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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 13, 2021)
B4 THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2021 Tensions rise in Oregon, California water battle By GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press PORTLAND — One of the worst droughts in memory in a massive agricul- tural region straddling the California-Or- egon border could mean steep cuts to irri- gation water for hundreds of farmers this summer to sustain endangered fi sh species critical to local tribes. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which oversees water allocations in the feder- ally owned Klamath Project, is expected to announce this week how the season’s water will be divvied up after delaying the deci- sion a month. For the fi rst time in 20 years, it’s pos- sible that the 1,400 irrigators who have farmed for generations on 225,000 acres of reclaimed farmland will get no water at all — or so little that farming wouldn’t be worth it. Several tribes in Oregon and Cal- ifornia are equally desperate for water to sustain threatened and endangered species of fi sh central to their heritage. A network of six wildlife refuges that make up the largest wetland complex west of the Mississippi River also depend on the project’s water, but will likely go dry this year. The competing demands over a vanish- ing natural resource foreshadow a diffi cult and tense summer in a region where farmers, conservationists and tribes have engaged in years of legal battles over who has greater rights to an ever-dwindling water supply. Two of the tribes, the Klamath and Yurok, hold treaties guaranteeing the protection of their fi sheries. The last — and only — time that water was completely shut down for irriga- tors, in 2001, some family farms went out of business and a “bucket brigade” pro- test attracted 15,000 people who scooped water from the Klamath River and passed it, hand over hand, to a parched irrigation canal. The farmers-vs.-fi sh debate became a touchstone for Republicans who used the crisis to take aim at the Endangered Species Act, with one GOP lawmaker calling the irrigation shutoff a “poster child” for why changes were needed. This season, amid a pandemic and an ever-deeper partisan divide, some in the region fear what’s to come. “I think that the majority of people under- stand that acts of violence and protest isn’t going to be productive, but at the same time people down here are being backed into a corner,” said Ben DuVal, a farmer and pres- ident of the Klamath Water Users Associa- tion. “There’s a lot of farms that need a good stable year this year — myself included — and we’re not going to get that this year. I’m questioning the future.” The situation in the Klamath Basin was Gillian Flaccus/AP Photo Farmer Ben DuVal with his wife, Erika, and their daughters, Hannah and Helena, stand near a canal for collecting run off water near their property in Tulelake in March 2020. Jeff Barnard/AP Photo The Upper Klamath Lake near Klamath Falls in 2001. set in motion more than a century ago, when the U.S. government began drawing water from a network of shallow lakes and marsh- lands and funneling it into the dry desert uplands. Homesteads were off ered by lot- tery to World War II veterans who grew hay, grain and potatoes and pastured cattle. The project turned the region into an agri- cultural powerhouse — some of its potato farmers supply In ‘N Out burger — but per- manently altered an intricate water system that spans hundreds of miles from southern Oregon to Northern California. In 1988, two species of sucker fi sh were listed as endangered under federal law, and less than a decade later, coho salmon that spawn downstream from the reclamation project, in the lower Klamath River, were listed as threatened. The water necessary to sustain the coho salmon downstream comes from Upper Klamath Lake — the main holding tank for the farmers’ irrigation system. At the same time, the sucker fi sh in the same lake need at least 1 to 2 feet of water covering the gravel beds that they use as spawning grounds. In a year of extreme drought, there is not enough water to go around. Already this spring, the gravel beds that the sucker fi sh spawn in are dry and water gauges on Klamath River tributaries show the fl ow is the lowest in nearly a century. A decision late last summer to release water for irri- gators, plus a hot, dry fall with almost no rain has compounded an already terrible situation. “Given what I know about the hydrol- ogy, it’s just impossible for them to make everyone happy,” said Mike Belchik, a senior fi sheries biologist for the Yurok Tribe in Northern California. “There’s just not enough water.” The Klamath Water Users Association sent a warning to its membership last week saying there would be “little to no water for irrigation from Upper Klamath Lake this year.” It is holding a public meeting Wednesday to provide more information. Meanwhile, sucker fi sh in the Upper Klamath Lake are hovering near dried-up gravel beds, fruitlessly waiting for water levels to rise so they can lay eggs, said Alex Gonyaw, a senior fi sheries biologist for the Klamath Tribes. “You can see them sort of milling around out in the lake water. They’re desperately trying to get to this clean, constant lake water that they need,” he said. “It’s going to be like 2001. It’s going to be, hopefully not catastrophic but very, very stressful for peo- ple and fi sh.” In 2001, the Bureau of Reclamation cut off water for 90% of the farms served by the Klamath Project when a drought cut water supply by two-thirds. The decision to do so went all the way to then-Vice Presi- dent Dick Cheney and marked the fi rst time farmers lost out to tribes and fi sh. The water was held in Upper Klam- ath Lake for endangered sucker fi sh and allowed to run down the Klamath River for threatened coho salmon, rather than mov- ing through the intricate series of canals to farms before dumping into wildlife refuges. Some are hoping this year’s crisis will help all the interested parties hash out a water-sharing compromise that could save both the ecology and economy of the Klam- ath River Basin before it collapses entirely. “This is the reality of climate change. This is it. We can’t rely on historical water supplies anymore. We just can’t,” said Amy Cordalis, counsel for the Yurok Tribe and also a tribal member. “It’s no one’s fault. There’s no bad guy here — but I think we’d all do well to pray for rain.” Coastal Living Proudly serving the Oregon North Coast from Tillamook to the WA. Peninsula Golden Whale Jewelry Mention this ad for Gemstones • Silver Gold • Navaho • Earrings 14kt Gold & Sterling Charms $1 off our Irish Cream Mocha! Quality jewelry in gold and sterling silver by nationally known artists Se habla español Renae Lalyn Nelson Owner Cell: 503.717.2231 renae@luckyductllc.com P.O. 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