klamath bucket brigade testimony at EIS DOI hearing on Klamath dam removal 101811

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

Klamath Bucket Brigade Testimony – Oct 18, 2011 – Dam removal hearing

My name is Shirley Kerns and I am here as a Board Member to speak for the Klamath Bucket Brigade. Our Board of Trustees is made up of both Project and Off-Project irrigators.

The Klamath Bucket Brigade was formed to promote the rally and parade that drew thousands of people to the Klamath Basin on May 7th, 2001, after the water shutoff. The name was carried over for the promotion of the relief convoys from seven western states that came to the Klamath Basin in August of 2001.

On July 31st, 2001; the Klamath Bucket Brigade, Inc was formed for the purpose of sponsoring the Klamath Relief Convoys that spread the message of the plight of the Klamath Basin farmers and ranchers which also brought several hundred thousand dollars of relief into the basin.

Our Mission Statement: Promote individual and property rights that are vital to the safety, social and economic well-being of the United States.

We have continued as an organization as we believe farmers and ranchers in the Klamath Basin are still under assault. While we had hoped that any agreement put together for the Klamath Basin would benefit ALL farmers and ranchers, unfortunately the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement does not meet that standard. We cannot support removal of dams that produce clean hydroelectric energy in a time when our electric bills for both home and irrigation are rising rapidly. Therefore,

The Klamath Bucket Brigade is adamantly opposed to dam removal and the Klamath Basin Restoration agreement and the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement as they are currently constituted. The agreements represent a minority of special interest groups and spreads the cost to every U.S. taxpayer. The Klamath Bucket Brigade Board of Trustees will support an agreement backed by a majority of the residents of the entire Klamath River Basin and that assures all property and water rights are protected.

We will also be submitting written comments on specific issues we have with the Klamath Dam Removal Draft EIS/EIR which we believe is a political, not scientific, document.