The newly organized POW, which stand for –

Protect Our Water – Scott Valley

met Wed. night, June 30, 2010 at the Masonic Hall on Etna’s Main Street at 7 p.m.

Craig Chenoweth led the meeting and announced the officers and chairmen of committees, which were voted upon at the Central Committee meeting on June 23, 2010. Approximately 75 people were in attendance.

Craig Chenoweth – President

Mark Baird – Vice President

Karen Dunford & Liz Bowen – Co-Secretaries

Cyndi Baird – Treasurer

Liz Bowen – Media & coordinator

Elaine Dolcini – Posters

Dick Dews – Fundraising

John Menke – Academic Research

Nancy Carver & Tom Pease – Document DFG encounters

Jerry Bacigalupi – Liaison with Shasta Valley ranchers

Christopher Liles – website

Fair booth – Jess Bigham, Kathy Varnell, Liz Bowen

Nick Jenner

VP Mark Baird presented an overview of how POW formed to stop the outrageous regulations being forced upon landowners in Scott Valley by government agencies.

These regulations are reducing the amount of water a legal Water Right holder can use by expanding two Permits.

* One is the streambed alteration Permit 1602.

* The other is the Incidental Take Permit that permits someone to harm, harass, or injure an Endangered Specie like the coho salmon, without prosecution. That Permit will now harm, harass or injure the Water Right holder by demanding the Water Right holder leave more water in the stream. This will hurt his business by taking away his irrigation water.

POW – Scott Valley’s Mission Statement was unanimously voted upon:

We will NOT submit.

We will NOT sign.

We will STAND on our Constitutional rights.

We say “NO” to regulations that are destroying our Constitutional rights.

Do NOT sign away your Water Rights.

POW claims that the California Department of Fish and Game, DFG, is breaking the law by demanding these outrageous Permits be signed by legal Water Right holders.

Question was asked: What is substantial? This is language the DFG uses regarding “substantial” amount of water.

Response: During meetings with the DFG, one official by the name of Mark Stoffer, responded that “substantial is anything I say it is.”

Mark told the crowd that POW is now doing Civil Disobedience. It is not a militia group nor is POW radical. We uphold the U.S. Constitution, which allows for disagreement with the government through Civil Disobedience.

There is some risk, but there is also risk of losing your business if you sign up for the Permits. The fees involved with the Permits are also outrageous.

We claim that diverting water for irrigation is a “beneficial” use, which both Permits address. Agriculture provides open space, which is a benefit for wildlife.

The difference between DFG and the Department of Water Resources:

They are different agencies.

DFG deals with wildlife.

DWR provides water master service. Water masters are engineers and trained to understand water volume in cubic feet per seconds, etc.

If you sign up for the Permits under the Siskiyou Resource Conservation District or directly with the DFG, then the DFG can tell you how to use your water. Do you want the government telling you how much water you can use – water that is legally allotted to you?

Teams of DFG game wardens have visited people that have NOT signed up for the Permits. Some game wardens have been polite and some not so polite.

Either way, they are intimidating by packing their fire arms, threatening fines and prosecution for non-compliance of signing-up for the Permits.

DFG may try to file an injunction to shut water off. We need to keep water flowing through civil disobedience.

DFG says you MUST comply with CEQA – California Environmental Quality Act.

VP Mark Baird said that is a lie and intimidation.

Remember: At most, the violation of not signing their Permit is a misdemeanor.

The California State DFG Commissioners have enacted this Permit problem.

What to do if game wardens trespass on your property demanding that you sign the Notice of Intent to sign the Permits:

* Take photos of them

* Ask for their names and badge numbers

* Tape record or video record and announce that you are recording the exchange.

* Call the phone tree and we will show up to support you.

At the previous meeting, $8,655 was donated to pay the attorneys for work completed. Thank you.

VP Mark Baird met with Chairman of Shasta County Board of Supervisors and Mayor of Redding, who are angry about the expanded regulations and Permits. So far, DFG has not proposed these outrageous regulations and expanded Permits to Shasta County.

President Craig Chenoweth is working with our attorneys to form a statewide coalition as there seems to be agencies and environmental groups attacking water use throughout the state.

Norm Malmberg, Dal Eklund and Karen Dunford worked on an ordinance to present to Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors using the 2005 Code of the West and the Right to Farm ordinance.

All meetings that we attend, we must demand that legal minutes are taken by the DFG or Siskiyou RCD or get up and leave. State that you want copies of these minutes ASAP.

Membership to POW – Scott Valley is open to all who want to support Water Rights as a Property Right under the U.S. Constitution. There are no specific dues for membership. One gives what one can.

Checks can be sent to POW-Scott Valley Craig Chenoweth, P.O. Box 311, Etna, CA 96027

President Craig Chenoweth is meeting with Pacific Legal Foundation attorneys in July and will report at the next meeting.

Next meeting is July 21, 2010 at the Masonic Hall on Etna’s Main Street at 7 p.m.