Oregon Agriculture

[scruffy]

Just thought the following artical may give pause to some though of Uncle Sam's opinion of farmers in general:

Thousands Rally to Back Oregon Farmers


Updated: Tue, Aug 21 8:49 PM EDT

By Bruce Olson

PORTLAND, Ore. (Reuters) - Thousands of farmers and other demonstrators plunked a giant bucket on the steps of a federal center in Oregon on Tuesday to protest a government decision to funnel scarce irrigation water to endangered wildlife.

Led by horseback riders wearing white cowboy hats and waving American flags, an estimated 4,000 protesters from five states rallied in Klamath Falls, Oregon, chanting, singing and demanding water for drought-ravaged farms.

The crowd included members of a "Convoy of Tears" who converged on the southern Oregon town from Nevada, Montana, California and Washington state, protesting an April decision to slash federal farm irrigation in the Klamath River basin.

A small release of water to farms in July ordered by U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton -- about 75,000 acre-feet -- will run out by Thursday and with little rain in the region this summer, many farms face grave prospects.

Farm water has taken a back seat to the needs of endangered fish, commercial fishing and tribal economies, and a wildlife habitat supporting over 1,000 bald eagles in a nearby refuge known as the "Everglades of the West."

That decision triggered a series of protests by farmers who lost a lawsuit then broke open irrigation headgates three times to obtain water.

Tuesday's demonstration was the largest to date.

One local farmer, Stan Thompson, announced on Tuesday he and others were ready to force the headgates open again when the relief allocation runs out.

But the irrigation mechanism is now protected round the clock by armed federal guards.

"Our security people will remain at the headgates in order to prevent a reoccurrence of the trespassing that has occurred in the past," Bureau of Land Management spokesman Jeff McCracken said.

Thompson said he was prepared to be arrested if needed. There have been no arrests or injuries so far in the summer of protests in the town, located near the California border about 175 miles (280 km) southeast of Portland.

Convoy members brought the embattled local farmers food, clothing and other supplies, including symbolic jugs of water and the 10-foot (three-meter) tall metal bucket.

Donnie Boyd, who runs a farm equipment dealership and is a spokesman for the farmers, said the bucket would stay on the steps until the farmers' battle with the government to restore irrigation for the farmers is won.

"We are law-abiding folks in this town. But if this injustice continues into next season, I don't see any way to keep it from being violent. Too many people are hurting," he added.

About 1,000 farms have been left without water by the government decision. Over 7,000 Klamath and Yurok Indians as well as thousands of commercial fishermen on the West Coast depend on the region's salmon.

Klamath County sheriff Tim Evinger, who has spearheaded mediation efforts between the various sides, said the mood of the crowd on Tuesday was "light-hearted and spirited. They want to get media attention and they certainly have that. It feels like the county fair."

 

[ddl]

This is just an example of the eniviromental wackos effect. This case and the case where 4 firemen died because no water could be taken from a river because of a fish no one eats are reasons enough to throw out these stupid laws and start over. What we need is conservationist not wackos. Some say the president should have gave them the water, but because of the laws, judges would over rule it in court. Lets get rid of the enviromental laws and develop ones that allow safe use of lands and put people first.

Dan L

 

[GlueGuy]

Scruffy,

I've read maybe 1/10 of the stuff on this situation, and it's real complicated. That area is in a "drought", but that term is relative (you know how wet it normally is in that area). There are at least 2 species of fish threatened, the bald eagles, and the farmers. There is not enough water to satisfy everything. My impression is that they want to ration the water, but when your livelyhood depends on it, it is a bitter pill to swallow.

The GlueGuy

 

[scruffy]

Glueguy, I agree that the area is in a drought, BUT one must consider that the AVERAGE annual rainfail/snowfall for the Oregon High-Desert region is 10". K-Falls and the eastern slope of the Cascades (including the Deschutes Natl Forrest)
falls in that region. The water for the rivers/dams normally comes from the snowpack. The thing that gripes me, is this area has gone through many droughts through the years, and all, farmers, suckers, eagles, etc have survived throughout the trials and tribulations of such, without the intervention of Uncle Sam. The Dam's on the Klamath River were installed as an irrigation project....for the farmers, and all has lived peacefully until the conservation idiots got involved.
Enough of my bandstand...We own 10 acres 30 miles northeast of K-Falls, so I admit to being biased when it comes to this whole deal.

 

[GlueGuy]

Scruff,

You're probably right. When I hear the "Klamath Falls" area, I think of the plains area along the CA/OR border, where there are a lot of swamp-like conditions. I need to brush up on my geography. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

Still, this is something we're going to see more and more of, and (at least I think) it's a complicated issue. People want to boil it down to "farmers versus fish", but it's not that simple. Sure farmers are fighting for their livelyhood, and that darn important. However, the animals don't have a say at all, and we're supposed to dry them all into oblivion? They won't just lose their "livelyhood"; they will be gone forever; and at our hands. Remember, it's not just one species of fish; there are also salmon, eagles, and who knows what else.

So we pushed the land beyond the carrying capacity. Wouldn't be the first time; probably won't be the last.

The GlueGuy