Posted on 10/06/2002 9:14:52 AM PDT by madfly
The cross-country convoy by the Klamath Bucket Brigade of Klamath Falls, Ore., and the Jarbidge Shovel Brigade of Elko, Nev., is meant to rally support for the cause the groups share with Florida farmers: property rights. All three groups say the government is trampling their rights in order to protect endangered species. "We want to spread the message about how property rights are being assaulted all across the U.S. -- how the Endangered Species Act is being used by environmentalists and government groups to run people off their land," Bill Ransom, a third-generation rancher and logger from Klamath Falls, said during a stop Tuesday in Reno. The groups left Oregon on Saturday for the 3,000-mile, 22-day drive to Homestead, Fla., towing the 13-foot silver bucket and 30-foot green-and-yellow shovel behind. The two brigades hope to raise money for Florida farmers who oppose raising water levels that they say will flood their fields to help an endangered sparrow in the Everglades -- an effort environmentalists have worked for years to support. Oregon's Klamath Basin farmers have been in conflict with the federal government since it cut off irrigation water to benefit salmon and other fish 14 months ago. Last summer, farmers desperate for water confronted federal marshals, pried open irrigation gates and formed a bucket brigade to dump water into irrigation ditches.
Klamath Bucket Brigade: http://www.klamathrelief.org Jarbidge Shovel Brigade: http://www.jarbidgeshovelbrigade.com National Audubon Society: http://www.audubon.org Sawgrass Rebellion: http://www.sawgrassrebellion.org A new U.S. Bureau of Reclamation strategy redirected water from salmon to farmers at the upper end of the river. But environmentalists and tribal groups blamed the policy for the deaths of at least 12,000 adult salmon. Officials said last week that they would redirect more water to the salmon without curtailing water deliveries to farmers nearing the end of their season. In Nevada, just south of the Idaho border, the Shovel Brigade has been battling the Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for five years over the agencies' refusal to rebuild a washed-out road along a stream that is home to the threatened bull trout. The group's symbolic shovel illustrates their determination to rebuild the road with hand tools if necessary. Meanwhile, farmers in Florida's Miami-Dade County have organized a "Sawgrass Rebellion" against the planned Everglades flooding, named for the preferred nesting ground of the endangered Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow. They say the flooding is unnecessary to save the sparrow and would destroy their private farms of citrus fruit, avocados, mangoes, winter tomatoes and other crops. But environmentalists say opponents of the Everglades project are part of a small minority, many of them extremists. They said the government intends to buy out any farms that would be flooded. "We've pulled together a strong coalition of agricultural interests, water supply interests, conservation interests and national park interests to get this Everglades restoration plan through Congress and get it kick started," said Mark Kraus, deputy director of the National Audubon Society's Florida office. "We really have a very mainstream project here with broad support. ... The Sawgrass Rebellion is one of those groups that aren't willing to work within the compromise system we are using to get the Everglades restored." A core group of about a dozen people from the two brigades are making the entire journey to Florida, with other activists joining and dropping off along the route that will pass through Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, before ending with a Florida rally Oct. 19. "The miners, loggers, farmers and ranchers are making a united front," said Rocky Dippel of Mesquite, Nev., who said he's been at odds with the government since his mining claims were pulled in Alaska 20 years ago. </MCC STORY>
RENO, Nev -- Western ranchers and farmers who have clashed with the government over fish protection are leading a new call to arms, heading to Florida with a giant shovel and bucket in tow.
"When you put a fly or a small animal above a human life and human good, there is something wrong with that," Ransom said.
On the Net:
Copyright 2001, Dodge City Daily Globe. All rights reserved. This document may be distributed electronically, provided it is distributed in its entirety and includes this notice. However, it cannot be reprinted without the express written permission of the Dodge City Daily Globe.
Questions? Comments. Contact us.
Last time around it was "anti-government". The Audobon's have resorted to childish name calling tactics. That's generally what those who have no basis in reality do.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.