California drought bites

The farmers are fighting the decision to cut off water

By Maggie Shiels in southern Oregon

A three-month-long struggle by farmers in southern Oregon over water rights has been described as the last stand for rural America.

The battle, which has been watched avidly throughout the nation, has pitched farmers against environmentalists and also the government after the Bureau of Reclamation turned off the water supply to 1,400 farms in order to protect endangered fish.

A record year of drought forced the issue, in what is known as the Klamath Project, to the brink.

"The first issue is that this is the driest year in the history of the Klamath Basin," said the bureau's Jeffrey McCracken.

"They've had the lowest rainfall and snowfall ever. The second issue is that all the water that is available comes under the Endangered Species Act [ESA] and we are required to maintain a certain level in the reservoir for certain endangered species."

Endangered species

The species that are threatened are the coho salmon and the endangered sucker fish, once popular among native Americans.

In simple terms, the conflict has been portrayed as one of "fish versus people".

Gavin Ranjus, a 33-year-old seed potato farmer, describes the action as "unjust and unrighteous" and says: "The ESA is being used to take away our land and our water."

Mr McCracken: Required to maintain a certain water level for endangered species

The bureau's decision to cut off the water has galvanised the farming community in this part of the country and has drawn support from other farmers throughout the United States.

But since April, high-profile protests and acts of civil disobedience have failed to sway the government into allowing the water to flow back to the farms.

Pictures of dried-up riverbeds and fields, which have turned to dust, also did not move an administration that has hardly been regarded as a friend of the environment.

Too little, too late

On 13 July, Interior Secretary Gail Norton refused to accept a petition to reverse the move.

But, in an unexpected change of heart, she has now decided that a limited amount of water should be released, perhaps even as early as this week.

On the face of it, the farmers should be cheering for having achieved such a turnaround.

The decision to release some of the water "is clearly about easing tensions"

But this is far from the case at the camp they have set up opposite the gates at Canal A on the Klamath, where the water was turned off on 7 April.

"This is too little, too late, for many farmers," said Jon Hall, the camp organiser and a member of Farmers Against Regulatory Madness.

"This decision is clearly about easing tensions and scoring political points. The water [to be released] is 20% of what we would normally use at this time of year, and is just bread crumbs off the table after months of nothing," said Mr Hall, as police stood in the background guarding the gates.

Environmentalists angry

The farmers are not alone in their disappointment.

Environmentalists are positively livid.

The Oregon Natural Resources Council has called the government's decision a violation of the Endangered Species Act and warns it is looking at legal action.

Bob Hunter, of Waterwatch, said: "All it does is avoid the problem, deny the problem and perpetuate the problem. I think we need to acknowledge the reality of the situation and address the problems of the basin. The government has over-allocated the resource. We have taken too much water out of the system."

When it comes to sustainability, Kathy Brown is not sure how much longer she can go on.

The fields of her modest 80-acre homestead are parched after months without water, and her 22-head cattle are dwindling as she is forced to sell them off one-by-one to pay for hay, which normally would not be fed to them until the fall.

"Right now my pasture should be as green as green can be," laments the single mother of two teenage daughters. "But it's dark, it's brown and it's nasty."

The months of single-handedly battling the elements have taken a financial toll on Mrs Brown, as they have on many others.

As she helps her daughter, Emily, prepare a steer for market, Mrs Brown says: "My husband started this farm 12 years ago. He passed away three-and-a-half years ago.

"My youngest daughter wants to carry on. This was his dream and she doesn't want to see her daddy's dream die."