Stand up to demand integrity of government

Herald and News 4/27/13 letter by John Kite, Keno

     In 1992, the federal government brought U.S. Fish & Wildlife biologists to the Klamath Basin to save the sucker.   They have been here more than 20 years spending taxpayers’ money and studying the sucker. According to the story on the front page of the Herald and News April 16, they still do not know what the problem is, or if there even is a problem with sucker mortality.

   Clear Lake in California, which is part of the Klamath River System, has historically had low levels of water over the past few years. And yet the sucker population seems to be thriving there. Why?

   Let’s review the projects USFW has been involved with the past 20 years:

   ^• The Chiloquin Dam has been removed — the number one priority.

   ^• Thousands of acres of farmland in the Williamson River Delta have been taken out of production.  

   • Artificial Klamath Lake levels have been established resulting in the cut off of irrigation water to farmers in 2001.

   ^• A multi-million dollar screening system was installed on the A Canal.

   All this has been done by the USFW’s own admission; it has been a failure. Now, USFW is proposing to spend $135 million over the next decade. What this has already been about is a power play by USFW and the Klamath Tribes to control large quantities of water in the Upper Klamath Lake.

   It is time for people to stand up and demand integrity out of government agencies. I also wish the Herald and News would print both sides of the story for its readers.

   John Kite

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