Court tosses Bush plan for Klamath water

A federal appeals court on Tuesday threw out the Bush administration plan to deliver irrigation water to Klamath Basin farmers, saying it does not do enough for threatened coho salmon in the Klamath River.

The ruling probably will mean more water must be shifted from farmers to fish in the basin's emotional tug of war over the precious resource.

"This clearly could be a worse picture for us than what we had in terms of water for irrigation," said Greg Addington, executive director of the Klamath Water Users Association.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a federal government strategy to phase in higher river flows for salmon over 10 years was arbitrary and capricious because it overlooked the immediate needs of the fish under the Endangered Species Act.

"It is not enough to provide water for the coho to survive in five years, if in the meantime, the population has been weakened or destroyed by inadequate water flows," the appeals court, based in San Francisco, ruled.

The government plan pledged to provide the fish with all the water they need in the final two years of the 10-year span -- 2010 and 2011. But the fish may not have enough water to complete their lifecycles in the meantime, the judges said.

"If that happens, all the water in the world in 2010 and 2011 will not protect the coho, for there will be none to protect," they wrote.

They sent the case back to a district court to impose corrective measures, which could include more water for fish.

The case resulted from a lawsuit filed by the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, the Oregon Natural Resources Council, Waterwatch of Oregon and other conservation groups. They argued that the government strategy left salmon to struggle in a low river while water flowed to farms.

The Klamath Basin entered the national spotlight in 2001 when irrigation water to farms was restricted during a severe drought so it would be available to salmon and endangered suckers in area lakes.

The Bush administration later routed more water for farms under a plan that promised eventually to increase water dedicated to fish. Government agencies argued it was their best judgement as to how to protect the fish in the face of scientific uncertainty over how much water they require.

But judges said the government did not fully explain how it would avoid harming fish in the early years of the plan.

Farmers said the ruling was evidence that the Endangered Species Act has gone too far and must be reformed. But tribes countered that it was evidence the act serves as a final line of defense for families and tribal cultures that depend on salmon.

Gen 1: 20 And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

24 And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, [b] and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

27 So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so.

31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.

.....

Gen. 2: When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens- 5 and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth [b] and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth [c] and there was no man to work the ground, 6 but streams [d] came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground- 7 the LORD God formed the man [e] from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin [f] and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. [g] 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die..."

....

...Gen 3: 21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." 23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side [e] of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life... NIV

dammit! Guess I'll have to wait on Jesus! -page

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