Save 1400 Farmers From ESA Taking - You'll Be Next

[YellowSub1962]

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

[YellowSub1962]

<font color="yellow">here's an article on the subject...</font c> http://www.mywebpal.com/mywebpal_cfm...sID=95382&on=0

Herger: Reform Endangered Species Act

05/03/01
By John Bragg
Email this story to a friend

Rep. Wally Herger, R-Calif., called Wednesday for reform of the Endangered Species Act, pointing to the Klamath Basin as the “poster child” of the anti-ESA movement.
“Farmers are being told, simply, that there is zero water for farming this year,” Herger said in a speech on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. “It is an unspeakable tragedy and an appalling example of the power of the Endangered Species Act,” Herger said.
“Once an animal or fish species is ‘listed’ its needs come first — before the rights and livelihoods of the American people.”
Herger called for “a fundamental change” in the “extreme ESA.”
Herger joined Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., in decrying the interruption of farming. On April 6, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced no water would be available for farming on roughly 200,000 acres of the Klamath Reclamation Project in order to protect threatened coho salmon in the lower Klamath River and endangered Lost River suckers and shortnose suckers that live in Upper Klamath Lake.
With the onset of a severe drought, federal officials charged with protecting the fish have determined that all of the available water must be used to protect the endangered species.
Government officials estimate that there will be insufficient water for irrigation in six out of every 10 years in the future.

[YellowSub1962]

<font color="yellow">Details on the schedule for the bucket brigade</font c>


All:

Latest version of Schedule. *Subject to change, but this will be pretty close. *Will keep you updated.

***********Ric Costales, Chairman, National Policy Board
***********Frontiers of Freedom-People for the USA


Klamath Basin Bucket Brigade--Monday, May 7th

Rally time has been adjusted to begin slightly earlier because of "live television feeds" request to have buckets dipped precisely at 12:30. Police are anticipating crowd at Veteran¹s Memorial Park to be 8,000-10,000. *Speakers are asked to be at Veteran¹s Park at 10:45 am if possible. Check in at Speaker sign (on flat bed pickup at entrance to park)
**If transportation to and from the event is required, please contact Mike Byrne (530) 667.5531 (work), and (530) 667.5268 (home) or Bob Gasser (541)798.5655 (work) or (541)891.9113

For the afternoon rally at Modoc Field following the finish of the Bucket Brigade, speakers are asked to assemble at 1:50 pm at the rear of the stage area. Estimated crowd is 10,000. *Bus transportation or previously arranged private vehicle transportation will be available for all dignitaries as needed.

Early Program:

10:45 am: supportive organizations roll call: Patsy Gasser, Diane Mathis, Judy Brosterhous


Mike Byrne- Introductions
(Speaker¹s Time Limits‹2-3 minutes)


11:00 am: *National President of the Grange‹Bob Clouse
***Barry Clausen
*******Ric Costales‹Frontiers of Freedom
*******Representative Betsy Close-Chairman of Water & Environment Comm.
Oregon State Senator Steve Harper
*******California Assemblyman Dick Dickerson
*******California Assemblyman Sam Aanestad
*******Representative Bill Garrard
*******Representative Tom Butler
*******Representative Jeff Kropf
*******OR Speaker of the House Marc Simmons
*******Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries Jack Roberts
*******


Klamath Basin Bucket Brigade

11:45 am: Color Guard
11:50 am: National Anthem
11:53 am: Pledge of Allegiance


11:55 am: Invocation by Pastor Joyce Fogle

Speaker¹s Time Limits: 2-3 minutes

11:57 am: Chairman Bob Smith introduces Senator Gordon Smith, Congressman Walden, & Congressman Herger (2 minutes total introduction)


11:59 am: Senator Gordon Smith

12:02 pm: Congressman Greg Walden

12:05 pm: Congressman Wally Herger

(At this point Chairman Smith and above speakers move to bucket area)

(Self introductions for local speakers)

12:08 pm: John Crawford‹Klamath Water Users Association/Family Farmer


12:12 pm: Venancio Hernandez & Vitalina Hernandez Malakar‹
***********Hispanic Community Representatives/farmer & teacher
*************(speeches in both English & Spanish)
***
12:19 pm: Hollis Baley‹descendant of Czech settlers/ representing Klamath Basin Youth

12:22 pm: Darla Parks‹descendant of Czech settlers/ teacher/farm wife and mother

12:25 pm: Marion Palmer‹WWII Veteran/ Homesteader/Farmer

( Marion Palmer introduces Prosser Family)

12:30 pm: Bucket Brigade Begins: Prosser family dips first bucket and passes it to all dignitaries in pre-assigned order; After first 5-10 buckets, dignitaries may relinquish their space in line and move about the crowd or board the dignitary bus for a ride to the "A" canal and Modoc Field for afternoon rally. *Food & beverages will be provided on the bus.

12:45 pm: Rally participants begin to march down main street behind last bucket.
1:45 pm: End bucket brigade/ congregate @ Modoc Field

Modoc Field Program

1:50 pm: Invited speakers need to gather at speaker stage on Modoc Field
2:00 pm: Chairman Bob Smith‹Master of Ceremonies
opens program/ introduces all speakers

(speaking time limited to 3-4 minutes due to large number of speakers)

*Congressman Greg Walden

*California Senator Rico Oller *represented by Special Assistant Dan Dellinger
*California Senator Maurice Johannessen represented by Julie Clausen

*Lynn Cornwell‹President National Cattlemen¹s Assoc.
***Bob Skinner-Pres. Oregon Cattlemen¹s Assoc.
***** ***John Hayes-Past President Oregon Cattlemen¹s Assoc.


***Todd Swickard-Vice Pres. California Cattlemen¹s Assoc.

* Bob McLandress‹California Waterfowl Association President

* *Barry Bushue.‹Oregon Farm Bureau President
* *Douglas Mosebar‹California Farm Bureau First Vice President

** **Steve West
*****John Elliot‹Klamath County Commissioners


******Al Switzer

* Phil Ward- Oregon Dept. of Agriculture represented by Brent Searle, special assistant

* Joan Smith-Siskiyou County Supervisor
**Bill Hoy‹Chairman Siskiyou Co. Board of Supervisors

* Nancy Huffman‹Modoc County Supervisor

* Mike Byrne‹Cattleman, descendant of early settlers