"Water Gate' is fight for survival

from http://www.siskiyoudaily.com/display/inn_news/news1.txt

Siskiyou Daily News

 

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore - 7/9/01 - Farmer rebellion to federal law by opening the water gates to the Klamath Basin irrigation system could be the signal for "water wars" in the United States, claims California Senator Maurice Johannessen.

Speaking in response to the protest action of a group of farmers who in broad daylight recently opened the gates allowing water into the Tule Lake Irrigation system in violation of a federal court order, Johannessen said "they are being very kind by just doing that. If I were a farmer up there with my whole livelihood being threatened by bad federal laws, I would be doing worse than that."

Johannessen said he would leave it to our imagination as to what additional action he would take but he did emphasize that "it is time to take action."

"Yes I approve of what these farmers are doing," he said. "When government is wrong, it is wrong."

He said this spirit of civil disobedience to oppressive government regulations runs deep within the psyche of the American people. "Our nation was formed when a group of people broke British law."

Assemblyman Dick Dickerson, who has a law enforcement background, said the farmer's actions are not something he encourages but he does fully understand their frustration which would make them do this.

"These people are fighting for their existence and their actions are understandable," Dickerson said. "While I don't approve of breaking the law, I do appreciate what these people are doing."

Johannessen said the action of these farmers in Klamath Falls could very well be the start of water wars. "The bureaucrats better think very carefully before they impact the livelihood of farmers."

"This is a free country and our government better be very careful how they work with people," Johannessen said. "I would hope logic and common sense would play out and the feds take notice of what is going on here."

Dickerson said this protest will not change the water ruling but it will keep this issue highlighted. "This is a political action in which the protesters hope to encourage some positive change."

"You cannot use voodoo science and have a graduate out of Berkeley telling us how to do things," Johannessen said. "If something is proven, then it would be different. This is a biological opinion and not sound science. You must have bona fide science."

Johannessen said he was in the Klamath Basin a few weeks ago and saw truckloads of food arriving for emergency distribution to the farmers. "It made me sick to my stomach to see what our government has done to these people," Johannessen said.

Dickerson said the California Assembly has taken some action to provide immediate relief and find a long term solution to this problem.

"We have provided some immediate financial relief and passed a resolution requesting the convening of the "God Squad,'" Dickerson said. "This resolution is now before the Senate."

"The Pacific Legal Foundation has filed suit on this case and we are getting a University of California peer review of the biological opinion," Dickerson said.

But even with the support of the legislators, Dickerson said an immediate solution to the water crisis will be difficult. "We are hoping to find a long-term solution so this will not happen again."

"If the Endangered Species Act takes away water from farmers in the Klamath Basin, then it can happen anywhere," Dickerson said.

"This is a new front on the continuation of water wars," Dickerson said. "We had a truce for the last six to seven years because we had plenty of water. We have discovered that California is still unprepared."

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