ESA twists & Klamath

NWU Radio Script

12-10-01

Christmas cheer will be spread rather thin this year in the Klamath Basin area of southern Oregon. More than 1,400 farmers have been impacted this year by a man-made disaster - the cut-off of their irrigation water by the federal government - leaving a glum atmosphere hanging over the region.

The way of life for farmers and the rural communities involved in this fiasco continues to be threatened by a twisted interpretation of the Endangered Species Act, notes author Christopher Noun in an article in the Sept. 3, 2001, edition of the Farm Bureau News.

In 1905, homesteaders in the Klamath Basin signed a contract with the government to provide irrigation water in perpetuity to a quarter-of-a-million acres of farmland. In 2001, the federal government cut that water off, leaving otherwise flowing irrigation ditches dry and dependent ecosystems threatened. The government gave suckerfish and salmon priority over human families, communities and crops.

In mid-July a limited release of water was made under the direction of Interior Secretary Gail Norton. But in August federal land managers, accompanied by local and federal law enforcement officers, again shut off the flow, saying the allotted amount of water had been released. The officials then welded the gates shut.

Several plans have been floated to try to compensate the parties involved in the dispute. Farmers need and demand the water they are entitled to. Environmentalists side with the fish. And local Indian tribes say their interests, including reservation land and water rights, need attention as well.

In an attempt to reach a solution to the problem before the next crop year, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) plans to convene a meeting soon to being working on a legislative package. Wyden's proposal, which would replace a slow-moving court-imposed mediations process, includes a buyout of farmland and the accompanying water rights.

Congress authorized $20 million in emergency aid for Klamath farmers, but local bankers say its impact will be minimal considering the area averages around $220 million in farm gross receipts each year.

Although few bankruptcies and foreclosures have been reported, bankers have been urged to remain flexible while farmers and the local businesses they support tap into savings to stay afloat.

Wyden told the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Treasury Department that patience is a must, noting that Congress is more likely to help farmers than bail out banks that foreclosed on family farms with uncertain water rights.

Locals are acutely aware of the severe impact this government-imposed "drought" has had on their communities. They estimate an across-the-board loss of at least $400 million, threatening the entire economic base of the Klamath Basin.

Schools, fire departments, libraries, parks, churches, community service organizations, businesses and local governments will lose out. Unemployment will climb, property values will tumble. Recovery will be difficult.

Local irrigation districts recently retained a prominent property rights law firm and plan to sue the federal government for as much as $1 billion in damages caused by the water cutoff. Attorneys say the plaintiffs have a strong case that would entitle them to compensation. But a resolution in the case may be up to a year or longer away.

The national spotlight has shone on the Klamath Basin. Awareness of the problem is high, but the facts remain: the fields were left bone dry and the crops died.

"The inflexibility of the Endangered Species Act has forever scarred the Klamath Basin and the farmers who call it home," notes Noun.

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