Klamath, Modoc and Siskiyou County leaders are asking for an “adequate water supply” on behalf of local irrigation.
A news release from Klamath Water Users Association this week said a letter has been sent to the Bureau of Reclamation requesting the full water allocations on behalf of Klamath Project irrigators.
The letter, sent to Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton, bases the request for increase water flows in congruence with “favorably hydrology” this year in the Klamath Basin.
“Given … the actions already taken to avoid flooding on the Klamath River and the projections showing ‘excess’ water this year, Reclamation must make every effort and should be able to provide full water supplies for farms and ranches of the Klamath Project,” the Tri-Counties’ statement reads.
The request letter, dated April 5, was sent 10 days before the expected date of Reclamation’s annual water allocation announcement.
Allocations were originally expected to be revealed April 1, the day before the annual Klamath Water Users Association meeting.
Representatives from Reclamation attended the event and promised Reclamation’s decision would be provided April 15.
“The Tri-Counties are calling for the Bureau of Reclamation to immediately provide adequate … water supply for 2024,” the letter reads. “After four consecutive years of delayed and inadequate deliveries, Reclamation needs to provide sufficient water to the farmers and ranchers who feed the region’s economy and the nation’s food supply.
Officials from all three counties signed the request, including Klamath County Commissioner Derrick DeGroot.
The request was also sent to Congressmen Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) and Cliff Bentz (R-Ore.).
In addition to the letter, Klamath Project irrigators are taking concerns over recent federal rulings to Washington, D.C., this week.
Chair of the Klamath Project Drought Response Agency and third-generation farmer with Cal-Ore Marc Staunton is scheduled to speak before the Natural Resources Committee and the Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries on Wednesday.
According to another KWUA news release, Staunton will be addressing the committees on the impacts of U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s proposed Biological Integrity, Diversity and Environmental Health rule.
“The BIDEH rule proposes new regulations targeting agriculture by prohibiting farming practices in wildlife refuges,” the release reads.
In the release, Family Farm Alliance Executive Director Dan Keppen said that the new rule is just an updated version of a policy issued during the final weeks of the Clinton Administration.
“(The BIDEH rule) targets and points to the elimination of longstanding and widespread agricultural practices on those public lands,” Keppen said in the release.
Staunton’s written testimony speaks to a positive relationship between conservation and agriculture.
“That belief is based on life experience,” Staunton wrote. “It always fascinates me to watch as a freshly harvested field of potatoes is flooded. Waterfowl glean the nutrient-dense crops left behind by the harvester, and the leftover nutrients in the soil help stimulate the growth of native tule plants.”
The harvested fields serve a new purpose, Staunton explained — wetland habitats.
Staunton’s own family farm utilizes this cyclical system of turning harvested fields into wetlands for native wildlife.
“Any time that our goal of feeding 330 million Americans has a symbiotic relationship with the local ecosystem, I believe we are headed in the right directions.”
According to the news release, the BIDEH rule could eliminate 22,000 acres of current crop production.
“(This) would advance the all-too-common threat of consolidation to small or beginning farmers who have difficulty competing for access to land,” Staunton wrote.
KWUA In the News:
Herald and News, April 9, 2024
Original: https://www.heraldandnews.com/news/counties-request-adequate-water-for-agriculture-klamath-project-irrigators-head-to-d-c/article_7de5f636-f6ba-11ee-a60f-ab12eec2365c.html
