March 18, 2006

By HOLLY OWENS

H&N Staff Writer

The climate in the Basin has changed in the four years Dave Sabo worked as manager of the Klamath Basin Area Office of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

Opinions about irrigation, the Endangered Species Act and water were often shouted rather than discussed. During his first month on the job, protesters painted outlines of “dead” farmers in the Bureau's parking lot. In October of that year, a dozen dead and decaying salmon were put in the parking lot by protesters from downstream Klamath River tribes.

“It was a real challenge because it was difficult to get a true perspective of what the issues were,” Sabo said. “It just took time to sort it all out.”

Sabo will be leaving Klamath Falls in April to become the new assistant regional director for the Upper Colorado Region of the Bureau of Reclamation in Salt Lake City. As area manager, Sabo directed a range of program activities for the Klamath Project, overseeing operations and maintenance activities and complying with federal and state regulations.

He is moving on to this new challenge for both personal and professional reasons. Five years away from retirement, he says he wants to take advantage of the time he has.

He is sorry to be leaving the Basin, but believes that new blood and creativity will stimulate efforts to find Basinwide solutions.

“Any job gets to a point where you're not making as much headway as you would like,” Sabo said.

Sabo is proud of what the Bureau has accomplished in the last four years.

“We've been able to meet the irrigation deliveries regularly, and meet downstream regulations for fisheries and tribes,” he said. “I think we've done a heck of a job. We've done it fairly.”

And there were some memorable challenges along the way.

Standing before more than 500 farmers at the Klamath County Fairgrounds in March 2003, Sabo presented a program designed to idle farmlands - the Bureau's Pilot Water Bank Program.

“That was a challenge,” he said.

With so many views on water issues, Sabo realized it takes a great deal of understanding for everyone involved.

“You have to kind of empathize with everybody,” he said.

Through meetings with American Indian tribes, he says he learned how extremely important, and difficult the issues can be.

“I really value those, too,” Sabo said. “I really appreciate the situation the tribes find themselves in.”

Sabo would like to see the projects the Bureau started continue. The Conservation Implementation Program will ultimately combine the efforts of all of the stakeholders, Sabo said, instead of the scattered efforts of myriad groups. The program, called the CIP, will allow stakeholders to approach both the state and federal governments as a unified group, enabling them to accomplish more.

“The CIP will solve the problem,” Sabo said. “It's a framework that has worked in other Basins. I think most people would like to see resolution of the issues.”

As assistant regional director in Salt Lake City, Sabo will work with tribal governments and public groups in the seven-state region on critical issues in both the Colorado and Rio Grande river drainages.

Reclamation's Upper Colorado Region includes Utah, New Mexico, parts of Wyoming and Texas west of the Pecos River. Water issues in the region include residential, industrial, agricultural, hydropower generation, environmental and recreational.

New job challenges include a lawsuit over the operations of the Glen Canyon Dam, management of silvery minnows in the Rio Grande, a dam construction project in the region and a variety of other smaller environmental projects, too.

“I have no idea what I'll be thrown into,” Sabo said.

But an advantage, he says, is that he is already familiar with many of the area's issues.

Sabo formerly served as manager of the Colorado River Storage Project Management Center for the Western Area Power Administration in Salt Lake City. He also managed the power administration's environmental and public affairs office, representing the agency in the Glen Canyon Environmental Impact Statement, the Upper Colorado Endangered Fishes Recovery Program, and projects associated with American Indian tribes.

And when he retires he plans to return to a familiar place and familiar faces.

“The neatest thing about Klamath is the people here,” Sabo said. “I really like Klamath and I will probably return here when I retire in five years.”