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Island
of hope develops in Klamath Basin
Capital Press
Editorial
Amid a
rising tide of lawsuits and political posturing over the management of
endangered and threatened fish species along the West Coast, an island
of hope has emerged in the
Instead of legal maneuvers and politics, this island is based on trust,
compromise and importantly, facts. And because of that, it has every
indication of doing what the lawyers and politicians haven't been able
to do: help the area's endangered fish and farmers.
Recent examples
To understand how incendiary the issues of fish management are, consider
two recent examples from the three-ring circus that passes for fisheries
management in the West:
• In federal courtrooms in Washington, Oregon and California, lawyers
have tried to convince judges the extent to which native and hatchery
runs of salmon and steelhead should be considered in managing the
comeback of the fish. It has been left to individual judges to sort out
the arguments. The only certain result: Those judges' opinions will be
appealed.
• Rep. Nick J. Rahall, chairman of the U.S. House Natural Resources
Committee, has targeted Vice President Dick Cheney. His
"crime?" Cheney was concerned about farmers in the
The next year, Cheney is "accused" of contacting water
managers in an effort to avoid another water cutoff that would have
further decimated the region's agriculture.
Blame Cheney?
Though Cheney's political opponents would like to blame Cheney's actions
for a fish kill that happened later on, a California Fish and Game
Department report found that a gill disease, unusually large salmon
returns, warm water and low river flow contributed to the problem.
Of those factors, only the water flow was controlled by humans,
according to the report.
Whatever the results of the lawsuits and the Capitol Hill maneuvering,
it is a safe bet that they will not lead to peace among water users,
resource managers, Indian tribes, fishermen and others.
However, that does appear to be happening in the
A group of 26 organizations that consists of growers, Indian tribes,
conservationists and government agencies has met since 2005.
Initially, the meetings were held to discuss relicensing four PacifiCorp
hydroelectric dams.
Those discussions have since become the basis for wider-reaching
discussions aimed at a broader settlement of the many issues, including
fish survival and providing adequate irrigation water.
The result is an island of hope for people in the
Not been easy
Doing that has not been easy, said Greg Addington, executive director of
the Klamath Water Users Association, one of the groups that has been
involved.
As part of their discussions, all of the groups have signed a
confidentiality agreement that has helped them to avoid public disputes.
Once a settlement is reached - hopefully this fall - its terms will be
announced.
"They're all very difficult (problems) and require this group to
think outside the box," said Troy Fletcher, the Yurok tribe's lead
negotiator. "Communities are working hard to try to resolve
this," Fletcher said.
"We've worked very hard to not fall back in that mode of 'I'm right
and you're wrong,'" Addington said, adding that he and other
participants worry that the lawsuits and political wrangling in
If that happened, it would be a shame.
For once, the lawyers and politicians should stay out of the way and let
cooler heads resolve these important issues.
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Source:
http://www.capitalpress.info/main.asp?SectionID=75&SubSectionID=767&ArticleID=34695