|
Become a friend of the Klamath Bucket Brigade All donations are tax deductible |
|
This Website is Dedicated to Alvin Alexander Cheyne January 10, 1921 - June 17, 2005 |
Klamath
Basin
Farmer Coalition Letter
KWUA
Board and interested parties,
The letter
below was sent to the chairman and ranking member of the House
Natural Resource Committee yesterday. This is the committee that will be
conducting the upcoming oversight hearing regarding Klamath and the
Administration. It should be noted that KWUA and some other prominent
local groups, for example the Tulelake Growers Assoc., are not signed on
the letter. This was a conscious decision and we think it makes the
letter speak even louder.
A
huge thank you is due to all of these organizations who have stepped up
to not only support Klamath Farmers and Ranchers, but who also have
shown the faith to support the stakeholder driven process we are
involved in. It’s both humbling and gratifying to see so many
organizations rally with us on such short notice. Thank you.
In
addition, Dan Keppen (Family Farm Alliance), Colby Marshall (Congressman
Walden) and Alex Oehler (Congressman Herger) are due a huge amount of
gratitude for the time and effort they have put into this effort on our
behalf. It’s nice to confirm that we have a lot of friends out
there and I can assure you that these individuals have been working
non-stop on Klamath issues since the Washington Post article came out.
Also,
I want to specifically recognize and thank Tammy Dennee, Executive
Director for the Oregon Wheat Growers League for her tremendous
organizational effort to pull this together on very short notice. Thank
you Tammy! The effort from everyone has really helped this office
in a difficult time. There are many many issues and areas that need
attention at the moment. All of these folks helped take a lot of
pressure off!
Greg
Addington
Executive
Director
Klamath
Water Users Association
*****************************************************************************************************
OREGON
WHEAT GROWERS LEAGUE ● OREGON GRAINS COMMISSION ● OREGON
FARM BUREAU FEDERATION ● OREGON POTATO COMMISSION ● FAMILY
FARM ALLIANCE ● NATIONAL WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION ● WATER
RESOURCES CONSULTANTS ● CALIFORNIA IRRIGATION DISTRICTS ●
COLUMBIA BASIN IRRIGATORS ● POTATO
GROWERS OF IDAHO ●
NEVADA IRRIGATORS ● STOCKTON EAST
WATER DISTRICT ● PARREIRA ALMOND PROCESSING CO. ● NEBRASKA
WATER USERS INC. ● McGRATH GROWERS ● BASIN FERTILIZER
● WATER FOR LIFE, INC. ●
KLAMATH COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ●
CALIFORNIA CATTLEMEN’S ASSOCIATION ●
CALIFORNIA FARM BUREAU FEDERATION ●
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WHEAT GROWERS ●
TUALATIN VALLEY
IRRIGATION DISTRICT ● OREGONIANS
FOR FOOD & SHELTER ●
NATIONAL CATTLEMEN’S BEEF ASSOCIATION ●
PUBLIC LANDS COUNCIL ● OREGON CATTLEMEN ASSOCIATION ●
OREGON STATE GRANGE ● WASHINGTON ASSOCIATION OF WHEAT GROWERS ●
CALIFORNIA WOOL
GROWERS ASSOCIATION ●
IDAHO GRAIN PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION ●
FRIANT WATER AUTHORITY ●
WASHINGTON FARM BUREAU ●
AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVE COUNCIL OF OREGON ●
LAVA BEDS-BUTTE VALLEY RCD ●
OREGON ASSOCIATION OF NURSERIES ●
NORTHWEST FARM CREDIT
SERVICES ●
The
Honorable Nick J. Rahall II
SENT VIA FACSIMILE: (202) 225-1931
Chair,
Natural Resources Committee
1324
The
Honorable Don Young
SENT VIA FACSIMILE: (202) 225-5929
Ranking
Member, Natural Resources Committee
1329
Dear
Chairman Rahall and Ranking Member Young:
We
have joined together to speak in favor of the farmers, ranchers and
coastal fishermen and appreciate the Committee's decision to further
explore the ongoing challenges faced in the Klamath River Basin.
We in the agriculture community have learned first-hand that increased
transparency and scrutiny are essential to uncovering misleading
science, bureaucratic mistakes and unfounded agency decision-making
which have led to disastrous results for both the environment and for
people who make their living off the land.
Our organizations have paid close attention to the many natural
resource issues in the Klamath River Basin since April 6, 2001, when the
Bureau of Reclamation announced that, for the first time since the
establishment of the Klamath Reclamation Project in 1905, no water from
Upper Klamath Lake would be made available for irrigation on more than
200,000 acres in the Klamath Basin. We have witnessed first hand
the devastating impacts to communities and the environment which can
occur as the result of federal decisions, whether to farms in the
Both of these crises are not referenced lightly and have served as
a catalyst for change. The cost to the environment and affected
farmers, ranchers, fishermen and their communities is enormous,
threatening the economy of the areas and causing great despair among
residents. Since 2001, the Administration has proposed, and Congress has
authorized, tens of millions of dollars for restoration work in the
Another
outcome of the devastation caused by the water shut-off and the fish
die-off has been the formation of a broad-based stakeholder group
comprised of tribal members, farmers, ranchers, irrigation districts,
environmental organizations, and local, state and federal agencies.
This stakeholder group has worked tirelessly to craft meaningful
solutions that will ensure the perpetuation of both agricultural
production and species habitat. It is imperative the stakeholder
group be allowed to continue their discussions without outside political
wrangling, so they may bring forward their comprehensive, grassroots
solutions.
The members of this coalition urge this Committee, and other
interested members of Congress, to recognize the earnestness of the
affected parties and to allow the stakeholder group to bring their
recommendations forward. No farmer, rancher, or fishermen should
be subjected to the type of misguided policy implementation suffered in
the
Thank
you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Mike
Noonan, 2007 President
Tammy
Dennee, Executive Director
Lee
Kaseberg, Chairman
Barry
Bushue, President
Dave
Dillon, Executive Director
Nels
Iverson, Chairman
Bill
Brewer, Administrator
Dan
Keppen, Executive Director
FAMILY
FARM
Tom
Donnelly, Executive Vice-President
NATIONAL
WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION
Kent
Heidt, Water Resources Consultant
Jessie
Westcamp, Irrigation District Secretary
Mark
Booker,
Keith
Esplin, Executive Director
POTATO
GROWERS OF
Floyd Rathbun, Irrigator
Melvin
Panizza, President of the Board
STOCKTON EAST WATER DISTRICT
David
L. Parreira
PARREIRA
ALMOND PROCESSING CO.
Jim
Lundgren
NEBRASKA
WATER USERS INC.
Jean
McGrath
McGRATH GROWERS
Bob
Gasser
BASIN
FERTILIZER
Helen
Moore, Executive Director
WATER
FOR LIFE, INC.
Joe
Spendolini, President
KLAMATH
Bruce
Hafenfeld, President
Doug
Mosebar, President
Daren
Coppock, Chief Executive Officer
NATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF WHEAT GROWERS
Joe
Rutledge, General Manager
TUALATIN
VALLEY IRRIGATION DISTRICT
Terry
Witt, Executive Director
OREGONIANS
FOR FOOD & SHELTER
Jeff
Eisenberg, Director
NATIONAL
CATTLEMEN’S BEEF ASSOCIATION
Jeff
Eisenberg, Director
PUBLIC
LANDS COUNCIL
Sharon
Livingston, President
Jim
D. Welsh, Executive Director
OREGON
STATE GRANGE
Jim
White, President
Lesa
Eidman
Tim
Dillin, President
Ronald
D. Jacobsma, General Manager
FRIANT
WATER AUTHORITY
Steve
Appel, President
John
McCulley, Executive Secretary
AGRICULTURAL
COOPERATIVE COUNCIL OF
Theresa
Wright, District Manager
LAVA
BEDS-
Jeff
Stone
Tom
Tracy
NORTHWEST
FARM CREDIT SERVICES
Cc: United States House of
Representatives – Natural Resources Committee Members
(Sent via Facsimile)
********************************************************************************************************
The Honorable Nick J. Rahall II
Chair, Natural Resources Committee
United States House of Representatives
1324 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Don Young
Ranking Member, Natural Resources Committee
United States House of Representatives
1329 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
VIA FACSIMILE TO: (202) 225-1931 and (202) 225-5929
Dear Chairman Rahall and Ranking Member Young:
Please accept this letter as a statement for the record at the upcoming
Committee oversight hearing: “Crisis of Confidence: The Political
Influence of the Bush
Administration on Agency Science and Decision-Making.”
Those of us in the Pacific Northwest who earn a living from
resource-based industries, like
agriculture, timber and fisheries, have experienced firsthand the
political forces at work that have wrought great havoc on our industries
and communities through bureaucratic edict and judicial fiat.
Since we understand the Committee will be focusing at least in part on
decisions relating to the
Washington Farm Bureau and its nearly 35,000 member families is proud to
support our friends and colleagues who farm, ranch and fish in the
In 2001, they were faced with an unprecedented loss of water to some
200,000 acres of farmland under irrigation. This posed a serious and
immediate threat to their livelihoods, local economy and way of life.
While it could be argued that both the decision to stop the flow of
water and to restore it were based more on political calculations than
sound science, it cannot be disputed that the residents of the Klamath
Basin faced a very real and very dire situation with potentially
devastating consequences. And they faced it head on.
We applaud their efforts to employ innovative techniques and new
technology to improve
irrigation efficiency, implement effective water conservation measures,
undertake environmental restoration projects, and expand conservation
program participation.
We also commend them for launching a broad-based stakeholder group
composed of competing interests that is actively working to craft
long-term solutions to water supply concerns that balance the needs of
local producers – and the people they feed – with habitat
improvements and other environmental goals.
They are proving what we have long known, when empowered and freed from
outside
interference and restrictions, local communities can find effective
solutions that promote
economic growth while providing environmental protection.
While this hearing’s title would seem to indicate otherwise, it is our
sincere hope that the
Committee will objectively evaluate the use of sound science in both
agency and judicial
decisions, and examine how such actions have placed local communities
and resource-based industries in jeopardy as well as whether the
relevant environmental goals were reasonable and obtainable, or have
actually been met.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment for the record.
Respectfully submitted,
Steve Appel, President
Washington Farm Bureau