There seems to be some confusion on where we, Commissioners Al Switzer and Cheryl Hukill, stand on dam removal and the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement.
From the very beginning of this process we have publicly stated that we are against dam removal and lobbied for fish ladders or trucking of fish instead. We are for jobs, jobs, jobs, and a strong economy. That message has never changed and will not change.
State Rep. Bill Garrard has stated publicly that his position is against dam removal but for the KBRA, and this is the same position that we have taken and continue to take.
We are not willing that outside entities make the decisions for this Basin when it comes to the water and agricultural issues that face us.
We know that whether we signed the agreement or not, the dams are destined to come out. That was a private company making a private business decision. Government has no business interfering with private industry.
But the destiny of our farmers and ranchers is our priority, and we must be participants of the committees that will be formed as a result of the KBRA.
The agricultural community brings in over $600 million, using a multiplier of 2. It has also created over 4,000 jobs.
Businesses with livable wage jobs will quit looking at Klamath County as a viable place to relocate if we do not have a stable economy, of which agricultural is a huge part.
Status quo is no longer an option. We must never forget what happened in 2001. Every business was affected by the government shutting our water off. At least with the KBRA, a committee of stakeholders will help set the course for our water issues.
If the KBRA had been in effect in 2008, we would have had enough carryover to have 330,000 acre-feet of water instead of the 150,000 acre feet. Why? Because the biological opinion would have allowed the flow of water going down the Klamath River between October and February to be far less than it was this year.
Again, we stand against dam removal, but stand for jobs and a strong economy.
The authors
Al Switzer and Cheryl Hukill are Klamath County commissioners.