ARCHIVE 37 - June 2005
also  see main archive page

CDWR June meetings

Scott-Shasta TMDL 6/28/05

PRESS RELEASE: House Committee on Resources, Property Rights Wronged 6/28/05

Turnabout: Enough water for all, H&N 6/28/05

Give private property more protection, H&N 6/28/05

Please pray for Dennis Chambers, Tulelake: see prayer page.

Tucked in committee, wolf bill still has legs, Capital Press 7/27/05

Funding for salmon, research approved, Statesman Journal 6/26/05 $15 million.

DEQ to Close Klamath Falls Branch Office, bend.com, posted to KBC 6/25/05

KLAMATH BASIN: Conservationists seek protection for rare salamanders, Center for Biological Diversity 6/25/05

6/25/05 Bob Chadwick of Consensus Associates has been hired to facilitate people in the Klamath watershed to come together to "restore the river." Last week the Chadwick session had former Congresswoman Elizabeth Furse educate the participants about tribal trust. Furse is known throughout the Klamath Basin as the Congresswoman who shut down the Biscuit Fire salvage, and she propagated untruths about the Klamath Project in 2001: Go HERE for long version of Furse statements.
*  Furse called the former Klamath Basin a desert when in fact it was a lake up to 30 feet deep.
*  Furse said, ..." the government diverted more of the river," which is not true. Water is diverted FROM the irrigation project INTO the river.
* Furse said that the Project is "an irrigation system paid for by the taxpayers." That is not true; the irrigators paid the entire cost of the Klamath Project.
* Furse said that the tribes did not vote for termination, which is not totally true.  They selected representatives to advocate termination, and they voted to sell their land.
* Furse said, "That decision...(withholding water from 1400 family farms and refuges)..., was absolutely correct."

Pesticide Use Reporting: Edited note from Paulette Pyle of Oregonians for Food and Shelter (OFS), a lobbyist group that attempts to protect farmers from excessive state regulations, from discussion forum posted to KBC 6/25/05

House Resources Committee report on ESA Implementation 6/25/05

How the Supreme Court's imminent domain ruling will effect you, by Carl F.Worden 6/25/05

TID well water reports 6/24/05.
TID well date 6/16-6/23/05 "First (TID) well was turned on June 16 and we are pumping at a rate of approximately 100 CFS," says Earl Donosky, manager of Tulelake Irrigation District.

Chiloquin Chadwick attendees and affiliations, 77, for June 28-30.
Chadwick focus areas   Sample: "FOCUS AREA 11: DAMS - FISH PASSAGE AND POWER RATES: "Form a coalition between the Upper Basin irrigations/tribes/fisheries/agencies that provides for the needs of each other and supports decommissioning of the Iron Gate, COPCO 1 and 2 and JC Boyle Dams."

Complex interstate pollution limits move forward in Klamath Basin Tam Moore Oregon Staff Writer 6/24/05

Humboldt's Yurok tribe agrees to casino pact, Times Standard 6/24/05

Time runs out for federal dollars on Klamath, Capital Press 6/24/05

Bull Trout comments by June 24

Reclamation Managing Water in the West articles for 6/24/05

NATIONAL NEWS: Homeowners Lose Eminent Domain Case posted to KBC 6/24/05

Klamath Lake Levels River Flows 6/23/06. Klamath Lake storage is up 78,146 acre feet from a year ago and way above average.  However due to a flawed biological opinion, the mandatory 'waterbank' demands 100,000 acre feet of irrigator's stored water from land fallowing and our aquifer to make artificially high lake levels and river flows. See waterbank page.

ESA Lawsuit OTHER PLACES: Supreme Court rules against Calif. farmers in water use case, AZCentral.com 6/23/05

Commercial boats await July chance at big Sacramento River salmon run, Ft Bragg Advocate News 6/23/05

Response to Your Dollars at Work, Klamath Courier article, by Steve West, former Klamath County Commissioner and Fisheries Task Force member, 6/23/05

Klamath Fisheries Task Force, Your Tax Dollars at Work, Klamath Courier posted to KBC 5/23/05, "She (Karas) said that if Fish and Wildlife acquires Barnes, they may breach dikes, which will increase potassium and will make it harder to maintain lake level. If it is used for storage it will need power to pump the water, fish screens, and the water there "sinks in."

Free tests offered to irrigators, H&N 6/23/05

Oregon potato stocks drop by one-third, H&N 6/23/05

Crops drenched by late rainfall, H&N 6/23/05

Wrangling Water, International water experts and officials gather in Boise to discuss rising demands and decreasing supplies, Headwaters News 6/22/05 (Family Farm Alliance Dan Keppen and BOR Commissioner John Keyes were amongst the panelists.)

Humboldt Chadwick attendee making Klamath play, 6/22/05

Alvin Cheyne, native and lifelong Klamath Basin, died June 17th.

PRESS RELEASE: ESA Compliance: Limiting Water Supplies and Driving Up Costs? Water & Power Subcommittee to hold hearing 6/21/05.

Billionaire Warren Buffett outlines plans for PacifiCorp Idaho Statesman 6/21/05

INDIAN MATTERS ON THE KLAMATH, page of information by Marcia Armstrong, Siskiyou County Supervisor posted 6/21/05

An Uphill Fight, Tribes' efforts to regain former reservation land find little support H&N 6/23/05 Part 5 of 5.
Turning things around, Tribal leaders work to address social problems, regain treaty rights H&N 6/22/05 part 4 of 5.
Spending spree, H&N 6/21/05
A tribe vanishes, H&N 6/20/05.  Klamath tribal members voted to terminate their tribe. Part 2 of 5.
Your land, my land, Part 1 of Klamath Tribes regarding wanting back the land they sold, H&N 6/19/05.
For more articles, negotiations, petitions, tribal constitution, go to TALKS page

ESA TESTIMONY June 22, 05 Subcommittee on Water and Power agenda, including Dan Keppen, Family Farm Alliance and Russell Brooks, Pacific Legal Foundation.
Testimony of Dan Keppen for House Resource Committee, on Environmental Regulations regarding the Klamath Basin and the ESA.

Wildfires out of control and the pricetags, posted on KBC 6/20/05

USDA Sparks 2007 Farm Bill Debate Among America's Farmers and Ranchers, National Grange 6/20/05

NOAA Fisheries issues new hatchery policy, AP, 6/16/05.
"What I think the agency is saying is there are so many damn salmon out there they just can't protect them all."

KWUA Weekly Update 6/17/05
*Fall Intern Positions Available with The Water Leadership Program
*New ESA Presentation Available Online
*NOAA Fisheries Issues New Hatchery Policy, Reviews ESA Listings
*Spill Plan May Dry Up
*New State Director of Rural Development
*Energy Subcommittee Studies Effects of Wildlands Project Land Grab

Tribal Trust Chadwick Consensus meeting June 18. PRESS RELEASE and Schedule. Come and hear what the Yurok, Hoopa, Karuk, Klamath, Quartz Valley Tribes tell us about Tribal Trust obligations. Chadwick says the responsibility is to "restore the river because it’s the right thing to do."

The June 15-16, 2005, Fisheries Task Force meeting will be held at the Best Western Miner's Inn in Yreka, California.   The Draft Agenda is HERE

Lake Levels River Flows, H&N 6/15/05. Klamath Lake level is up 71,221 acre feet from one year ago. Past charts go HERE.

PRESS RELEASE: Growth of the Federal Estate, Its Impacts To Be Discussed 6/15/05

PRESS RELEASE: Energy Subcommittee to Study Effects of Wildlands Project Land Grab 6/15/05

PRESS RELEASE: Whitsett Sponsored Energy Siting Legislation Passes Senate with Unanimous Support, 6/14/05 "In that (Bonanza's COB) instance the Siting Council overrode Oregon water law, ignored public safety concerns relating to seismic evaluations and disregarded local land use ordinances.”  For more on COB go HERE

News from the Front #83:The Great Summer Spill Hoax, Buchal posted to KBC 6/14/05

Fed agencies: Appeal salmon decision, Seattle Post Intelligencer 6/14/05

NOAA'S ESA salmon, steelhead 'status review' likely delayed, CBBulletin posted to KBC 6/14/05

Additional fees hammering agriculture in the Scott and Shasta Valleys by Marcia Armstrong, Siskiyou County Supervisor, Pioneer Press posted to KBC 6/14/05. For her other columns go HERE.

What the dams trapped, Times Standard 6/14/05

California Farm Bureau Friday Review, list of current bills in PDF file, posted to KBC 6/14/05

Reality vs rhetoric, Save Our Species Alliance response to Eugene Register-Guard, posted to KBC 6/14/05 regarding Congressman Pombo and improving the ESA. HERE is the explanation of the response. Both are pdf files.

Protecting farmland, property rights not mutually exclusive, H&N op ed 6/14/05

Growers say they're cutting back potato crop, Tri-City Herald 6/14/05

Tides beginning to turn for salmon anglers, Times Standard posted to KBC 6/14/05

Mapping project focuses on Basin, H&N posted to KBC 6/14/05

Wyden , Smith Secure Funds For Oregon Natural Resource Projects, Josephine County News 6/13/05 (Regardless of the local letters and reasons against the federal government buying Barnes Ranch, Senators Wyden and Smith and DOI want to acquire this for USFWS. This will add to the 94,000 acres of ag land already acquired to 'restore' the Upper Basin. According to Dr William Lewis, Chairman of the National Research Council, this will not benefit suckers nor will it help Klamath Lake quality. Also it will raise lake temperatures and evaporate more water than it can store. HERE for letters from Senator Whitsett, Klamath County Commissioners, Dr Ken Rykbost, Bureau Commissioner John Keyes, and others. Note that they are no longer touting the 50,000 acre feet storage previously claimed. There were NO public meetings. Our voices and science and facts are not being acknowledged. KBC)

Water-use measurement bill clears Senate, Capital Press 6/13/05.(In California in certain regions, this type bill led to landowners being charged over $100/acre foot for their own groundwater. KBC)

Chadwick Consensus groups have been occurring throughout the Klamath watershed to find  'solutions' with environmentalists, gov't agencies, tribes and irrigators. The process is paid for by the Bureau of Reclamation. Alice Kilham, KBEF, Klamath Basin Ecosystem Foundation, board of director, engaged Mr Chadwick in facilitating the process.  Also a KBEF director and Chadwick participant Mike Connelly shared his KBEF update. KBEF is hosting the Chadwick website. 6/10/05

KWUA Weekly Update 6/10/05
* OPUC Issues Order in Klamath Irrigator Rate Case
* Salmon Trollers, Others Sue Federal Agency Over Catch Cutbacks
* Mike Ryan Named Reclamation’s Great Plains Regional Director

Wet weather prompts water year type change, H&N 6/10/05

Lake Levels River Flows, H&N posted to KBC 6/10/05

Oregon Farm Bureau backs new version of wolf bill, Capital Press 6/10/05

Congress seeks to privatize some USGS water activities, Environmental Science and  Technology,  posted to KBC 6/10/05

Irrigators should get some protection, H&N 6/9/05

F.S. to reduce use of off-road vehicles (in Klamath National Forest) Pioneer Press 6/9/05.

Survey shows strong support for California family farms, Farm Bureau posted to KBC 6/9/05

Enough is Enough, Illinois Leader regarding Klamath Basin, Oregon and Wildlands Project 6/9/05.

California Farmers Say Relief is Needed to Save Family Farms, Environmental News Network 6/9/05 "California is losing about 1,000 farms a year, according to a 2003 U.S. Department of Agriculture survey, the latest figures available. In 1950, the state had 144,000 farms. Two years ago, the number had dropped to about 78,000, with more than 95 percent operated by families, the agency said.  Farmers say the decline has hurt national farm production. In June 2004, the United States imported more food than it exported, marking the first year since 1986 in which agricultural trade showed a monthly deficit, the USDA said."

Groups Seek To Restore Wolverines (Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands 6/9/05 Earthjustice News "The Endangered Species Act is the best tool we have to ensure that the wolverine does not fade into myth and legend, but remains a component of our natural heritage."

State agency will address “problems” on Scott and Shasta Rivers, Pioneer Press 6/9/05

Nonprofit Watch: The Nature Conservancy, Legend Games  6/9/05

Bottled water plants at Mt. Shasta; Wall Street Journal  6/9/05

Salmon trollers, others sue federal agency over catch cutbacks, Newport News 6/8/95. Sign holders  l-r Rayburn Guerin, President Oregon Trollers Association, Cheri Moore and AD Evanow, vp OTA

Oregon regulators set deadline for irrigator rates, H&N 6/8/05

Whitsett has good reason to be wary, Herald and News editorial 6/8/05. "Rural Oregon should be afraid of such things because they put weapons in the hands of urban residents who have little knowledge about such things as agriculture and responsible use of resources."

PRESS RELEASE: Democrats Block Local Management of Bear and Cougar Populations “Whether you live in a rural or urban community, we have to be concerned about potential attacks on children” 6/8/05

TID well water levels 6/8/05

CaliforniaWaterPlan2005-draft060705, draft. Comments due July 22, 2005

Bureau of Reclamation Water Data Update – June 7, 2005

Whitsett Press Release: Whitsett discusses SB81 regarding Klamath irrigators' rate shock, SB525 that avoids urban power to site rural power plants like the COB near Bonanza. He also includes response to ONRC, exposing their total lies. 6/6/05

Save the dams June 6

$5 Billion deal separate from Klamath re-licensing, Capital Press 6/6/05

Democrats put Pombo on their list, Longtime GOP congressman may face tough race next year, San Francisco Chronicle 6/6/05

Lake levels river flows, posted to KBC 6/5/05. Klamath Lake storage was up 54,992 acre-feet from one year ago.

Kenneth Hart Keppen, 37, died May 24, 2005. Please pray for his family...HERE FOR STORY & addresses

Family Farm Alliance: action alert and Senator Russell Feingold's (D-Wisconsin) S. 1118, the “Irrigation Subsidy Reduction Act of 2005" 6/5/05

Trollers, irrigators resolve water differences, Coos Bay posted to KBC 6/5/05

Irrigation Subsidy Reduction Act of 2005 S1118, Family Farm Alliance 6/5/05

PLF Files Lawsuit to Block Federal Regulation Slashing Fishing Season by More than Half Despite Record Numbers of Salmon, posted 6/5/05.

Fishing groups sue about reduction of salmon season, Statesman Journal posted to KBC 6/5/05.

Scott-Shasta TMDL Meetings, Pioneer Press posted to KBC 6/5/05

SOSS says "get involved", Pioneer Press posted to KBC 6/5/05

Pesticide used to poison Idaho wolf, Idaho Mountain posted to KBC 6/5/05 "Use of this and other poisons is something a group called Predator Defense believes should be treated as terrorism."..."The killing of an animal protected under the Endangered Species Act is punishable by a fine of up to $100,000 and one year in jail."

Weekly Update June 3, 2005
* Oregon Rate Mitigation Legislation
* Senator Whitsett Sets the Record Straight with ONRC
* Fishermen and Farmers Ratify Cooperative Agreement
* Farmers, New Fishing Group to Work on Water Together
* Williamson River Fish Counting Weir
* Congressmen Urge Administration Appeal of Salmon Ruling

Klamath power rate passes, H&N 6/3/04. (The part Herald and News included by ONRC about reasonable rate for farmers costing the taxpayers $10,000,000 is completely false. Without free regulated water coming from the Klamath Project paid for by the irrigators, there would be no reasonable power for the consumers.. Link River went dry before the project was built. KBC)

PRESS RELEASE: Senator Whitsett sets the record straight (with ONRC regarding Klamath Power Bill #81) 6/2/05. “What I am not willing to do is sit quietly while the ONRC makes up facts and spreads falsehoods about the hardworking men and women of the Klamath Basin who make their
livelihood in agriculture.”

Mylene Walden Speaks June 4

Family Farm Alliance Alert: "An important congressional hearing and rally to save the dams on the Columbia and Snake River Systems are planned for next Monday, June 6, 2005 starting at 8:00 a.m. in Clarkston, Washington"

PacifiCorp is purchased, Pioneer Press 6/2/05

Coho costs timber company $10 million-- Public has lost vehicle access to local trailheads, Pioneer Press 6/2/05

Big Decision for Ranchers, Pioneer Press posted to KBC 6/2/05 "This reporter attended the California Fish and Game Commission meetings and saw first-hand the politics played at the expense of using correct information or data. It is not about the coho, but how to regulate water."

PRESS RELEASE: Pombo Takes Committee to CA For Tribal Gaming Hearing 6/02/05

The good, the bad and the ugly, Issues are hitting us in the face, Pioneer Press 6/2/05

PRESS RELEASE: Water & Power Subcommittee to Hold Field Hearing on ESA, Snake River Dams 6/2/05

Tribes dammed Klamath, Klamath Courier by Liz Bowen posted to KBC 6/2/05 "1851 journal states Klamath River ran putrid from dead salmon."

Estimates for water now online, H&N posted to KBC 6/2/05

Oregon court overturns water use rules, U.S. Water News Online, March edition.

PacifiCorp's year earnings hold steady despite mild weather, revenue decline, Oregonian 6/2/05

Rookie Senator takes on  2000 per cent power rate increase  Whitsett earns ovation from fellow caucus members and ire from Willamette Weekly Klamath Courier report,  posted to KBC June 2, 2005 Wet weather precipitates increased water allocations, California Farm Bureau Federation 6/1/05 Farmers, new fishing group to work on water together, H&N 6/1/05

Build Clear Lake dike, H&N 6/1/05

Call by June 1 WOLF BILL