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American Morning

Water Crisis in Oregon

Aired August 23, 2001 - 11:32   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
STEPHEN FRAZIER, CNN ANCHOR: Some farmers in Oregon are venting their anger at the Federal government today. At the center of the dispute: Several endangered species of fish. Federal officials early today shut down half a dozen irrigation headgates at Klamath Falls to hold back water for the fish. But now, the farmers say their crops may not survive.

More on the story now from CNN's Gina London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GINA LONDON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Rod Blackman's family has farmed the Klamath Basin for 81 years, but he says this year could be the last.

ROD BLACKMAN, FARMER: Right now, it should be about four or five feet high and so thick you can't walk through it. That's what it would look like if it had water. This is what it looks like without water.

LONDON: The Federal government encouraged farmers to settle this arid land nearly 100 years ago with promises of irrigation, some water from Upper Klamath Lake diverted for crops and livestock. But now, in this record level drought season, the water flow is needed to protect three species of endangered fish.

JIM BRYANT, U.S. BUREAU OF RECLAMATION: We have to maintain the water flow downstream, and we have to maintain a lake elevation. When you pull out the amount that went for agriculture, we feel that we will be able to do that.

Unfortunately, the farmers are squeezed in the middle.

LONDON: Farmers are camped at the lake in protest, saying the promise to them is being broken.

BOB KING, FARMER: The water is ours. We got documentation the water is our, and the government has taken it away from us.

LONDON: But it's not as simple as farmers versus fish. Conservationists say the entire ecosystem is at stake.

BOB HUNTER, CONSERVATIONIST: We've taken more water out of the system than the environment can sustain, and as a result, we have degraded habitat and a lake that's near collapse, a river that's very unhealthy. If we want healthy rivers, and healthy lakes, and want to maintain species on this planet, we're going to have to really address those problems.

LONDON (on camera): Back here at the farmers' encampment at the lake, there are some solutions that are being tossed about. One, the government pays the farmers to get through the crisis, and then develop a long-term solution that will balance the needs of the people, the wildlife and the land.

Gina London, CNN, Klamath Falls, Oregon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRAZIER: This debate over water rights is certainly stirring passions, as for a long time now.

Joining us from Klamath Falls are two people with very different views of the issues: Rancher Mike Byrne, who opposes this water shutoff; and Bob Hunter, an attorney for Water Watch, which supports the shutoff, and whom we saw earlier in Gina London's report.

Mr. Hunter, you first. You said that the whole ecosystem is damaged. How does pulling water out of it damage it?

BOB HUNTER, ATTY., WATER WATCH: Well, what we've done over the last 100 years is we've taken so much water out of this system, and the water we've returned is of such poor water quality that it's created very unhealthy condition in Klamath Lake and the Klamath River, to such an extent that we now have endangered species, Coho Salmon in the river and two unique species of sucker fish in Klamath Lake.

FRAZIER: And so what that has done is led to an Endangered Species Act shutoff, is that the legal underpinning for this?

HUNTER: Well, it's the combination of providing survival flows for fish and wildlife, at the same time we have one of the most severe droughts of record in the basin. There's just not enough water to go around. We've simply overpromised and overcommitted the resource.

FRAZIER: And Mr. Byrne would argue that he's an endangered species, in a sense. Mr. Byrne, what are you farming there, what are you growing?

MIKE BYRNE, RANCHER: I am a cattle rancher. I grow alfalfa and grain beside cattle.

FRAZIER: And, alfalfa and grain, they don't sound too water intensive. They're not like broccoli or asparagus or something.

BYRNE: Well, they use their share of water. but we use it very, very -- this is one of the most efficient irrigation systems in the world, because all of our water is reused several times and it ends up in the refuge where the wildlife uses it.

FRAZIER: Well, do you have enough now with the plan that's in force right now?

BYRNE: No, not this year. We didn't have enough. We got maybe 10 percent or 15 percent of our normal allotment.

What's really bad about what's happened was that it not only shut off agriculture, but it shut off wildlife. We don't have any seagulls in this area, normally we have millions of seagulls. We've just began to get mosquitoes. The whole ecosystem has been changed because of this shut off, so I sort of disagree with Mr. Hunter, because this whole agricultural area is wildlife habitat, and this three species taking the place of the 400 species that have been impacted, is a disaster.

FRAZIER: Because you are talking about water that assembles in like potholes on the farmland and becomes a haven for migratory birds? That sort of thing?

BYRNE: Yes, sir. The wildlife, the deer, the antelope, the frogs, the minnows, the ditches are dry. There's -- everything has changed this year. The movement of the wildlife is completely different. The birds are landing in places they've never been, as I already stated. The seagulls didn't even show up. We are really concerned that the migratory water fowl won't even stay here, they're going to fly onto southern California or central California right away.

We're trying to put grain programs in place to feed them. The California Water Fowl Association is in agreement with us, that this biological opinion was a disaster and it's not good for the big picture, let alone the small picture.

FRAZIER: Well, let's do the big picture. Mr. Hunter, you were quoted in Gina's story about talking of long-range solutions. Now, Mr. Byrne would like to keep acting as he has as a farmer. So, what would you see is a solution?

HUNTER: Well, I think, in terms of the long-term solutions, we really need to restore a balance to the basin, which means reducing demand. I think we can give financial assistance to farmers by buying out those who want to sell out. That would give security to those who want to stay in business, it would be a large step in terms of reducing the overall demand and bringing things back into balance.

We also need to restore a lot of wetlands habitat and improve water quality in order to improve conditions in the basin.

FRAZIER: Well, with that, I'm afraid we're going to have to make it the last word. Thanks for looking forward to some solutions, and thank you both for joining us. Rancher Mike Byrne and Bob Hunter, an attorney for Water Watch.

HUNTER: Thank you.

BYRNE: Thank you.

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