Yesterday I was talking with a complete stranger over lunch.  He drove here from Fernley, Nevada to get some produce from our farm.

The man asked about the water crisis, how it was and how it is.

I told him about 2001, when they shut off water to all of our farms. I told him about how we had to drill a well to water our crop, from which we never recovered financially and we finally had to sell that field. One of the crops we lost that year was peas, which puts nitrogen in the soil to fertilize next year's crop. So that field was a 2-year loss.

We spoke about the settlers and homesteaders who were won their homesteads in lotteries after the World Wars. These men, in their early 20's, were given land after their service of fighting to keep their country free.  Their deeds, signed by The President, state that water is appurtenant to the land.

But they are old now and their children, and grandchildren are grown. Some of them stayed to farm. Since 2001, many of them have died.

They died, and are dying, of a broken heart. They were changed from the proud, patriotic hard-working caretakers of our American farmland to "feed a hungry nation", to confused, depressed  men.

They lived through the auctions, the depression, defeat, dead crops and wildlife, and their patriotism blown to bits. We have allowed our own country to defeat our 'Greatest Generation.'

When Hitler was killing millions of innocent people, and when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and killed thousands of innocent people, the attack on American and World freedom was real. And these boys and girls gave up everything they had..their parents, spouses, and many gave their lives, to keep America and the world free.  Many were only teenagers at the time, but they cared that much about freedom. My father was one of these men.

So here we are, Klamath Basin 2005. I told the stranger how, in the Upper Klamath Basin alone the government has convinced the irrigators to let them own and control almost 100,000 acres of farm and ranch land and turn most of it into a swamp "for fish habitat and for water storage." That didn't pan out. The water quality got worse, it evaporates more water than it saves, and it decimated the cattle industry in that area. And the government's response it to buy more land, further harming the economy and evaporating more water. And the trusting public keeps forgetting the past, and keeps hoping that this will be more promised " water certainty" for the remaining farms. It is one land acquisition at a time.

We talked about the wildlife, how 50 per cent of the waterfowl get their food from our crops. In 2001, wildlife and habitat died.

I told him that 100 years ago, when we diverted our large lake into canals and storage reservoirs, these young families built a community. And the water is used for farms, refuges, and the excess is diverted down the Klamath River, providing free regulated water for power, and more water for fish. The Link River used to go dry before we built and paid for the Project.

I explained that the Tribes and environmentalists want to take out all the dams in the river. They and some of their politicians want the Klamath Project to vanish, along with its people. There are dozens of environmental groups who have formed coalitions to further take away our farms.

The Power companies, having forgotten about the Klamath  River Compact promising affordable power rates in exchange for this free water they wouldn't have otherwise had, have forgotten their contract and promise. They have told irrigators that our rates will raise 1400 per cent next year.

When the government took our water to send it down the river because of a 'flawed' biological opinion, commissioned by the Dept of Justice and Bureau of Indian Affairs to go against the farmers in the water adjudication, they used this created science to make biological opinions to shut down the Klamath  Project. They call for more water to be taken from the Klamath Project than possible. That's why they are sucking out our groundwater, depleting it by 5 feet per year. I told the stranger that the difference between this and Owens Lake which was sent to L.A and turned into a desert, in this case it is the government and not L.A water department. So our farmers took the government to court, but a federal judge said that our water deeded to our fathers, signed by The President, is not appurtenant to our land and we do not own it.

Between attorneys, power advisors, scientists, and constant lawsuits by environmental groups, our districts are going broke. The government is breaking us, then forcing us to pump our water and deplete our aquifer to pay to fight the government and tax-exempt environmental groups in court. They rehired the same scientist that shut down the Project in 2001 to make another 'biological opinion'.

By the time I inflicted this poor stranger with all this info, I sat worked myself into tears and neither of us spoke for several uncomfortable minutes.

God, what do we do now? What can we do? Give us direction.

And God, I know some of these government workers and power company employees. Can it be that none of them know you? Help us understand. And speak to the hearts of these decision makers. Give them love, and truth. Help them to stand by righteousness, and not be swayed by money and political agenda. Please lead them, and please lead the local guys who are giving their hearts and souls to preserving their community and their farms.

Please hear my  prayer.

In Jesus name

Amen