office. Oregonian 12/20/08

Dear Santa, from Rudy Hiley, Tulelake 12/23/08

The effect of ocean Conditions on salmon survival and returns POWER POINT presented by Joseph C Greene, Research Biologist of Greene Environmental Services 6/11/06.
Note from scientist Greene to KBC 12/20/08: "And what did I say in my "Ocean Conditions" Powerpoint presentation posted on your website a couple of years ago. And now the scientists using radio tagging are showing that survival of young salmon smolts and their return to the rivers of their birth is controlled by ocean conditions....not dams."

Near-Shore Survey Suggests 2008 Ocean Conditions For Fish One Of The Best On Record, posted 12/20/08 CBB.

Ocean conditions in Oregon among best for fish in 50 years, LA Times, posted to KBC 12/20/08, FOLLOWED BY ocean condition articles in OPB and the Oregonian.

< PHOTO-Javier Chevez is ranch manager at Sierra-Cascade Nursery’s Tulelake facility. About 500 people are employed at the Tulelake trim shed from the H-2A guest worker program, about half domestics and half from Mexico.

(Klamath Basin) Family operation gives strawberries head start, Capital Press 12/20/08. "Last year (the nursery) produced more than 100 million strawberry plants in the Klamath Basin; altogether they grew more than a quarter-billion plants on 1,000 acres.
VIDEO > Giving strawberries a head start

Land deal returns slice of Klamath tribal homeland, Oregonian, posted 12/20/08. (Comment in Oregonian about article: "The government didn't take the reservation...they purchased it. There was not a government "liquidation" of the reservation." (KBC Comment: The tribal members VOTED to sell the reservation. The KBRA/Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement includes buying the forest to give to the Klamath Tribes again with taxpayers money. The land will come off the tax rolls. KBRA demands destroying 4 hydro dams, then the power customers will be dependant on the Klamath Tribe's new power plant. Americans aren't allowed by the tribes and environmentalists to log much of that land; this land, put into trust, will be logged by the Tribes. Several thousand local citizens signed petitions against giving land to the tribes again. Congressman Walden and irrigation leaders assured the citizens that this would need community support. Obviously their promise was empty. Our so-called "leaders" are not listening to their constituents while supporting the KBRA, still being drafted behind closed doors.) Article from same AP report here in Capital Press > Klamath Tribes are seeing a brighter future

Tribes to buy tree farm, Purchase agreement signed with timber company, H&N 12/20/08.

Local, state unemployment rises in November, Sac Bee 12/19/08. More Calif. news HERE.

California Farm Bureau Federation Friday Review 11/19/08

PRESS RELEASE: Susan Fry Selected as Area Manager for Reclamation's Klamath Basin Area Office, BOR 11/19/08

Cold Weather Leads To Record Demand For Electricity From Basin Federal Power System, CBB 12/19/08

New Study Details How Ocean Fish Farming Harms Wild Salmon, CBB 12/19/08

Sen. Salazar Appointment Draws Mixed Reaction, NPR, posted to KBC 12/17/08. " 'So the people I represent in rural communities are going to want somebody as secretary of the Interior that understands rural issues,' said Dan Keppen, executive director of the Family Farm Alliance. 'It looks like many of the folks that might be opposing or upset about Sen. Salazar's appointment are activist groups from urban areas,' said Keppen." (HERE for Klamath activist groups not supporting Salazar). If you missed it below, here's Keppens 2002 newsletter regarding Thompson and the dead fish.)

Interior Secretary and Ag Secretary appointments, by Colby Marshall form OR Congressman Greg Walden's office 12/17/08

Siskiyou County Supervisor Marcia Armstrong, column on Klamath Dams, posted to KBC 12/17/08

CFBF honors C. Paul Johnson and Dan Byrne, California Farm Bureau Federation by Brandon Souza, 12/17/08
< Dan Byrne, a leading Northern California cattle rancher and conservationist, received the Distinguished Service Award posthumously. Byrne was recognized for service to Farm Bureau and his commitment to land stewardship.

California Farm Bureau Federation presents Distinguished Service Award to the late Dan Byrne, Modoc County Farm Bureau Nov./Dec. 2008 Newsletter

Senator Salazar To Head Interior: Other Regulatory Developments Of Note. Endangered Species Rules Finalized. Administration pulls back flawed effort to rewrite flag-air emmissions guidelines. Roundtable 12/16/08

Obama selects Vilsack for ag post, Capital Press 12/16/08. "Salazar co-sponsored a bill in Congress for permanently protecting 26 million acres of national monuments, wilderness areas and wild and scenic rivers...The Colorado senator opposed drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and objected to the Bush administration's efforts to lease Western lands for oil shale development."

Congressman (Thompson) passed over for post, H&N 12/16/08. "Steve Kandra, a Malin area farmer, said Thompson was the one candidate who had enough background regarding the proposed Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement and the potential dam removal agreement with PacifiCorp to act in a prompt and favorable manner." "Thompson’s dumping of the dead salmon in 2002 focused national attention on the Klamath River...(Thompson) also criticized Bush policies benefiting farmers..." (KBC NOTE: Thompson is a long-time enemy of Klamath Basin irrigators. Go HERE for Oct 2002 KWUA Newsletter by Dan Keppen, KWUA director at the time. In 2000, Thompson did support the farmers who wanted to sell out their neighbors and downsize Klamath Basin agriculture, specifically refuge farming. The KBRA supports refuge farming and downsizing private property agriculture. Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement Page, including Klamath Dam removal, videos, petitions, letters, articles.)

USGS Report: Some Pollutants Declining in Willamette and Columbia Rivers, 12/16/08

Klamath Lake Levels and River Flows, 12/7-12/14/08

Healthy salmon runs on other rivers raise questions about the Sacramento, Redding Record Searchlight 12/15/08. "But while the Sacramento has continued to see declining returns this year, fall Chinook runs on the Klamath and Columbia rivers - the next two major river systems north - appear to be healthy." (KBC NOTE: according to the Karuk, Yurok and Hoopa Tribes, Klamath River dams must come out because they are making salmon extinct. Science has been replaced with politics.)

Humane Society Files Notice To Appeal To Ninth Circuit On Sea Lion Removal, CB Bulletin, posted 12/15/08.

Here for Yurok lawsuit to "Usurp water rights of Klamath Basin Farmers."

Obama announced energy and environmental policy makers, 12/15/08 by Colby Marshall for OR. Congressman Greg Walden

From the archives - I want to go back, Klamath Courier Reporter 2/22/06. Tulelake Fish and Wildlife Refuge story. (KBC NOTE: Presently the Lava Beds National Monument has signs forbidding people from walking on the thousands of acres of "public land unless you are on a designated trail. Fish and Wildlife lands are extremely restricted from human use unless you are a gov't employee.)

From the archives - Tribes dammed Klamath, Klamath Courier by Liz Bowen posted to KBC 6/2/05 "1851 journal states Klamath River ran putrid from dead salmon."

12/14/08 - For Sunday's Prayer Page: To the Amazement of Angels, By Gene Seay. HERE for Prayer Page

SEND GUN COMMENTS by Dec. 22: Oregon: Help to Allow Employees & Visitors to Transport and Store Lawfully-Owned Firearms in Motor Vehicles Parked on Certain State Properties

PacifiCorp: (Siskiyou) County should weigh in on dam removal, Siskiyou Daily News, posted 12/13/08. "The supervisors announced their unanimous opposition to the AIP recently and began preparations to assemble a legal team to assist county counsel in fighting dam removal. The supervisors also oppose the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement reached last year by various stakeholders and environmental groups."

(Klamath) Water meetings: Mum’s the word, H&N 12/13/08

Farmers evaluate Klamath agreement to remove four dams, AgAlert, posted to KBC 12/13/08

Global governance here we come! by Henry Lamb WND 12/13/08

Klamath Basin agreement may be farming's spotted owl, Tom Mallams, for the Capital Press 12/11/08. "A recent commentary in the local newspaper announcing support for the current settlement agreement was signed by 74 individuals. A petition against the current settlement agreement, as written, with close to 300 off-project individuals along with another petition from Siskiyou County with 250 signatures, many of which are tribal members against the agreement, as written, has been submitted to the Klamath County commissioners. The Klamath Basin Alliance has a separate petition with more than 600 signatures against the current settlement. It's apparent there is no widespread support in the basin for the current agreement as written."

Karuk slam dam deal, Pioneer Press, posted 12/11/08. "He wrote that his opposition to dam removal prompted threats on his life - one of the reasons he no longer lives along the River. The petitioners contacted by the Pioneer Press asked not to be identified in this article, fearing retribution....Environmental activist and Karuk spokesman Craig Tucker said, '...if these people are not behind it now,' Tucker said, 'then they shouldn't get the benefits when the dams start coming down.' "

< After the invasion, H&N posted 12/11/08. A story about Tulelake's Bill and Kathy Quinn.

PLF applauds today's ESA regulatory changes: They will help the Federal Economic Stimulus Package", Pacific Legal Foundation 12/11/08

Bush administration makes last-minute changes in farmworker hiring, Sacramento Bee 12/11/08.

Farm Bureau keeps eye on lawmakers, Bushue touches on estate taxes, union organizing laws and grass seed burning, Capital Press 12/11/08

Klamath Lake Levels and River Flows, posted 12/10/08, Bureau of Reclamation

(Klamath) County to skip water (settlement) meeting; Commissioners won’t attend session, based on legal advice, H&N 12/10/08. "(BROWN) added that he may not go because the group’s confidentiality agreement would prevent him from sharing information with county residents. Bunch said he heard the meeting could involve discussion of litigation involving Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the ongoing Klamath Basin water adjudication, two issues the county isn’t involved in."

Public Water Agencies Throughout California File Suit to Prevent Further Water Cutbacks Business Wire 12/8/08. "The Westlands Water District today joined with 31 other public water agencies in the Central Valley in filing a lawsuit to block a new regulation that would enable state Fish and Game officials to cut off up to a million acre feet of water for two-thirds of California’s people...Westlands’ suit, however, points out that if as few as 50 longfin smelt are harmed out of a species that numbers in the millions and ranges as far north as Alaska, Fish and Game would be empowered to begin shutting off water supplies for millions of people at an untold cost of billions to the state’s economy."

Farmers advised to buy fuel, fertilizer now, Capital Press, posted 12/10/08

Farmers target EPA report they say might tax cows, Capital Press, posted 12/10/08. "Belching and gaseous cows and hogs could start costing them money if the federal government decides to charge fees for air-polluting animals."

Thompson still top contender to head Interior, Times-Standard 12/10/08. "The Karuk Tribe announced its support of Thompson becoming interior secretary Monday, saying the congressman understands how to bring rural conservationists and urban environmentalists together to create a meaningful and protective natural resource policy...Thompson won national publicity back in 2005, after holding a press conference at the Department of Interior and dumping more than 500 pounds of dead salmon on its steps to protest low waters in the Klamath River." (KBC NOTE: how interesting, the Karuks and PCFFA/Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen claim to be a new 'friend' of farmers in the Klamath Settlement Agreement, saying they support the farmers. At the same time they support Thompson who protested Klamath farmers receiving their stored water, blamed farmers for dead Trinity River fish in 2002 which the National Academy of Science said was not the farmers' fault, and have constantly advocated downsizing agriculture. Can it be both ways?)

The Dalles Dam to be upgraded in effort to save young salmon, The Dalles Chrinicle, posted 12/10/08. "...will likely improve survival rates for yearly chinook and steelhead by 4 percent to 98 percent for fish that travel over the spillway....It doesn't sound like much, but 3 or 4 percent makes a big difference when you're talking about tens of millions of fish,' Helwig said. 'The spill wall takes up more than half of the annual $80 million to $90 million budget for fish mitigation that is split between the Portland and Walla Walla U.S. Army Corps of Engineers districts that oversee the dams on the Columbia and its tributaries.' "

Biologists use X-ray machines to study endangered Klamath fish, KDRV, posted to KBC 12/10/08

Irrigation board to meet: TULELAKE — The Tulelake Irrigation District will review its 2009 budget at 8 p.m., in the district office. Proposed rates for 2009 are $50 per acre for private lands and $85 per acre for public lease lands.

Siskiyou County Board of Sups Agenda for Tuesday Dec. 9 at the Courthouse in Yreka. 10:00 a.m. PacifiCorp will discuss the Agreement in principle for dam removal

PRAYER PAGE - Spiritual Growth, by Gene Seay, for 12/7/08

Proposed permits heat up California water wars, Capital Press 12/6/08. Link has info to COMMENT by Tuesday Dec 9th.
Draft Environmental Impact Report for the coho Incidental Take Permit and 1602, by Marcia Armstrong, Siskiyou Co. Supervisor posted 12/6/08. "Tuesday, the California Dept. of Fish and Game (CDFG) will finally provide the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors with a briefing on the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the proposed watershed-wide 1602 streambed alteration permit and programmatic coho incidental take permits (ITP) for the Scott and Shasta Valleys. Unfortunately, the briefing will occur on the same day that comments are due."

Is salmon survival research emotionally or scientifically motivated, KMVT, posted to KBC 12/6/08

Removing Klamath River dams "I am in favor of dam removal. In 50-plus years, someone will figure out that building dams would provide jobs and farm land and then we could have spuds and grain again. Then down the road we could do the whole process again." Marge, Herald and News 12/5/08 p A6. (KBC Note: 2 of the 26 "stakeholders" allowed to attend the KBRA, Klamath Restoration Agreement, secret meetings are Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen, and North Coast Environmental Center. They are advocating removing Keno Dam in addition to the other 4 in the KBRA. According to a Klamath Project district manager, "Keno Dam maintains the water level in Klamath River from Keno to and including Lake Ewauna. If Keno dam is removed the water level in Klamath River would drop and there would be no irrigation for water users in the Klamath River. Some of those irrigators are: All with land adjacent to the Klamath River, KDD, Fish and Wildlife Service and ... TID." The KBRA is no longer a consensus group. THE group consists of 10 environmental groups, 4 tribes, 2 farm groups, 2 counties, and the rest government agencies listed is the Cal/EPA Environmental Justice Action Plan. These same enviro groups, and new "friends" in the KBRA, are in a coalition advocating downsizing the Klamath Project, raising power rates to bankrupt Project irrigators to create 'sustainability", and blaming them for the whole West Coast fishing woes.)

Big Dam Fight, Willamette Week, posted 12/6/08

OREGON Unemployment claims rising, October’s 9.1-percent rate in Klamath County highest since 1990 ,H&N posted to KBC 12/6/08. (KBC NOTE: Let's downsize ag more, in addition to the 100,000 Upper Klamath acres already confiscated by the feds, and they will demand more. The same feds and enviro groups destroyed many communities and people, and forests, by protesting timber harvest. This resulted in diseased and dead trees; these same enviros won't allow logging in even dead wood areas. Why the unemployment?)

From the archives - Farmers in a battle to protect family farm, California Farm Bureau Federation, Lost River Star, December 15, 1999, Cal-Fed Bay-Delta Program

EPA - Agencies Revise Guidance to Protect Wetlands and Streams, 12/3/08
Clean Water Act definitions of "Waters of the United States."

Water quality comments submitted for Siskiyou County by our environmental consultants to the State of California Water Resources Control Board on the likely impacts of considering dam removal as a cure for water quality issues (algae, temperature) in the operation of the hydroelectrioc dams.

Tulelake Irrigation District well water levels, posted 12/3/08

Citizen Participation in Government, by Oregon Senator Doug Whitsett 12/2/08

China says 300,000 babies sickened by tainted milk, Capital Press 12/2/08. (KBC NOTE: Every year Klamath Basin farmland is acquired by the Feds and Nature Conservancy to make swamps, nearly 100,000 acres already. Agencies in Klamath are doing their part to guarantee imported food from China." More on imported food.

Center for Biological Diversity stops trout fishing in CA, Trout plants halted - it's a load of bullfrogs!, San Francisco Chronicle, posted 12/1/08

Klamath Lake levels and river flows, 11/23-11/30/08, Bureau of Reclamation.

Irrigator seeks water meeting, H&N, posted to KBC 12/1/08. "The board worked to arrange a meeting between off- and on-Project irrigators and the Klamath Tribes in the weeks following January’s release of the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement. The Tribes never agreed on terms for the meeting and representatives for on-Project irrigators pulled out when they learned the Tribes weren’t going to participate."

OREGON - Molalla couple loses pet deer, H&N, posted to KBC 12/1/08. Oregon court won't allow couple to keep pet deer after they saved its life. HERE for more Oregon insanity.

Salmon advocates seek more water over dams, Legal motion deals with Columbia and Snake rivers, H&N, posted to KBC 12/1/08

Judge: No reprieve for sea lions, H&N, posted 12/1/08

Salmon funds released, H&N, posted to KBC 12/1/08