Free Republic

WASHINGTON - The Interior Department's inspector general didn't find political interference by Vice President Dick Cheney on a key environmental policy in part because investigators weren't looking for it, an Interior official said Tuesday. A 2004 report by the inspector general found no basis for a claim by then-Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry that White House political advisers interfered in developing water policy in the Klamath River Basin in California and Oregon. But investigators did not ask about Cheney — and no Interior employee volunteered information about him, said Mary Kendall, deputy Interior inspector general. A former high-ranking Interior official,...

Part of the problem is that the people who decide national policy are headquartered in Washington, D.C., where large plots of private property are rare. Those of us who live in urban or suburban areas imagine endangered species protection to be as simple as being kind to blue whales, grizzly bears and bald eagles. We don’t stop to consider the dilemmas facing people thousands of miles away from us. Bill Snape, Chairman of the Endangered Species Coalition, is an example of one who lives in either ignorance or denial. “There just aren’t private landowners that I can identify where the...

I am very close to finishing my book regarding The Stand at Klamath Falls and the crisis of 2001. Here is the cover art: (Note: In this post I am including the Introduction, the Acknowledgements, and the Epilogue for review and comment.. The book should be completed and to the printers by the 1st of February.) INTRODUCTION It has been almost five years since the memorable and pivotal events surrounding the struggle by farmers in the Klamath Basin of Oregon and California took place. Much has occurred since then that has overshadowed those events…but nothing can erase the importance of...

A Tribute to my friend Jeff Head, Free Republic’s Eagle Award-FREEPER OF THE YEAR It had only been a few minutes earlier that I hugged blackie, Barb, GrandmaC, redrock and his precious family and headed north out of the narrow canyon, glancing in the rear view mirror at the tiny community of Jarbidge, Nevada. The sun was low in the west, bouncing glistening sparks off the tips of junipers and the winding creek that the narrow dirt road followed. It had been a long three days, my car, gear and my body was covered with a quarter inch of Nevada...

At the end of a tumultuous week in the Klamath Reclamation Project, irrigation managers from the federal government and water users are focusing on what to do now. The week's events included a dramatic drop of inflows into Upper Klamath Lake and the announced shutdown of the project, a decision reversed within hours. The events focused attention on water use and the status of springs upstream of Upper Klamath Lake, which is the main reservoir for the project. "There is a whole list of things that could be hurting inflows, and ground water is one of them," he said, Jim...

No law has wreaked as much havoc on private property rights as the Endangered Species Act. Radical environmental organizations have driven Congressional intent to new heights of absurdity: a tractor was arrested in California for murdering a kangaroo rat, and the tractor's owner driven out of business. In Klamath Basin, 1,400 farmers were deprived of their own water for more than a year, to ensure that an "endangered" sucker fish didn't scrape bottom while swimming. The horror stories are endless, and each is another trophy in the showcases of the radical environmentalists. Now, they want more power. It's not enough...

Water flows through one of the six new headgates on the A Canal this morning. Contractors opened the headgates today to begin priming the system, meeting a deadline set by the Bureau of Reclamation in order to allow irrigation to begin on schedule in the Klamath Project. Headgates open on schedule published April 1, 2003 By DYLAN DARLING Water began pouring through a new set of headgates on the A Canal today, marking a milestone in a complex construction project and the beginning of an uncertain irrigation season. Also entering service today is a high-tech fish screen to keep...

San Francisco - On Friday, a report by the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) on the September Klamath River fish die-off was released to agencies. The CDFG report aims to assess why 33,000 Chinook salmon and other fish died of two diseases early this fall. Both sides are expected in an Oakland, California court Thursday, setting the stage for yet another battle of water rights for the Klamath Basin Farmers against the environmentalists. The CDFG report found that restricted fish passage and increased fish density are the likely triggers for the demise of part of this year's...

<p>The dramatic die-off of 33,000 salmon last fall along the Klamath River in Northern California was directly caused by the Bush administration's decision to pump extra water from the river to farmers, biologists from the California Department of Fish and Game have concluded.</p>

EMail from the Script writer: In an upcoming TV movie on CBS to be aired this Sunday, Rob Lowe plays an attorney who learns the real meaning of Christmas. He also represents a group of farmers who need protection from the "environmental junta" who wants to take their water rights away over the sucker fish. It is extremely RARE for a pro-rural point of view (no matter how small) to make it to the networks ... and I ought to know, because I wrote the script for the movie. We need to get as many people as possible not only...

One by one, the pieces of the puzzle that was this fall's massive salmon kill on the Klamath River are falling into place, and the picture that is emerging is not a flattering one for the Bush administration. In September, more than 33,000 endangered salmon perished in the shallow, warm waters of the 180-mile Klamath River. Government scientists said the fish succumbed to disease but were reluctant to agree with local tribes, fishermen and environmentalists who blamed the federal government's federal water-allocation plan - a plan that places an overwhelming priority on satisfying the irrigation needs of Klamath Basin farmers....

Whistleblower Points to Illegal Klamath Water Decision WASHINGTON, DC, October 28, 2002 (ENS) - Documents filed by a federal whistleblower charge that the scientific determination of water levels needed to support threatened coho salmon in the Klamath River was changed without any biological analysis. That change would violate the Endangered Species Act, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), a group that has posted the documents on its website. The documents were part of a whistleblower disclosure filed today by National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) fisheries biologist Michael Kelly with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. The conclusion...

It would not be possible to describe the convoy, without listing a few of the tremendous rewards and satisfaction in knowing that we are making a difference. We are reminded of this at every rally, in every interview, and by others we meet. We enjoyed the hospitality of Linda and Stanley Barons, who opened their gracious and beautiful Colorado home to the entire convoy for a night. Frank cooked breakfast for everyone the following morning, and we sat at the table chatting merrily, until it was time to go. Thank you, Linda and Stanley. You are in our hearts, our...

  ----- Original Message ----- From: "Headquarters, The Sawgrass Rebellion" <sawgrassrebellion@getnaples.com> To: <sawgrassrebellion@getnaples.com> Sent: Wednesday, September 04, 2002 4:20 PM Subject: Article in Ft. Myers, FL News-Press > Property rights battle looms> > By PAMELA SMITH HAYFORD, phayford@news-press.com> <mailto:phayford@news-press.com>> > Southwest Florida landowners are calling in the cavalry - farmers, ranchers,> homeowners from as far away as Oregon, California and Ohio.> They're called The Sawgrass Rebellion.> Some environmentalists here call them ringers.> Whatever these folks are called, thousands of them are forming caravans> through 23 states to help property owners in Miami-Dade, Collier and> possibly Lee counties fight to keep...

[Source: <http://www.oregonlive.com/washingtondc/oregonian/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/news/1026993413147730.xml>] More From The Oregonian Washington D.C. News Effort to limit Klamath Basin farming fails 07/18/02 JIM BARNETT WASHINGTON -- The U.S. House on Wednesday rebuffed an effort by Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., to limit planting of commercial crops in two Klamath Basin wildlife refuges, but not before the proposal fanned an argument over urban and rural priorities. Blumenauer, who represents the Portland area, proposed ending production of alfalfa and row crops such as onions, potatoes or sugar beets on 2,000 acres of leased lands, saying the ban would cut water consumption, trim use of pesticides and protect wildlife....

Klamath Basin Farmers Get $50 Million in Aid KLAMATH FALLS, Oregon, June 18, 2002 (ENS) - Farmers in the Klamath Basin whose crops and livestock suffered last year from lack of water will benefit from $50 million in aid earmarked in the 2002 Farm Bill. Farmers in the Klamath Basin faced last summer with no water for irrigation, as all available water has been diverted to protect endangered sucker fish and threatened coho salmon. Last month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) issued an opinion stating that the Klamath Basin irrigation system threatens two endangered fish, the Lost...

<p>GRANTS PASS, Ore. -- Faced with legal and political obstacles, managers of the Klamath Basin national wildlife refuges have given up trying to move commercial farming off land that was once marsh used by Pacific Flyway waterfowl.</p> <p>"The laws the way they are and the politics the way they are, farming is going to be part of our life," said Phil Norton, manager of the national wildlife refuges straddling the Oregon-California border. "We are trying to work with the local community."</p>

Magna Carta, American Style Introduction   Long before the birth of the United States, there ruled many years ago in England a King who became selfish beyond tolerance of the people. Laws he made and things he did became associated with a dictatorship. When confronted for his actions by the people, he simply replied, “The law is in my mouth.” On the morning of June 15, 1215, a group of barons and Churchmen gathered at Runnymede, staking their lives on their mission, their armed support kept well in the background. Upon his arrival, without conflict, King John signed the “Articles...

WOODLEY ISLAND -- Responding to top Bush administration officials' appeasement of irrigators by opening floodgates in the Klamath Basin last week, a group representing coastal fishing interests called for recognition of the plight of Klamath River salmon. The Washington, D.C.,-based group American Rivers Tuesday announced that the Klamath made the No. 3 spot on its most endangered rivers list. Interior Secretary Gale Norton's decision to release water based on an unusual short-term plan, and the possible installation of a much-criticized long-term plan, imperils fish and the future of those who need Klamath fish, American Rivers contends. American Indians, commercial fishermen...