outside funds trying to influence klamath elections 102710

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

http://pioneer.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODE/HeraldandNews/

Outside funds trying to influence (Klamath) elections

Herald and News Letter to the Editor October 27, 2010 by Tom Mallams

Outside dollars are influencing our local use of natural resources. Many voters are aware of local money spent by various organizations, educating the voters for the current elections.

What most voters are not aware of is the millions of dollars being spent from outside groups trying to influence the long-term use of our natural resources.

One such group is Sustainable Northwest.

Their representative, James Honey, acknowledged at a meeting in Chiloquin, Nov. 17, 2009, that the organization had spent, as of that date, at least $1.25 million in the Klamath Basin to supposedly help settle the natural resource issues here.

It seems rather apparent to me and many others involved in the natural resource issues here, that their goal is to destroy green hydroelectric dams and permanently reduce irrigated agriculture in the Klamath Basin.

Destroying dams and permanently reducing irrigated agriculture surely does not create local long-term jobs. It reduces those jobs and our total agricultural income, as well as reducing our tax base.

On the Sustainable Northwest 2008, 990 federal tax return it shows that in that 12-month period, the organization spent $447,158 on Klamath Basin issues.

Of that, $63,835 went to a local upper Basin irrigator for “consulting” fees.

An additional $112,487, went to Natural Heritage Institute. Its “Director of Legal Services,” is Richard Roos Collins, one of the so-called “stakeholders”, that is the literal author of both the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement and dam removal document. Remember, this was all spent in one 12-month period.

Vote yes on Measure 18-80. It is the only opportunity we have to voice our local opposition to dam removal and the KBRA as written.

Our federal legislatures are watching this ballot. Even though the commissioners worded it in a very deceptive manner, a YES vote will send a message to our elected officials.

Tom Mallams

Beatty