Time to Take Action

Archive 238 - April 2022
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Klamath Irrigation District's Final Water Management and Conservation Plan, posted to KBC 5/7/22. "(The KID WM and CP) captures a brief summary of our history and discusses what we know about the present. Recent conversations have indicated many are not aware of Klamath Irrigation District's efforts to move towards a more modern and efficient irrigation system. The first step to the future is understanding our past and our infrastructure design, then understanding our present conditions....from there we can create a vision for the future."
"Proposed date of submittal of an updated Water Management Conservation plan to OWRD required in OAR 690-086-0225.6: The submittal of an updated plan in the foreseeable future is unnecessary and should not be required before 1 January 2035 or upon a Reclamation directive consistent with our contract."

 
"During their 'ramp up', they ONCE AGAIN, as in EVERY PRIOR time, exceeded maximum legal ramping rates/hour by well over 200%, risking lives and infrastructure." Message from rancher Rex Cozzalio, Hornbrook (on the Klamath River), 4/30/22. "It looks like the last 'Klamath flush' starting April 15th went from 1300cfs (no reduction from their 'biop' overrated amount) to 4600cfs at the peak, ramping down back to 1300cfs after about 8 days.  During their 'ramp up', they ONCE AGAIN, as in EVERY PRIOR time, exceeded maximum legal ramping rates/hour by well over 200%, risking lives and infrastructure.  ONCE AGAIN, they 'notified' the County the DAY BEFORE before the 'event', which makes it impossible for the County to effectively notify residents.
Considering only the difference between the 1300cfs and 4600cfs peak, the stored water to manufacture that unnatural 'flush' exceeded roughly 26,000 acre feet ABOVE base flow, or roughly enough water for 300,000 people for a year, or close to 9,000 acres of irrigated ground to what may be minimal 'dilution' benefit."

"Planting of USFWS hatchery tagged chinook salmon in the Sprague River to see if they could 'adapt' to that environment...to see if they will survive for 'after Project (dam) destruction' ...and/or to try and get a resident population of hybrids in place to suddenly 'identify' Upper Basin salmon shortly after Project destruction."
from Rex Cozzalio, Hornbrook, CA on the Klamath River 4/30/22

Dark clouds on horizon for electric vehicle batteries, The United States has handed over the supply chain for this future to offshore suppliers of the critical materials used in the workhorse of the megatrend, the lithium-ion battery. These include lithium from South America and Australia; cobalt, primarily from the Democratic Republic of the Congo; nickel, copper, phosphate and manganese from countries where relations could sour overnight. Nickel from Russia, for example, is off the market because of the country’s invasion of Ukraine...Australian mines produce just under half of the global lithium supply, but most of that is exported directly to China for processing..."

TID Water Supply and Operations Policy, adopted 4/27/22

TID Well Irrigated Acres Program and Charges, adopted 4/27/22

Klamath Tribes warn of ESA violations over water allocation, Capital Press 4/25/22. "According to the Klamath Water Users Association, a group that represents 1,200 farms and ranches in the Klamath Project, this year's expected allocation of 50,000 acre-feet equals no more than 5% of all the water that will be used this season from Upper Klamath Lake. About 40% of the water will be sent down the Klamath River for ESA-listed salmon; 28% will be held in Upper Klamath Lake for C'waam and Koptu and 27% will be lost to evaporation..."

Comments as an intervener to FERC regarding their Draft Klamath EIS by Hornbrook, California rancher Rex Cozzalio
FOLLOWED BY  Corruption of KRRC and FERC regarding Klamath dam removal, letter to FERC by Rex Cozzalio 4/25/22. "It has become excruciatingly clear that KRRC/KHSA special interest and policy directing Signatories have NO interest in protecting the affected public against damages from forcibly imposed devastation, and in fact have gone to extreme lengths to EVADE it, not only fabricating a convoluted cloak of self-benefitting unaccountability and ‘post destruction approval’ deferred ‘Plan’ certainties, with FERC’s consent they have managed to effectively place ALL loss and burdens upon those most harmed and UNREPRESENTED within the so-called ‘Agreement’.

SCWUA/Siskiyou County Water Users Association Response to Draft FERC/Federal Energy Regulatory Commission EIR/Environmental Impact Statement regarding the destruction of the Klamath River Hydroelectric dams, submitted 4/18/22 "The following comments are submitted by the Siskiyou County Water Users Association an association representing those Siskiyou County voters who voted to retain the dams through Measure G voted on during a general election process by 80% as well as members of the R Ranch Complex, KRCE, and Copco Lake.  The approximate membership of some 7,000 people..."

< Klamath River occasionally went dry before the Klamath Project was built. Today the Bureau of Reclamation mandates higher-than historic water levels of our stored irrigation water to send down Klamath River to the ocean "for salmon" which don't create more salmon.

Klamath Irrigation District comment letter to Draft EIR/Environmental Impact Statement to FERC/Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regarding Klamath River Hydroelectric dam destruction 4/18/22. "KID requests FERC decline to approve a Final EIS until the document reflects the "hard look" required by the law, based on accurate and complete historical data. KID also requests FERC consult with KID in order to ensure that impacts to the irrigators are adequately treated in the document so the public will know the full potential aftermath of dam removal."

KWUA / Klamath Water Users Association Response to Draft FERC/Federal Energy Regulatory Commission EIR/Environmental Impact Statement regarding the destruction of the Klamath River Hydroelectric dams 4/18/22. "...The DEIS appears to have ignored the potential, and currently likely, negative impacts of dam removal related to agricultural communities. Those impacts will flow from regulatory demands and constraints that decrease the ability to divert and deliver water for irrigation..."

Siskiyou County comment letter to Draft EIR/Environmental Impact Statement to FERC/Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regarding Klamath River Hydroelectric dam destruction 4/18/22. "The existing DEIS is insufficient to meet the requirements of NEPA to analyze the “environmental impact of the proposed action” and “alternatives to the proposed action.” 42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C). These provisions have been interpreted to require FERC and other agencies to carefully consider detailed information concerning significant environmental impacts and to significant alternatives when an action may has significant impacts. Reliance on out of date information that does not reflect the actual impacts of the action is unlawful and is, by itself, a basis for recirculation."

Klamath Tribe suing Biden administration over Oregon water to farmers, H&N 4/15/22. “We implore you to rescind the 2022 plan and operate the project this year consistent with the law, which requires the prioritization of the needs of the C’Waam and Koptu,” (Klamath Tribe Chairman Don) Gentry said using native language terms to describe the suckerfish. The fish also have spiritual, cultural and historical significance to the tribes." Yurok Vice-Chairman Frankie Meyers said, “The Upper and Lower Klamath Basin once functioned as an integrated system that provided abundant salmon, suckers and waterfowl with minimal intervention. It is our duty to bring this system back into balance and we will never stop working toward that goal..."
KBC NOTE: Not mentioned in the H&N article, last summer farmers got zero allocation while the Bureau of Rec. withheld 40,000 acre feet of our stored water above what the ESA required, and refused to pay it back to the farmers. In 2021 the agencies and tribes dewatered our refuges for the first time in more than 10,000 years according to Fish and Wildlife Service.
Ongoing fish kill on the Klamath River is an 'absolute worst-case scenario'  (Ongoing fish kill on the Klamath River is an 'absolute worst-case  scenario') — High Country News – Know the West< Photo from High Country News of Frankie Meyers. Not mentioned by Meyers is, our Klamath Basin DID function as an integrated system with abundant salmon, suckers and waterfowl until, against the direction of the "best available science," the National Research Council, the government agencies mandated higher lake levels and river flows than historically possible before the Klamath irrigation project was built. Lake level and river flow management will not increase sucker propagation according to the NRC. Suckers thrived in years of low water levels.
Watch Meyer's video: https://www.facebook.com/frankie.../videos/4455720501123904 "...You are always in the right if you're telling your government officials to give land back to indigenous communities..." A ten minute video well worth your time.  Keep in mind, every Klamath tribal member was given a ballot to vote on whether to terminate their tribe and receive money...they overwhelmingly voted to terminate and were paid for their land. They later were given allotments and most of them sold their allotments.
   Also, Mayers claimed that only white veterans were chosen to win a Tulelake homestead. FACT: WWI and WWII veterans with farm experience were entered into a contest, and winners were drawn from a pickle jar. Skin color was not a prerequisite.
Gentry: Dam removal key to reconnect salmon to Klamath | Guest Commentary |  heraldandnews.com
<
Photo from Herald and News. Don Gentry, current Klamath Tribal Chairman discusses termination and allotments in October 7, 2003 on Tribal Tour of the forests they hoped to be given: #9 In the van, Tribal Resource Specialist Don Gentry in discussion about Termination

 

 

 

 

APRIL 14 and 15, 2022. We store our irrigation water for the Klamath Project in Klamath Lake. Bureau of Reclamation denied us 100% of our stored water in 2021, and in 2022 we are allowed only enough to get our ditches wet. They dewatered our refuges that, according to USFWS, have supported 433 species of wildlife for 10,000 years, until last year. Klamath Tribe is suing to deny us 100% of our legally stored water, to raise Klamath Lake to higher than historic levels that were not possible before the Klamath Project was built, for suckers.
Much of our stored irrigation water is being sent down the Klamath River to the ocean for salmon.
4/14/22 Klamath Lake 4/14/22 Klamath Lake 4/14/22 Klamath Lake 4/15/22 Klamath River

Klamath Tribes Press Release: Klamath Tribes respond to BOR water allocations 4/12/22. "Today, we see in the Klamath Basin the consequences of nearly 120 years of ecosystem degradation at the hands of the settler society. They have drained hundreds of thousands of acres of open water and wetlands, mowed down the largest pine forests in the west, mined the groundwater to the point that wells now go dry where marshes and lakes formerly prevailed, straightened whole river systems and striven to eradicate beavers that once engineered complex waterways, allowed their cattle to destroy riparian zones and defecate in icy cold springs, and dammed the mighty Klamath River five times."
KBC NOTE: In 2022 Klamath farmers got none of their stored water. The government and tribes mandated higher than historical water levels in Klamath Lake where our water is stored, dewatering our farms and wildlife refuges, "open water and wetlands" which supported 433 species of wildlife here; the biological opinion deals with 3. According to USFWS, these refuges had water for more than 10,000 years, before 2022. With all of our stored surface water denied to farmers, many of our wells did go dry. Because of mandates by government agencies and tribes to not log or thin our forests, millions of acres burned the past summers. The Tribes are presently suing the government to deny us farmers a meager 50,000 acre feet of water this summer also, while mandating historically high levels for Klamath Lake, and also Klamath River to be sent to the ocean. They want to rip out the hydroelectric dams on the river which serve 70,000 families with power. Tribal members have told us they like electricity. Also, most rivers have been fenced to prevent cattle from entering the rivers.

Reclamation to release 50,000 acre-feet of water to Klamath Project; provide $20M in drought response, H&N 4/12/22. “We have 170,000 acres that could be irrigated this year and we’re ready to get to work,” KWUA President Ben DuVal...On a single acre, we can produce over 50,000 pounds of potatoes, or 6,000 pounds of wheat. This year, most of that land will not produce any food because the government is denying water for irrigation. We’ll just be trying to keep the weeds and dust under control.” "
“While reclamation has provided us some opportunities to work with them, the farmers and ranchers of this basin and our community all depend on agriculture. About one in three jobs in the basin can be tied to agriculture,” (Klamath Irrigation District Manager) Gene Souza said. “The loss is going to be felt in restaurants and grocery stores and potentially in food market across the nation.  It’s just a shame we’ve got 350,000 acre-feet of (our stored) water in Upper Klamath and we’re only (getting) a small piece.”

BOR News Release - Reclamation initiating Klamath River flushing flow to promote salmon health, 4/14/22. "Beginning April 15, flows below Iron Gate Dam will increase from approximately 1,325 cubic feet per second up to 4,500 cfs. Increased releases out of Upper Klamath Lake through the Link River Dam will occur simultaneously. The highest releases, of up to approximately 4,500 cfs, will be reduced to about 3,200 cfs on Saturday, April 16. A high peak of 4,200 cfs will occur on Sunday April 17. Flows will start ramping down the morning of Monday, April 18..."

Bureau of Reclamation Annual Operations Plan 2022 for the Klamath Reclamation Project, April 2022.

BOR PRESS RELEASE: Reclamation opens Klamath Project irrigation season with limited water supply allocation amid extreme drought, 4/11/22

Jesus said: "Be Not Afraid..." Matthew 28:10


Yakima Farm Bureau president stands against solar land rush, Capital Press 4/8/22. "...don't call hundreds of acres of panels on steel posts screwed into the ground "solar farms. We dropped that term a long time ago," he said. "We call them solar-industrial complexes...While cows and sheep can graze around windmills, solar projects as configured now blot out agricultural use and take up far more land."

OWRD/Oregon Water Resources Department counter claim against U.S. Regarding Bureau of Reclamation releasing legally-stored stored Klamath Project irrigation water into ocean 4/7/22. "...Section 8 of the Reclamation Act of 1902, which authorizes Reclamation to operate the Klamath Project in Southern Oregon and Northern California, expressly requires Reclamation to comply with state water law in those operations..." KBC NOTE: FYI, 2 of the Plaintiffs are PCFFA / Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen and IFFR / Institute for Fisheries Resources. According to PCFFA, "Rather than seek out yet another unrelated non-profit to funnel the money through, PCFFA created a new organization (IFFR)..."  

Northern Spotted OwlEnvironmental groups fail to stop Southern Oregon logging projects, Capital Press 4/7/22. "Environmental groups have failed to convince a federal judge to block two logging and fuels reduction projects on 8,000 acres of public forestland in Southern Oregon."

"...states that are using Cloud Seeding as a way to try and Mitigate this climate Change crisis is absolutely preposterous..." Oregon Cattle Rancher's letter to KBC with links describing Cloud Seeding agendas and implementation 4/6/22.

Judge halts curtailment for Siskiyou County irrigators, CFBF AgAlert 4/6/22. "Irrigators in Siskiyou County have won a court ruling to temporarily block a state water curtailment order that would have prevented area farmers and ranchers from tapping into percolating groundwater supplies they have relied on for decades...."Historically, the State Water Resources Control Board has not had jurisdiction over groundwater, and this was a classic example of government overreach where they exerted jurisdiction over percolating groundwater without authority and without evidentiary support."

Klamath irrigators vote for water deliveries even if it puts federal drought funding at risk, OPB 4/5/22. "Out of 377 votes, 319 KID members voted ‘yes’ to the ballot question: “Pursuant to both our federal contract obligations and state water rights, do you want the district to attempt to deliver you water knowing it will likely complicate federal drought funding?”
(KID manager Gene Souza) says that drought funding makes up a fraction of what would be generated by farmers and which would, in turn, stimulate the local economy..."

 

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