Recent News
Klamath Water Users is Hiring our next Executive Director!
KWUA is Hiring our next Executive Director
Klamath Water Users is looking for qualified, ambitious applicants to fill the role of executive director of our dynamic organization. Final application date is March 1, 2025. For more information and application, please go to KWUA.ORG
It is with sincere appreciation and great respect for Paul’s dedication to promoting and preserving irrigated agriculture, ecosystems, and the communities of the Klamath Basin, we extend our warmest wishes to Paul Simmons for a happy and healthy retirement this coming summer from his role as Executive Director of the Klamath Water Users Association.
KWUA Executive Director Job Description 2024
KWUA Seeks Dynamic Leader for Marketing & Public Affairs
Klamath Water Users Association (KWUA) seeks a self-motivated, highly productive individual as the Director of Communications to lead marketing and public affairs effort of an established organization that serves the interests of member irrigation districts and their constituents on natural resources issues, with emphasis on water resources and power costs. This is a unique opportunity to join an organization that is at the forefront of precedent-setting issues.
This is a high energy and demanding job. It will also be rewarding for the right candidate. The ideal candidate must have high level communication skills, be collaborative, and an independent worker who works with little direction and produces timely and impactful work.
The ideal candidate must have the high level of expertise needed to successfully facilitate outcomes on short-, medium -, and long-range goals and implement the vision of the organization. The candidate must be effective in a variety of venues and possess the organizational and technical proficiency needed to develop and maintain the relations and understanding between KWUA and the public. Open Until Filled. For more information and application, please go to KWUA.ORG
KWUA Director of Communications Job Description 2024
Committee Pressure Leads to Withdrawal of BIDEH Rule, Members Thankful for Return to Common Sense
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Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced the withdrawal of their proposed Biological Integrity, Diversity, and Environmental Health (BIDEH) rule. “Today’s announcement proves something we knew from the beginning, the BIDEH Rule was a terrible idea and should have never been proposed in the first place. I would like to thank Congressman Bentz for his work to fight this disastrous proposal and his continued work to push back against the Biden’s administration’s radical policies. As a lifelong outdoorsman, I’ve seen firsthand how our wildlife refuges benefit from collaboration with farmers and communities to ensure the best possible results for conservation and I’m glad to see one example of common sense in this administration’s dying days.” – House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) “The BIDEH rule was a completely misguided approach to management of the National Wildlife Refuge System. The rule would have imposed bureaucratic nightmares on refuge managers and opened the door for a wave of anti-farmer and rancher litigation. Under the proposed rule, normal and historic management tools, such as grazing, planting crops, and native predator control, would have required a full NEPA review prior to implementation. This would have severely restricted the discretion of refuge managers and putting at risk the very purpose of individual refuges. I welcome the withdrawal of the rule and will continue to push back on policies that put politics over practical management.” – Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Chairman Cliff Bentz (R-Ore.) “I am glad that the United States Fish and Wildlife Service decided to withdraw this outlandish rule that would have given Washington bureaucrats the power to undermine the authority of local wildlife conservationists. I’d also like to thank the thousands of Americans who spoke out against this rule and Chairman Westerman for his efforts in this matter. The benefits of our greatest conservationists and American farmers will remain where they belong, on the ground in our local towns.” – U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) “I am pleased the Biden Administration has withdrawn their out-of-touch BIDEH rule. This one-size-fits all policy from Washington will only overburden the National Wildlife Refuge System. That is why I joined my colleagues in urging the Fish and Wildlife Service to rescind this rule. This is a victory for wildlife and conservation efforts across the nation.” – U.S. Rep. David Kustoff (R-Tenn.) Background Today, the USFWS announced they are withdrawing their proposed BIDEH rule for the National Wildlife Refuge System. If it had been finalized, the rule would have made sweeping changes to the ability of refuge managers to utilize key management tools. The rule stated that certain practices, such as native predator control and cooperative agriculture, would be prohibited unless refuge managers fully evaluate the potential environmental effects of the management activity in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act. In addition, refuge managers would have also been required to complete a comprehensive analysis to justify that utilizing the management practices is necessary to meet statutory responsibilities, fulfill refuge purposes and ensure BIDEH. This would have created management paralysis in the refuge system. The Committee conducted a series of oversight and legislative efforts on the rule since it was proposed in February. These included an oversight hearing in April held by the Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries where representatives from State game and fish agencies, agriculture producers, and conservation organizations testified in opposition to the proposed rule. In June, Chairman Westerman led a bi-partisan letter with 20 other House members calling on the rule to be rescinded. In addition, a legislative hearing was held in September on H.R. 8632, the “BIOSAFE Act” sponsored by Congressman Grothman, which would have required the USFWS to withdraw the proposed rule. Today’s announcement is a return to commonsense policy, which allows land managers to continue working in the best interest of our wildlife refuge system. Impacts of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Proposed BIDEH Rule. Proposed Regulations to Ensure BIDEH of the Refuge System are Maintained |
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Contact: John Seibels (202) 225-2761 |
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U.S. House Passes Bentz Legislation Benefitting Klamath Farmers
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 7938, authored by Congressman Cliff Bentz (R-OR), which fulfills financial and regulatory commitments made years ago to Klamath Project irrigators.
In his floor statement, Mr. Bentz called the legislation “long overdue” and critical to mitigate negative impacts on agricultural communities resulting from the removal of four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River that took place this year.
Under the legislation, federal agencies would not be allowed to pass on the costs of operating or maintaining Keno and Link River Dams, infrastructure built and formerly operated by PacifiCorp, which are not being removed.
“This is a very important achievement, and great news for Klamath Project irrigators,” said Klamath Water Users Association (KWUA) President Tracey Liskey, who testified in a Congressional committee in support of the bill earlier. “We have been promised for years that we would not be stuck with these costs but need this legislation to make that promise real.”
The legislation would also provide the authority and tools needed for keeping a promise that upstream migration of salmon and steelhead would not impose new regulatory burdens by providing a mechanism for the Bureau of Reclamation to install and pay for costly measures such as fish screens that would not otherwise be needed.
A similar measure, authored by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), who sits on a key committee in the U.S. Senate, is pending in that chamber of Congress. “Senator Wyden and Senator Merkley have been champions of this legislation for years,” said KWUA Executive Director Paul Simmons. “It passed the full Senate in a previous session of Congress and has moved through all necessary Senate committees again, this year.”
Under the current Congressional calendar, it is unknown whether the legislation can be taken up in the current session of the Senate, as needed for the bill to become law. “We feel very positive that bipartisan leadership and support we have can push this across the finish line,” said Mr. Simmons.
Mr. Liskey noted that it is extremely complicated to move legislation through Congress. “There is much more involved in this process than you could ever believe, and we are fortunate to have the effective Congressional delegation that we do.”
Learn More: KOBI News
Tribes and Farmers Agree: Reclamation’s Draft Environmental Assessment Flawed; Inadequate
The adage “a good compromise is when both parties are dissatisfied” often applies to water management. Yet in the case of the Bureau of Reclamation’s recent draft environmental assessment, the unanimous opposition expressed by agricultural and tribal representatives does not suggest a carefully crafted, durable product.
Rather, the comments reflect widespread doubt about the validity of Reclamation’s new proposed action for operation of the Klamath Project, condemnation of its analysis, and concerns about the potential impacts to the natural and human resources of the Klamath Basin.
Reclamation released its draft environmental assessment on September 11, 2024, and gave the public 14 days to comment on the 150-page document.
The Klamath Water Users Association (KWUA), Klamath Irrigation District, and Klamath Drainage District submitted comments on behalf of agricultural interests in the Klamath Project. The Klamath Tribes, the Karuk Tribe, and the Yurok Tribe filed comments addressing their respective rights and interests.
Failure to Disclose Impacts
An environmental assessment is a document prepared by a federal agency to evaluate the potential impacts to the human environment from a major federal action, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Although the comments reflect differences in the resources and potential impacts of concern for various parties, they all criticized Reclamation’s environmental assessment’s for being inadequate and incomplete.
“The Draft EA is woefully short of what is necessary,” commented KWUA. “It simply does not disclose the obvious and well-understood impacts of curtailing surface water deliveries to agricultural lands and refuges in the Klamath Basin, and instead creates a comparison of hypotheticals that obscures those impacts.”
KWUA’s letter noted the plagues of grasshoppers, blowing dust, dry domestic wells, and damages to public infrastructure that have stemmed from recent operations of the Klamath Project.
For the Klamath Tribes, Reclamation’s analysis was critically lacking with respect to potential impacts to c’waam and koptu (also known as Lost River and shortnose suckers), the two species of endangered fish in Upper Klamath Lake. The Klamath Tribes’ letter noted the recent “terrifying decrease in the abundance” of c’waam and koptu in Upper Klamath Lake, and urged that Reclamation more fully evaluate the impacts from anticipated lake levels to these species.
“The extirpation of c’waam and koptu from UKL would be a cultural calamity of existential proportions for the Klamath Tribes for whom these fish and their natural environments are indeed sacred,” the Klamath Tribes commented. For the Yurok Tribe, the primary concern expressed was for salmon in the Klamath River. The Yurok’s comments pointed out Reclamation’s failure to consider alternatives that would “promote, rather than impede, salmon recovery.” By not evaluating such an alternative, the Yurok’s letter concluded, the environmental assessment “fails to reveal the harmful toll Klamath Project irrigation has already taken (and continues to take) on salmon…” For their part, Klamath Irrigation District attributed the shortcoming in the document’s analysis to Reclamation’s failure to “provide a clear statement of the agency’s objectives.”
The “EA does not adequately define the actual operational objectives or the potential tradeoffs involved in managing competing needs, such as agricultural water rights, environmental protection, and tribal interests,” the district wrote.
Questions over the Status Quo
Several parties also took issue with Reclamation’s characterization of the “noaction alternative” used for comparison to the proposed action. The draft environmental assessment presented as a no-action alternative a modified version of the “Interim Operations Plan” (IOP) that has ostensibly governed Klamath Project operations since 2020.
Parties noted that the IOP was never strictly followed because actual hydrology frequently made it impossible to achieve the anticipated modeled outcomes.
KWUA and the districts also pointed out that Reclamation had materially modified the IOP for sake of this analysis, assuming a number of current and future changed conditions, along with some form of “rebalancing” of the model to achieve desirable (but unspecified) hydrologic outcomes.
With the model “rebalanced”, Reclamation’s proposed action somehow appeared to deliver more water for agricultural use than provided for under the IOP, notwithstanding clear and obvious information to the contrary. In actuality, across all year-types, Reclamation’s proposed action represents a decrease in the agricultural water supply of upwards of 25 percent compared to the IOP.
By inflating the amount of water delivered under the proposed action, the draft environmental assessment concluded that water levels in Upper Klamath Lake would be lower on average in comparison to the IOP. The Klamath Tribes naturally took issue with this perceived reduction in lake levels and called for the proposed action to be modified to include explicit lake level requirements.
Controversy over Water for Wildlife Refuges
Another common point of criticism of the draft environmental assessment was the anticipated water to be delivered to Lower Klamath and Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuges, presumably in part to support populations of c’waam and koptu within the refuges.
While KWUA emphasized its general support for water deliveries to the refuges, “Reclamation cannot unilaterally reprioritize water entitlements,” it wrote. The proposed action’s deliveries to the refuges, KWUA offered, “contravenes water law and Reclamation’s contracts, and comes at the expense of Project irrigators, whose vested rights are senior to the NWRs.”
For their part, Klamath Irrigation District attributed the shortcoming in the document’s analysis to
Reclamation’s failure to “provide a clear statement of the agency’s objectives.”
The Klamath Tribes also opposed this plan to try to recover c’waam and koptu in the refuges.
“There is no evidence, and there is no analysis in the draft EA,” the Klamath Tribes wrote, “as to whether the wildlife refuges in their current state can actually support healthy, full lifecycle populations of c’waam and koptu. Until that is determined, heaping more risk onto the fish in UKL to roll the dice on the refuges is a gamble neither the Tribes nor the species – particularly in their current condition – can afford to take.”
The Yurok Tribes also pointed out this “massive change” to how water is managed in the Upper Klamath Basin and questioned how water will be “tracked to ensure” it is delivered to refuges instead of used for agricultural use.
Next Steps?
The decision now before Reclamation is whether, based on the draft environmental assessment and the comments received, whether to proceed in preparing a more robust and exhaustive environmental impact statement (EIS) on the proposed action. Alternatively, Reclamation may elect to finalize its environmental assessment and issue a “finding of no significant environmental impact.”
By G. Moss Driscoll, KWUA
Editorial: Klamath Ag supports Basin refuges
Recently, The Oregonian published a letter from Mary Hayden of Oregon City about the conditions of the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge and the recent outbreak of avian botulism. In her letter, Ms. Hayden offered her thoughts on a solution – “cash out the farmers” and “give the water to the birds.”
Unfortunately, when it comes to Klamath Basin water issues, this is a frequent, short-sighted reaction by individuals who are not dependent upon Klamath Basin agriculture.
This way of thinking also doesn’t take into account the work and advocacy Klamath Basin family farmers and ranchers do on behalf of the birds of the Pacific Flyway or area wildlife. Nor does it appreciate the tangled political web of the power of the Federal government, the Endangered Species Act, or water rights that put these refuges last in line and create “paper droughts” affecting farmers and waterfowl alike.
Contending that Klamath ag is “watering the desert” while advocating water to be sent to Tule Lake and Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuges shows a basic misunderstanding for the hydrology of the Klamath Basin. Before the federal government came to the area, water flowed throughout the Klamath Basin and settled in low-lying areas creating a vast network of shallow lakes and marshlands between Tule Lake and Lower Klamath Lake. The first people to inhabit this area hunted, fished, and gathered food in these marshlands and lakes.
During the construction of the Klamath Project, many of those areas were converted to rich farmland.
In our district, the Klamath Drainage District (KDD), 27,000 acres of marshland was converted to farmland, leaving over 45,000 acres of the original Lower Klamath Lake as the nation’s first waterfowl refuge. During spring and fall migration, our district provides habitat and food for birds traveling the Pacific Flyway.
KDD has also been a partner with Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge, sending much-needed water from the district to the refuge when other stakeholders and the Bureau of Reclamation refused to send water to these wetlands. KDD has worked with conservation groups such as Ducks Unlimited and California Waterfowl on habitat restoration efforts as well as getting water to Lower Klamath.
KDD and the Klamath Water Users Association (KWUA) have been vocal supporters of the Klamath Basin Refuges, with KWUA sending a letter to the Bureau of Reclamation urging the Bureau to send water to the refuges to head off the impending avian botulism outbreak.
Even today, Tulelake Irrigation District and the Klamath Drainage District are working on plans that not only provide water to these historic refuges, but also send cleaner, cooler water down the Klamath River for salmon.
Regardless if Klamath Basin ag were cashed out at a fair price, this one-time payout would devastate our communities and the very people working diligently to preserve the refuges that includes a sustainable supply of water. Every dollar created by Klamath ag is passed through the community nine times, more than any other industry in our region.Thousands of workers would be unemployed, and businesses tangentially connected to agriculture would fold.
We haven’t even touched on the nation’s challenges surrounding the loss of farmland and farmers and its effects on national food security.
KDD and Klamath Basin family farmers and ranchers are allies to our refuges, not enemies. While it’s easier to demonize Klamath ag than to appreciate it, we recognize our future is directly tied to the Klamath Basin’s ecosystem. If anyone is interested, we’d love for them to pay a visit to our district to learn more about the incredible work we and our partners are doing on behalf of the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge.
Basin Ag News, Herald and News
2024 Oregon Soft Winter Wheat Yield Trials: Unveiling the Top Performing Varieties
Looking at potential winter wheat varieties to plant? Results from the 2024 Oregon soft winter wheat yield trials is a good place to start.
The Klamath Basin Research and Extension Center (KBREC) is committed to providing farmers with the latest information on the best performing wheat and barley varieties in our local region. The results presented here are for trials evaluating 54 varieties of soft winter wheat grown at the KBREC research station, the KBREC off-site trial in Merrill, and at the Intermountain Research and Extension Center (IREC) in Tulelake.
At the KBREC trial, seed varieties were planted in a previously fallowed field on October 17, 2023 and harvested August 8, 2024. The trial received 16.1 inches of irrigation and 175 pounds of nitrogen per acre. The highest yielding variety was VI Encore CL+ (UIL 17-7706 CL+) producing 178 bushels per acre (bu/acre) and the lowest was OR2170559, at 125 bu/acre. The trial averaged 145 bu/acre across all varieties.
At the Merrill location, seeds were planted a little bit later, November 1, 2023, and harvested Aug. 12, 2024. At planting, the field had adequate nitrogen available but received a spring application in March of 92 pounds of nitrogen per acre. The highest yielding variety was AP Olympia producing 191 bu/acre, while the lowest was LCS Reaper II AX at 118 bu/acre. This trial averaged 157 bu/acre across all varieties.
At the Tulelake (IREC) trial, all 54 varieties were planted on October 17, 2023, and harvested on Aug. 13, 2024. The trial received 13.23 inches of irrigation. The trial received 11-52-0 at planting and 32-0-0 top dress of nitrogen fertilizer throughout the season. The top performing variety was LWW20-2867 producing 163 bu/acre, the lowest was ARS Castella at 80 bu/acre. This trial averaged 139 bu/acre across all varieties.
It is important to remember that variety selection is best made by using multiple (three or more) years of data across multiple locations. However, when selecting any variety for a specific location you want to select the varieties that performs best near the location where the variety will be grown. In addition, other important characteristics to consider when trying to decide on a variety include flowering date, grain (protein) quality, height and lodging.
For further information on these yield trials, contact Everald McLennon (KBREC) at (541) 883-4590 or everald.mclennon@oregonstate.edu, or Darrin Culp (IREC) at (530) 667-5117 or daculp@ucanr.edu.
For the full report with additional details on class, height, heading date, protein percentages, quality, herbicide traits, yearly rank averages, as well as for other locations please access our website at https://cropandsoil.oregonstate.edu/wheat/osu-wheat-variety-trials/2024-oregon-wheat-and-barley-yield-trial-data.
Basin Ag News, Herald and News
By EVERALD McLENNON
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Dead In The Water: The Impact of Klamath Ag
It was the night before Thanksgiving. You go to the grocery store to buy the fixings for a big dinner, but something is different. Shelves are empty, and for the food that is available, prices are very high.
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Tracey Liskey: Leading KWUA into a Sustainable Future
Tracey Liskey, a fourth-generation farmer and the current President of the KWUA Board of Directors, embodies a legacy of dedication and innovation in the Klamath Basin. With over 3,000 acres under cultivation, Liskey’s farm is a testament to sustainable agriculture, featuring geothermal-powered hot houses for organic produce and aquaculture, and a partnership in the “Gone Fishing” hatchery for endangered species restoration. Beyond his farming ventures, Liskey’s commitment extends to significant roles in various agricultural and environmental boards, reflecting his passion for growth, wildlife, and community service. Whether tending to his land or advocating for sustainable practices, Liskey’s life is a profound connection to nature and a model of stewardship for future generations.
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