YellowSub1962
05-04-2001, 08:54 AM
American Land Rights Association - Land Rights Network
PO Box 400 - Battle Ground WA 98604
Phone: 360-687-3087 - Fax: 360-687-2973 - Email: <alra@pacifier.com> - http://www.landrights.org
Legislative Office: 508 First St SE - Washington DC 20003
Phone: 202-210-2357 - Fax: 202-543-7126 - Email: landrightsnet@aol.com
Save 1400 Farmers From ESA Taking - You'll Be Next
Feds Use Endangered Species Act (ESA) To
Stop ALL Water Delivery To 1400 Farmers
Save Klamath and Tulelake Farming Families In Oregon and California
No Farmer Is Safe From The ESA --
Save Our Farming Economic Ecosystem
Send The Message - Open The Turnstocks NOW!! Deliver the Water - NOW!!
***Come To Klamath Falls Monday, May 7th
***If You're Too Far Away, Write, Fax and Call your Congressman and both
Senators. Tell them you want a letter supporting the farmers. Ask them
to tell the Bureau of Reclamation to
TURN ON THE WATER!!! OR TELL THEM . . . .
THEY'LL TURN OFF THEIR MONEY!!
No Water, No Money. Simple.
***If You're Too Far Away, call a friend in Oregon or California and urge
them to go.
The Endangered Species Act Must Not Be Used To Break Promises and Destroy
Lives and Property
The water rights of farmers in the Klamath Basin in Oregon and California
have been taken by Federal actions in pursuance of the Endangered Species
Act. These rights are being taken without any commitment to just
compensation.
The water has been taken at the critical point of the irrigation season and
the farmers and the communities dependent on agriculture are left to
litigate, plead and wonder how our country could have possibly gone so
wrong.
BUCKET BRIGADE PLANNED TO SUPPORT KLAMATH BASIN FARMERS
A huge bucket brigade and rally has been planned for noon, May 7 in Klamath
Falls, Oregon. The event will support the Klamath Basin farmers and
ranchers, whose way of life is being exterminated as a result of federal
regulatory decisions.
Bucket brigades have been a symbol of unified community action against
threatened disaster throughout the history of the American West. Americans
who wish to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Klamath farmers and
ranchers against this injustice are invited to bring a bucket and join the
brigade.
The 1,400 farms located in Siskiyou and Modoc County, California, and
Klamath County in Oregon, were homesteaded, in part, by veterans of WWI and
WWII at the special invitation of a grateful nation. These veterans were
enticed with the promise of a rich irrigated land in which they could
invest their blood, sweat and tears.
Local residents are now in shock at the decision by the federal government
to completely shut off the irrigation water that serves more than 90% of
the farmers. The decision, based on inflated claims to minimum lake levels
and downstream flows for threatened fish, LEAVES NO WATER to allocate
to the other 6,000 water users, including several major National Wildlife
Refuges hosting migratory waterfowl.
With the lakes and reservoirs currently brimming with water, it is
difficult for these small family farmers and ranchers not to feel betrayed
and abandoned by their government.
"What do I do now? How will we pay the bills? Where will we go?" are common
phrases hanging heavily in the air. With the economy already stressed by
decade-long regulation and low prices for crops, it is likely that almost
80% of these small operations could fail this year if families can't farm.
The federal decision goes against the entire history of the Klamath Basin.
In 1905, California and Oregon ceded lake and marshland to the federal
government specifically for conversion to agricultural use under the
Newlands Reclamation Act.
The Klamath Project then evolved into a complex system of irrigation
canals, dams, diversions and drains, bringing life-giving water to crops
grown in the some of the richest soil in America. Water use rights under a
bi-state compact set water use priorities with agriculture both first and
second in line, then recreation and wildlife third.
The tri-county Klamath Basin produces $100 million in hay, grains, and
vegetables. This, in turn, produces an additional $250 million in economic
activity in the various agriculturally-dependent communities throughout the
region. Livestock herds, now being liquidated, are worth another $100
million in replacement costs.
Without farms, thousands of farmworkers will have no work. Without farmers
to buy seed, supplies and equipment, the infrastructure of small businesses
that support agriculture will collapse.
Like dominoes, the restaurants, grocery stores and other small community
businesses will lose their customer base. Property values will plummet,
thousands of loans will default and county tax revenues will follow the
economic spiral downward.
The Endangered Species Act Is All Powerful
How can it be that the world has turned upside down for these people?
According to federal agencies, once a species has been federally listed as
threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act, it's
alleged needs must come before the needs, rights and property of individual
Americans.
The Sucker Fish gets the Water -- the Farmers get the Shaft.
In this limited water year, rather than share the shortfall, it has been
decided that sucker fish suddenly need elevated lake levels and coho salmon
need greatly increased downstream flows. Because the federal government is
involved in the mechanics of distributing the farmer's and rancher's water
through the Klamath Project, it has decreed that fish come first over farms
and families.
During past periods of low-water, such as 1992 and 1994, Klamath farmers
worked for balance, voluntarily supporting the water needs of the waterfowl
and wildlife refuges.
When faced with another low-water year this year, the Klamath Water Users
developed a plan to share the limited water among users. The plan, however,
was rejected. Now, experts predict 420,000 tons of topsoil will blow away
this year, because farmers without water cannot even plant cover crops to
save the soil;
No compensation is being tendered by the government for its "taking" of
land value or the "investment backed expectations" of these small farmers.
These families, their livelihood, lifestyle, hopes and dreams, are being
sacrificed to the inflexibility of a bad regulation - the Endangered
Species Act.
It is time to stand with these hard-working families against a federal
bureaucracy running wild and against all reason.
No Landowner In America Is Safe From The ESA Regulators and Water Grabbers.
What You Can Do:
-----Come to Klamath Falls at High Noon (12:00) on Monday, May 7th to
participate with an expected 5,000 other people in support of the farmers
and the continued supply of water.
-----No matter where you live, write, phone and fax your Senators and
Congressman to oppose the use of the Endangered Species Act to take water
from these farmers. No landowner in America is safe from this kind of
bureaucratic abuse. Call any Senator or Congressman at (202) 224-3121.
Write: Honorable _______ US Senate, Washington, DC 20510. Write
Honorable ________ US House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515.
-----Call any organization you are a member of to urge them to commit now
to reform the Endangered Species Act. Ask them to send a letter to your
Senators and Congressman WITH A COPY TO YOU.
-----Call your local newspaper to tell them about the Klamath Basin farmers
and urge them to write about the story. If they can, urge them to send a
reporter to the Rally May 7th.
-----Call your local elected officials to see if there are any pending
Endangered Species Enforcement Actions taking place in your state. Urge
your local elected officials to stand up to the Federal agents.
DIRECTIONS to the Bucket Brigade
12:00 Noon Monday May 7th
Klamath Falls, Oregon
Veterans Park is at the South end of Main Street. Traveling north on 97,
take the Main Street (Klamath Falls) exit. As soon as you take the exit,
the park will be on your right along the lake. There's a train engine
display. It's easy to find?parking may be a different story.
To get to Modoc Field from Klamath Avenue (one way street)-travel about 3
miles north. Stay in lane that gives directions to "Crater lake"-center
lane. After a stop signal the street turns into "Esplanade." In just 1
block you will see Herald & News building on your left. Take a left on the
first street past the Herald & News building. (It's a narrow road & crosses
a bridge). Klamath Union School will be in front of you, Modoc Field will
be on your right.
For more information or help with transportation, call:
Oregon Farm Bureau - (503) 399-1701 or candace@oregonfb.org
Klamath Water Users Association - (541) 883-6100
Siskiyou County Farm Bureau - (530) 842-2364
Waterworks Ag Support Group - (541) 798-5655
Frontiers of Freedom-People for the USA - (530) 468-2698 or
tmbst@sisqtel.net - Klamath Basin Crisis Information Page on the internet:
http://www.klamathbasincrisis.org
Significant portions of the content of this E-mail where taken from
publications of the above groups.
PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO YOUR ENTIRE LIST
PO Box 400 - Battle Ground WA 98604
Phone: 360-687-3087 - Fax: 360-687-2973 - Email: <alra@pacifier.com> - http://www.landrights.org
Legislative Office: 508 First St SE - Washington DC 20003
Phone: 202-210-2357 - Fax: 202-543-7126 - Email: landrightsnet@aol.com
Save 1400 Farmers From ESA Taking - You'll Be Next
Feds Use Endangered Species Act (ESA) To
Stop ALL Water Delivery To 1400 Farmers
Save Klamath and Tulelake Farming Families In Oregon and California
No Farmer Is Safe From The ESA --
Save Our Farming Economic Ecosystem
Send The Message - Open The Turnstocks NOW!! Deliver the Water - NOW!!
***Come To Klamath Falls Monday, May 7th
***If You're Too Far Away, Write, Fax and Call your Congressman and both
Senators. Tell them you want a letter supporting the farmers. Ask them
to tell the Bureau of Reclamation to
TURN ON THE WATER!!! OR TELL THEM . . . .
THEY'LL TURN OFF THEIR MONEY!!
No Water, No Money. Simple.
***If You're Too Far Away, call a friend in Oregon or California and urge
them to go.
The Endangered Species Act Must Not Be Used To Break Promises and Destroy
Lives and Property
The water rights of farmers in the Klamath Basin in Oregon and California
have been taken by Federal actions in pursuance of the Endangered Species
Act. These rights are being taken without any commitment to just
compensation.
The water has been taken at the critical point of the irrigation season and
the farmers and the communities dependent on agriculture are left to
litigate, plead and wonder how our country could have possibly gone so
wrong.
BUCKET BRIGADE PLANNED TO SUPPORT KLAMATH BASIN FARMERS
A huge bucket brigade and rally has been planned for noon, May 7 in Klamath
Falls, Oregon. The event will support the Klamath Basin farmers and
ranchers, whose way of life is being exterminated as a result of federal
regulatory decisions.
Bucket brigades have been a symbol of unified community action against
threatened disaster throughout the history of the American West. Americans
who wish to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Klamath farmers and
ranchers against this injustice are invited to bring a bucket and join the
brigade.
The 1,400 farms located in Siskiyou and Modoc County, California, and
Klamath County in Oregon, were homesteaded, in part, by veterans of WWI and
WWII at the special invitation of a grateful nation. These veterans were
enticed with the promise of a rich irrigated land in which they could
invest their blood, sweat and tears.
Local residents are now in shock at the decision by the federal government
to completely shut off the irrigation water that serves more than 90% of
the farmers. The decision, based on inflated claims to minimum lake levels
and downstream flows for threatened fish, LEAVES NO WATER to allocate
to the other 6,000 water users, including several major National Wildlife
Refuges hosting migratory waterfowl.
With the lakes and reservoirs currently brimming with water, it is
difficult for these small family farmers and ranchers not to feel betrayed
and abandoned by their government.
"What do I do now? How will we pay the bills? Where will we go?" are common
phrases hanging heavily in the air. With the economy already stressed by
decade-long regulation and low prices for crops, it is likely that almost
80% of these small operations could fail this year if families can't farm.
The federal decision goes against the entire history of the Klamath Basin.
In 1905, California and Oregon ceded lake and marshland to the federal
government specifically for conversion to agricultural use under the
Newlands Reclamation Act.
The Klamath Project then evolved into a complex system of irrigation
canals, dams, diversions and drains, bringing life-giving water to crops
grown in the some of the richest soil in America. Water use rights under a
bi-state compact set water use priorities with agriculture both first and
second in line, then recreation and wildlife third.
The tri-county Klamath Basin produces $100 million in hay, grains, and
vegetables. This, in turn, produces an additional $250 million in economic
activity in the various agriculturally-dependent communities throughout the
region. Livestock herds, now being liquidated, are worth another $100
million in replacement costs.
Without farms, thousands of farmworkers will have no work. Without farmers
to buy seed, supplies and equipment, the infrastructure of small businesses
that support agriculture will collapse.
Like dominoes, the restaurants, grocery stores and other small community
businesses will lose their customer base. Property values will plummet,
thousands of loans will default and county tax revenues will follow the
economic spiral downward.
The Endangered Species Act Is All Powerful
How can it be that the world has turned upside down for these people?
According to federal agencies, once a species has been federally listed as
threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act, it's
alleged needs must come before the needs, rights and property of individual
Americans.
The Sucker Fish gets the Water -- the Farmers get the Shaft.
In this limited water year, rather than share the shortfall, it has been
decided that sucker fish suddenly need elevated lake levels and coho salmon
need greatly increased downstream flows. Because the federal government is
involved in the mechanics of distributing the farmer's and rancher's water
through the Klamath Project, it has decreed that fish come first over farms
and families.
During past periods of low-water, such as 1992 and 1994, Klamath farmers
worked for balance, voluntarily supporting the water needs of the waterfowl
and wildlife refuges.
When faced with another low-water year this year, the Klamath Water Users
developed a plan to share the limited water among users. The plan, however,
was rejected. Now, experts predict 420,000 tons of topsoil will blow away
this year, because farmers without water cannot even plant cover crops to
save the soil;
No compensation is being tendered by the government for its "taking" of
land value or the "investment backed expectations" of these small farmers.
These families, their livelihood, lifestyle, hopes and dreams, are being
sacrificed to the inflexibility of a bad regulation - the Endangered
Species Act.
It is time to stand with these hard-working families against a federal
bureaucracy running wild and against all reason.
No Landowner In America Is Safe From The ESA Regulators and Water Grabbers.
What You Can Do:
-----Come to Klamath Falls at High Noon (12:00) on Monday, May 7th to
participate with an expected 5,000 other people in support of the farmers
and the continued supply of water.
-----No matter where you live, write, phone and fax your Senators and
Congressman to oppose the use of the Endangered Species Act to take water
from these farmers. No landowner in America is safe from this kind of
bureaucratic abuse. Call any Senator or Congressman at (202) 224-3121.
Write: Honorable _______ US Senate, Washington, DC 20510. Write
Honorable ________ US House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515.
-----Call any organization you are a member of to urge them to commit now
to reform the Endangered Species Act. Ask them to send a letter to your
Senators and Congressman WITH A COPY TO YOU.
-----Call your local newspaper to tell them about the Klamath Basin farmers
and urge them to write about the story. If they can, urge them to send a
reporter to the Rally May 7th.
-----Call your local elected officials to see if there are any pending
Endangered Species Enforcement Actions taking place in your state. Urge
your local elected officials to stand up to the Federal agents.
DIRECTIONS to the Bucket Brigade
12:00 Noon Monday May 7th
Klamath Falls, Oregon
Veterans Park is at the South end of Main Street. Traveling north on 97,
take the Main Street (Klamath Falls) exit. As soon as you take the exit,
the park will be on your right along the lake. There's a train engine
display. It's easy to find?parking may be a different story.
To get to Modoc Field from Klamath Avenue (one way street)-travel about 3
miles north. Stay in lane that gives directions to "Crater lake"-center
lane. After a stop signal the street turns into "Esplanade." In just 1
block you will see Herald & News building on your left. Take a left on the
first street past the Herald & News building. (It's a narrow road & crosses
a bridge). Klamath Union School will be in front of you, Modoc Field will
be on your right.
For more information or help with transportation, call:
Oregon Farm Bureau - (503) 399-1701 or candace@oregonfb.org
Klamath Water Users Association - (541) 883-6100
Siskiyou County Farm Bureau - (530) 842-2364
Waterworks Ag Support Group - (541) 798-5655
Frontiers of Freedom-People for the USA - (530) 468-2698 or
tmbst@sisqtel.net - Klamath Basin Crisis Information Page on the internet:
http://www.klamathbasincrisis.org
Significant portions of the content of this E-mail where taken from
publications of the above groups.
PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO YOUR ENTIRE LIST