The Endangered Species Act is many things, but it's not a sponge: Squeezing it won't produce any additional water for the Klamath basin. Yet anger over the act has distracted many people in the Klamath region from the core of the problem, which is that there isn't enough water to go around. Part of the solution could be to reduce the number of claims on the Klamath's overappropriated water supply by buying out irrigators who are willing to sell.
It's easy to see how the Endangered Species Act became the region's scapegoat. The Bureau of Reclamation cited the act when it cut off irrigation water to 200,000 acres in April, when the severity of the drought - the region's worst in 70 years - became apparent. The bureau said it needed to reserve water to protect sucker fish in Klamath Lake and coho salmon in the Klamath River. The bureau's action convinced many that the law places the well-being of fish above the well-being of farmers, and that it should be changed to give irrigators the water they need for their crops.
But this isn't just a case of farmers vs. fish; it's people vs. people. The Klamath Lake suckers are prized by Indian tribes that can claim a treaty right to a traditional fishery. And the Klamath River used to sustain a valuable salmon fishery upon which coastal communities in Oregon and northern California once depended - a fishery that might recover if its remnant populations survive the drought. Klamath basin farmers' livelihoods are no more important than those of other people who rely on the Klamath watershed.
Nor are a few types of fish the only species that would be affected by turning the Klamath basin into an irrigation pond. Three-quarters of the migratory birds in the Pacific Flyway pass through the Klamath region; bird populations from Canada to South America need water in the lake and its marshes. The biggest population of bald eagles in the continental United States lives on the shores of Klamath Lake, and cannot thrive if the marshes and lake bed go dry.
The current drought brought the Klamath basin's conflict over water into sharp relief, but water in the region is over-allocated even in near-normal years. The House of Representatives has approved $20 million in emergency assistance for the 1,000 farmers affected by the irrigation cutoff. The amount falls short of what's needed, and further assistance is sure to be required in future years. The overallocation of water means aid will be needed periodically.
One long-term solution is to reduce the number of claims on Klamath basin water. Two dozen conservation groups have formed a coalition to promote the idea of public buyouts of farmers in the region. Such buyouts would permanently reduce the demand for irrigation water. Farmers owning about 30,000 acres have told the coalition they would agree to sell their land at a fair price. Given the poor markets for potatoes and some of the other crops grown in the Klamath basin, buyout offers could be expected to find many takers.
Buyouts have ample precedent - currently, for instance, the federal government is attempting to preserve the Pacific groundfish fishery by buying out fishermen and their boats. It's only fair that Klamath basin farmers, many of whom were attracted to the region by the federal government's promises of abundant irrigation water, be offered a buyout now that the promise can no longer be kept.
Buyouts wouldn't solve all of the Klamath basin's water problems, but reducing the number of claims on an overtaxed resource can be an important part of the solution.
Original source document: http://www.registerguard.com/news/20010701/ed.edit.klamath.0701.html
Copyright 2001 The Register-Guard