Last
week, Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski announced the formation of his newly appointed
“Climate Change Integration Group”. I was appointed to this group to
represent the Family Farm Alliance, in part because the governor is interested
in how the role of new water storage may fit into future climate changes in
One
disclaimer /clarification: The article quotes me as saying irrigation ditches
“provide drinking water” for more than 400 species of wildlife. Actually, I
was specifically referring to the Klamath Irrigation Project, where I told the
reporter that the canals, ditches and farmland provide habitat for over
400 species of wildlife. Oh, well. The rest of story was pretty good, I thought.
Please
do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about this matter.
Dan Keppen
Executive
Director
|
|
|
Greg
Jones, a Southern Oregon University professor and specialist on the
impact of climate on the economy, walks on a bridge crossing the Talent
Irrigation Ditch in |
By
John Darling
for the
June
23, 2006
If
global warming causes earlier melting of snowpack, local irrigation systems
could face a hugely expensive project of putting water in pipelines instead of
ditches — and greatly increasing storage capacity to catch more winter rain.
That's
the opinion of Southern Oregon University professor Greg Jones and Talent
Irrigation District Director Jim Pendleton, who have been named to the new
Climate Change Integration Group by Gov. Ted Kulongoski.
Both
caution, however, that climate models have not mapped all the variables, a
necessary step in accurately predicting the impacts of climate change.
"I
truly believe we're seeing more and more climate change," said Jones, a
specialist in viticulture, orchards and the impact of climate on economy.
"We're seeing more rain in heavier events, instead of spread out, as it has
been historically. If climate models are correct, it could produce earlier
snowmelt, instead of having water available as needed."
Pendleton,
who is president of the Oregon Water Resources Council, a statewide group of
irrigation districts, said many crops, including pears, onions, sugar beets and
seed crops, need water through September.
"We
rely on snowmelt, and anything that makes the snow melt earlier would be
disastrous for irrigation districts or users that don't have storage," said
Pendleton. "If water releases (from mountains) early and isn't available in
the summer, it would be a huge change in cropping patterns."
Jones
called the irrigation ditches of the
"TID
will need to be enclosed," noted Jones, adding that funding would have to
come from the federal government.
Such
an undertaking would have to be authorized by Congress and be carried out by the
Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation, said Pendleton.
Jones
said the political will for such changes is not there yet. "That's one of
the big problems with climate change," he said. "We're all waiting for
the government to make changes, but unfortunately governments aren't very
efficient or fast — and as soon as we change something that causes an economic
challenge, we tend to vote out those in power."
Pendleton
noted, "Greg is probably right, that the mindset is that you wait till it
slaps you in the face before you do anything."
In
addition to enclosing irrigation ditches — TID has 130 miles of open canals
— increasing storage in upgraded or new reservoirs would help ensure water in
late summer months, should global warming models prove correct, Pendleton said.
Water
for Irrigation, Streams and Economy, a regional consortium of governments and
water systems, is now working on plans for enclosing all irrigation laterals
(feeder pipes), as well as enhancing storage, he said.
Dan
Keppen, executive director of Family Farm Alliance in
The
problem is worsened, he added, by increased development in the West without
providing much more water supply — thus taking more water from agriculture.
Enclosing
irrigation ditches is often resisted by residents, who want open ditches for
aesthetics. The ditches also provide drinking water for more than 400 species,
especially smaller ones such as snakes, frogs, muskrats and birds, said Keppen.
The
climate-change group, a mix of university and agency scientists, business and
environmental leaders, agriculture and forest leaders and others, continues the
work of the 2004 Governor's Advisory Group on Global Warming.
That
earlier task force, part of a regional approach to controlling greenhouse gases,
found a decline in snowpack and an increase in annual precipitation and rising
sea levels affecting the Central and
The
group predicted temperature increases by as much as three to six degrees over
the next 40 years, more summer drought, declining snowpack, rising sea levels
and forests more vulnerable to insects, disease and fire. It also said lower
elevation ski areas could be at risk.
The
new task force has "a lot of good scientists," said Jones, who will
give the governor and other leaders some reliable data on which to base planning
and public pronouncements. Jones and Pendleton said there would be a lot more to
report on climate trends and economic impacts after its first meeting, set for
June 27 in
"No
one wants to preach gloom and doom, but we need a group like this to talk about
climate change," said Jones. "It's like acid rain, ozone depletion,
leaded gas and DDT. There was no reaction — we didn't start dealing with it
till there was compelling evidence."
The
panel includes members from Oregon Business Association, the Climate Trust,
Portland Metro, Portland Office for Sustainable Development, Institute for
Natural Resources at
"It
is very important to the economic and physical health of our state that we
understand and address problems associated with climate change," the
governor, a Democrat, said in a news release. "We have taken strong
measures on several fronts to combat this threat, but we need the benefit of
advice from a single group in order to make the most of our efforts."
John
Darling is a freelance writer living in
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, any copyrighted
material herein is distributed without profit or payment to those who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for
non-profit
research and educational purposes only. For more information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
