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Klamath Basin water is still in hot dispute. In April of
2001, the greatest water theft in history took place in the
Klamath Falls Basin. This theft was conducted by the Federal
government on the pretense of saving the "endangered" sucker
fish for the Klamath Tribes. After speaking to a member of a
tribe who was not in agreement with this theft, I found that
the sucker fish is not one that the tribe normally eats, but
instead, is used as bait because it is unpalatable. The sucker
fish also requires low water levels, not more water as the
Federal government states. This "endangered" sucker fish was
also considered a pest in the 1960s:
In the case of the sucker, the government itself holds
the smoking gun. After a poisoning campaign in the 1960s,
it's a wonder there are any suckers left. At that time, the
state of Oregon embarked on an eradication campaign to
poison several lakes to rid them of the sucker, then
considered a pest. Even poisoning could not eliminate the
sucker, yet the government now claims the difference of a
few feet in lake elevation could spell doom for the sucker.
(LINK)
What happened in 2001 resulted in family farms going dry,
and people going bankrupt and losing their homes. Dry fields
could be seen for miles while driving down the road. The
farmers that survived the crisis got water, but the dispute is
still going on. It is not over by a long shot. The Klamath
Tribes council is calling for almost all of the Klamath Basin
water to be under their direction even though there is no
tribal reservation, and the Federal government is backing the
plan.
Save the Family Farm
Maxine Kizer and her neighbors have been minding their
own business tending their farms and ranches for
generations. Now the Federal government and the local Indian
Tribes have decided they need all the water because they
intend to "reserve" the water for hunting and fishing
rights for the now non existent Indian reservation, which
was created 140 years ago. Never mind the fact that both
the Indian Tribe and the Federal government actually
aggressively promoted the development of irrigated
agriculture in this 140 year interim. Armed with millions
of our tax dollars they have now set out to destroy Maxine
and her neighbor’s life. But it is not just Maxine's
American dream at stake, if they are successful here, Indian
Tribes across the country will be able to demand all the
water, even threatening municipal supplies for our cities.
The success of this plan spells disaster for not only the
Klamath Basin family farmers, but for all family farmers, as
it will be a precedent. Without locally grown produce
and animal feed, we will be even more dependent on imported
food at a much higher price. This will also open the door for
multinational corporations to infiltrate our agricultural
community with more GMO products. To read more about this
crisis and what you can do about it, go here: (LINK)
©
2008, Barbara H. Peterson |
