Oct. 18, 2010

My name is Mark Baird. I am Vice President of Protect Our Water, Scott Valley.

I read your article in the Searchlight today. There is information regarding this issue that you need to know.

The California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) is using the cloak of environmental concern to gain control of all surface Water Rights in the State.

CDFG has decided to “re-interpret” a sixty year-old water law, Section 1600,” to include the act of turning on the water as a permit able action.

If successful these permits can cost as much as $30,000 per diversion. The goal is MONEY — (a self-funding agency that can raise fees at will); and POWER — (the ability to modify judicially decreed and appropriative water rights).

This program was suggested to CDFG by Cal Trout and the Natural Heritage foundation. (I can prove everything through public disclosure documents.)

No one in this Siskiyou County watershed is stealing water.  All of our Water Rights are recorded.  All diversions are on California Dept. of Water Resource (DWR) maps.  The DWR is receiving all the required reports.

I can prove with CDFG documents that the CDFG has been killing Wild Coho Salmon for 20 years. This is in violation of the federal listing in 1996 of coho salmon to the Endangered Species Act.

The CDFG is using threats and extortion to coerce ranchers and farmers into voluntarily signing contracts, which give control of surface Water Rights to CDFG.  Our group is refusing to sign.

We will not submit, we will not sign our property over to CDFG.

WE WILL FIGHT to protect our property.

Water Rights are property rights under the State Constitution.  Please call me or write and I will give you the facts.

If the CDFG is successful here, the rest of California will be next.  We have no voice and we need your help desperately.

Mark Baird

530-227-6729
mcbair@sisqtel.net