Juillerat

   Sometimes an idea for a story began as an afterthought, a casual remark made during a phone call or interview.

   There was the time Tom Bocchi mentioned he wouldn’t be growing a corn maze, and the aside from Ron Cole, the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges Complex manager, fretting about the lack of water for migrating waterfowl.

   In the case of the story that appears today, it was a charged question from Dave Hummel, a longtime acquaintance, when he spotted me grocery shopping at Fred Meyer: “Why haven’t you guys written about the effects of low water on sportsmen?”

   If people around the Klamath Basin seem to have water on the brain, it’s   understandable.

   As the “Chronicles: Water and Drought” series trickles to an end over the next few weeks, those of us who’ve written stories about the effects and impacts of the drought have been asked to reflect on the past several months.

   Recalling 2001

   I’m the only Herald and News reporter who experienced the travails of 2001, when the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation cut off water to Klamath Project irrigators   .

   As a hiker, bicyclist and general sun worshipper, I’m always delighted when toasty warm spring days bring the promise of early outings.

   But having experienced and written about the troubles associated with sparse water, there’s also a sense of concern, guilt and, yes, fear when those forecasts bring threats of water rationing and/or cutoffs. I’m not unusual. It’s a shared concern.  

   The crisis played out in 2001, but the threat this year of a repeat and the associated ugliness was palatable as the winter that wasn’t resulted in a shriveling snow pack and   forecasts of limited water for irrigators.

   Nine springs ago I was at the home of a Merrill area rancher the morning the dreaded “no water for irrigators” announcement was made. It was expected, but still shocking.

   I was anxious and worried during the weeks and months of protests at the Link River. I was amazed and proud when thousands lined downtown Klamath Falls from the Link River to the A Canal for the Bucket Brigade.

   And I was angered when I learned that federal employees were threatened with violence and forbidden by some business owners from entering their stores, and that some since   retired leaders at Klamath Community College unsuccessfully tried to prevent a waterfowl festival from being held on the school property.  

   Thanks to a wet spring, this year’s crisis hasn’t matched 2001.

   Reporters hear many voices and many points of view, legitimate and otherwise. Some thoughts are well reasoned. Others are sheer hyperbole. We write about what other people say, not what we think.

   So, what do I think? As a downhill and cross country skier, I’m delighted when early snows are followed by frequent snow producing storms. As one of the thousands impacted by the effects of low water years, I’m ready, and hoping, for a wet fall and snowy winter.

   The threat of another drought is something I hope I won’t be reading or writing about in 2011.