A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
May 7, 2007
3. Watersheds
KLAMATH:
Fields of conflict in the Klamath; Activists say farmers are poised to solidify their presence in the basin's federal wildlife refuges - Los Angeles Times
Salton Sea could prove air quality disaster - Imperial Valley Press
KLAMATH:
Fields of conflict in the Klamath; Activists say farmers are poised to solidify their presence in the basin's federal wildlife refuges
By Eric Bailey, staff writer
Migratory birds are flocking to the basin's necklace of federal wildlife refuges straddling
Agriculture fields have elbowed onto what once were marshes and shallow inland seas, shrinking the basin's wetlands by nearly 80%. Environmentalists have long fought to stop that farming, saying the refuges belong to the birds.
But now, activists say, farmers in the
Farmers are gaining an edge in closed-door settlement talks over the fate of four dams on the Klamath River, which meanders across two states before pouring into the Pacific Ocean north of
Environmentalists universally support dam removal, which would let endangered salmon reach upriver spawning grounds blocked for nearly a century.
Activists with a pair of Oregon-based groups, however, fear that a looming compromise backed by the Bush administration will come at an unacceptable cost: an agreement to forever allow farming in the refuges.
The 23-page settlement proposes up to $250 million to ease soaring electricity costs for irrigation pumps and possibly finance a renewable energy plant.
Farmers and other big landowners could also be shielded from endangered-species restrictions invoked to revive imperiled fish species: the salmon, two types of suckerfish in Upper Klamath Lake and the bull trout, which is found in upstream tributaries.
"The Bush administration has hijacked these talks about dam removal to advance unrelated policy goals bad for the environment and bad in the long term for the
At this point, that resolute stand is a lonely one.
Other participants in the talks, including several national environmental groups, say it's too early to go to the mat over a deal that's anything but done.
"If folks are talking about one thing or another being sold out, we think that's very premature," said Amy Kober of American Rivers. "There's still plenty to be worked out."
The administration's top negotiator declined to discuss details but rejected any notion of pressure from
"I've had a free rein to do whatever I felt was right," said Steve Thompson, California-Nevada manager for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "I haven't felt any pressures, other than that Klamath is controversial from all sides."
Forging a consensus on the Klamath has proved extraordinarily complicated. Compromises, experts say, will be inevitable for the proposal to get federal and state support.
"It's a huge stretch to imagine that commercial agriculture is benefiting wildlife populations in the long run," said Nancy Langston, a
After more than two years of discussions, 26 of the 28 groups — U.S. water and wildlife agencies, the states of California and Oregon, fishermen, four tribes and an array of environmental groups — have agreed to push forward to settle details in the agreement.
Meanwhile, Oregon Wild and WaterWatch of Oregon, the two groups vocally objecting to what they describe as concessions to farmers, have "essentially been voted off the island," said
In addition to pushing for reduced water demand in the basin and higher river flows, the two groups ran aground in their quest to protect the refuges — and lighten the footprint of agriculture.
Before the arrival of settlers in the West, the
Change came in 1905, when the precursor to the federal Bureau of Reclamation began to drain marshlands for homesteading farmers.
That same year, a pioneering conservationist named William Finley visited the basin and came away awed by the abundant bird life and vast wetlands. His reports helped persuade President Theodore Roosevelt to establish the first of the basin's refuges in 1908.
In less than a decade, wildlife began to suffer. Completion of a railroad levee in 1917 cut off the biggest refuge's marshy connection to the
Early attempts to farm around the refuges mostly flopped as wildfires burned across parched peat soil.
But the federal Reclamation Service pressed ahead, rerouting whole rivers and building dams and canals. In the 1940s, it bored a mile-long tunnel through Sheepy Ridge to help drain
Homesteaders settled in the basin, most of them veterans of the two world wars. They built communities and successful agricultural enterprises in a cold, dry land where the growing season barely lasts more than three months.
As
Today, nearly 15% of the 240,000 farm acres in the
A quarter of the
"That's the heartland of the basin," said longtime farmer Sid Staunton, 50. "To shut us out of the refuge would wipe out
Like other farmers, the brothers talk of how agriculture's grains provide feed to migratory birds, about how they've changed their practices to better accommodate wildlife.
They've gone heavily into organic farming, spreading far less fertilizer and pesticide, which can end up in wetlands and rivers.
Meanwhile, crop rotation on the refuge now means flooding farm parcels every couple of years, which allows marshland to sprout anew for a few seasons before being returned to agricultural production.
Agribusiness enthusiastically supports more water for the refuges, which have been parched in recent droughts, said Greg Addington, executive director of the Klamath Water Users Assn., which represents basin farmers.
Addington said reduced farming on the refuges would be a regional economic disaster, knocking out not just growers but the infrastructure that supports them — the seed merchants, fertilizer and pesticide sales, tractor dealerships.
"It's their ultimate goal," he said. "If they can force the farmers to bail, they can flood it all."
Environmentalists counter that agribusiness has gotten its way too long. The pendulum seemed to be swinging back in favor of wildlife during the last years of the
The basin remains home to the largest population of bald eagles in the lower 48 states as well as three of the West's last surviving white pelican breeding colonies. But scientists say the annual migration to the Klamath, which 50 years ago filled the sky with 7 million ducks and geese, has decreased by more than two-thirds.
Environmentalists blame myriad problems: farm equipment that can destroy nests, silt from agricultural runoff, pesticides. But mostly it's a matter of farm fields replacing wetlands. A federal study found that a typical farm acre produces about 200 pounds of waste grain that birds can eat, while a bountiful wetland acre can yield 2,600 pounds of rootlets and tubers.
Pedery of Oregon Wild said restoration of refuge wetlands could help
"It's irresponsible to treat these refuges like trading stock," he said. "It's land that was set aside for geese and eagles, not potatoes and onions." #
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-klamath7may07,0,1054518,full.story?coll=la-home-headlines
By Darren Simon, staff writer
When the American Lung Association issued failing air-quality grades to
The county’s air quality is improving, the association said.
But the
“We know if it evaporates without protection, the exposed lakebed could provide some of the worst particulate pollution in the state,” said Ross Porter, communications director for the
Dust storms would arise as silt from the exposed lakebed is impacted by high winds in the area.
“All of the region surrounding the
He said the
Porter’s statement of concern comes as the sea is dying — giving way to its own high salt content and to a shrinking supply of water to maintain it.
Increasing amounts of seashore will be exposed in coming years if action is not taken.
Imperial County Supervisor Gary Wyatt said he agrees with Porter’s assessment.
“The
This year, perhaps in coming weeks, the state could release its final preferred alternative for restoring the sea — one that could include dividing the sea into two separate and smaller lakes with a dike.
The high salt content would be collected in a salinity pond on the south side of the dike, reducing the salt levels in the two lakes — thus allowing those lakes to support both bird and fish life. The lakes also could serve a recreational use.
The proposed plan is projected to cost $6 billion.
But, even under such a restoration plan, there will be lakebed exposed and air quality will be at risk.
The state proposal does call for air-quality mitigation to protect surrounding communities, but some groups have raised concern whether the steps will be enough.
Porter said he is encouraged by the discussions over the need for air mitigation.
He said the key is to ensure the state understands “the return from its investment that would be required would be worthwhile in protecting the public health.” #
http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2007/05/06/news/news04.txt
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