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WASHINGTON - The Interior Department's inspector general didn't find political interference by Vice President Dick Cheney on a key environmental policy in part because investigators weren't looking for it, an Interior official said Tuesday. A 2004 report by the inspector general found no basis for a claim by then-Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry that White House political advisers interfered in developing water policy in the Klamath River Basin in California and Oregon. But investigators did not ask about Cheney — and no Interior employee volunteered information about him, said Mary Kendall, deputy Interior inspector general. A former high-ranking Interior official,...

For those interested, and following it, the printed version of, "The Stand at Klamath Falls", is now available online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The subtitle reads, "How rural western farmers stood up against entrenched environmentalists and agencies of the Federal Government...and prevailed." You can find links to the Amazon and Barnes & Noble sites at the main site here: THE STAND AT KLAMATH FALLS I have also made the Adobe eBook version of the book available for free to all Freepers. Just go to the following site and download it direct...no cost, no obligation. FREE EBOOK DOWNLOAD I...

<p>The Federal Bureau of Reclamation announced Wednesday that beleaguered farmers in Klamath Falls, Ore., will be receiving water this year in time for the 2002 planting season, which officially begins next month.</p> <p>Speaking to reporters in Washington, John Keys, the head of the Reclamation Bureau, said the move will not guarantee enough water for the farmers. But if current weather patterns and water levels hold it should be plenty, he said.</p>

Water flows through one of the six new headgates on the A Canal this morning. Contractors opened the headgates today to begin priming the system, meeting a deadline set by the Bureau of Reclamation in order to allow irrigation to begin on schedule in the Klamath Project. Headgates open on schedule published April 1, 2003 By DYLAN DARLING Water began pouring through a new set of headgates on the A Canal today, marking a milestone in a complex construction project and the beginning of an uncertain irrigation season. Also entering service today is a high-tech fish screen to keep...

I was there today in Saginaw, Texas to meet the Klamath Falls convoy to the Sawgrass Rebellion. Rocky (Issaquahking), Bill Ramson and others whom I had come to know last year in Klamath Falls, Oregon were there with the convoy. There was a great parade. I rode with the bucket (from Klamath Bucket Brigade) for a while and the shovel (from Jarbidge Shovel Brigade) for a while, but mostly walked along side engaging the people watching the parade and asking them to come to the fair to hear the speeches or look up the events on the internet (Klamath Falls...

I am very close to finishing my book regarding The Stand at Klamath Falls and the crisis of 2001. Here is the cover art: (Note: In this post I am including the Introduction, the Acknowledgements, and the Epilogue for review and comment.. The book should be completed and to the printers by the 1st of February.) INTRODUCTION It has been almost five years since the memorable and pivotal events surrounding the struggle by farmers in the Klamath Basin of Oregon and California took place. Much has occurred since then that has overshadowed those events…but nothing can erase the importance of...

Klamath River Salmon Protections Ruled Illegal: Federal Court Says Endangered Species Listing Of Klamath Coho Is Bogus Eugene,OR; January 13, 2005: Coho salmon in the Klamath River Basin region have been illegally listed under the Endangered Species Act as a threatened species, a federal judge declared yesterday. Ruling from the bench, Judge Michael Hogan agreed with Pacific Legal Foundation that the federal government violated the ESA when it failed to consider hatchery fish in its assessment of coho in southern Oregon and northern California rivers. ESA protection of coho in the Klamath River was a significant factor in the government’s...

I have created a public register of "bump lists" here on Free Republic. I define a bump list as a name listed in the "To" field used to index articles. Free Republic Bump List Register

Federal water managers will pay farmers in the Klamath Project $4 million to idle farmland and irrigate their crops from wells this summer, leaving water in Upper Klamath Lake for protected fish. Farmers who do not take the offer could still end up short of water in what is becoming a very dry year. The Endangered Species Act requires specific amounts of water to aid endangered lake fish called suckers and threatened coho salmon in the Klamath River. In the dry summer of 2001, such wildlife demands left little water for farmers in the federal Klamath Project, and many watched...

Court ruling offers an iota of hope for Trinity River By John Driscoll The Times-Standard A federal district court judge has relaxed an earlier decision that put the U.S. Department of the Interior on a seriously cramped timeline for finishing a key study needed to put more water down the Trinity River. After an unnerving decision last week to force the completion of the study by Dec. 9, U.S. District Court Judge Oliver Wanger in Fresno extended the timeline to July 9, 2004. The change of heart came Monday, as Wanger heard from the Hoopa Valley Tribe, which is appealing...

WATER WARSSalmon killed by illegal drug activities?Journalist's findings challenge official explanation of cause of death Posted: February 22, 20031:00 a.m. Eastern By Sarah Foster© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com Recently uncovered evidence strongly suggests that the deaths of 33,000 salmon and steelhead trout during last September's fall run within 20 miles of the mouth of the Klamath River in northern California was not due simply to a lack of sufficient water, as claimed by a California state agency and environmentalists, but may have been caused by contamination from illicit drug manufacturing operations near rivers in the area. A second overlooked factor appears to have been...

Trinity County will support Klamath River suit By John Driscoll The Times-Standard Trinity County will join with Humboldt and Del Norte counties and other cities as a friend of the court in a lawsuit being waged against the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation over the bureau's Klamath River operations. The Trinity County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 on Tuesday to support the lawsuit pressed by fishing and environmental groups. The lawsuit claims the bureau's operations violate the Endangered Species Act, and was refiled shortly after 33,000 salmon died on the Klamath River. About half of those fish were bound for the...

Counties hit ruling on Trinity RiverPublished: February 18, 2003 By Laura Brown Triplicate staff writer Del Norte and Humboldt counties are asking Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton to appeal a judge's decision that could pose harm to Trinity and Klamath River fish. "It's a fiasco. These judges are next to God when it comes to making these decisions," said David Finigan, chairman of the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors. In identical letters, the neighboring counties ask Norton to appeal Judge Oliver Wanger's December ruling that fragmented a decision promising to return 47 percent of the Trinity River's flow....

ESA Forum Exposes Keppen's Species' Recovery Plans and Kerr's Lack of FactsThe Bald Eagle Conference had Dan Keppen, executive director of Klamath Water Users Association, Andy Kerr, representing Oregon Natural Resources Council, Bob Davison from Wildlife Management Institute of Bend, and Kristen Berry, regional director of the National Audubon Society, as panel speakers Saturday Feb.15, at Mills Elementary School. Each speaker presented their views to over 70 people regarding the Endangered Species Act, then the panel was asked questions. Davidson and Barry both felt that the endangered species act needed to be strengthened. Davidson also advocated more communication and partnerships...

What caused salmon deaths? The Klamath Basin issue on the California-Oregon border, where water was held back from more than 1,400 farmers and ranchers in 2001, made national news. The water had been shut off when a court ruling based on the Endangered Species Act (ESA) forced farmers and ranchers to do without their irrigation water to protect sucker fish and threatened coho salmon. The water was eventually restored in 2002 after it was determined that the shutoff was unnecessary due to "insufficient scientific data as determined by the National Academy of Science." This region was left in economic chaos...

Lawsuit will seek return of water pumped to Rogue Basin By JEFF BARNARD The Associated Press 1/30/03 7:29 PM GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) -- Environmentalists warned the federal government on Thursday they are going to court to restore water to salmon in the Klamath Basin that is now pumped over the Cascade Range to irrigate valuable pear orchards in the Rogue Valley. The move represents an escalation in the legal battles over sharing water between fish and farms in the Klamath River Basin, with environmentalists sympathetic to Indian tribes and fishing downstream making a new demand for water controlled by...

Last summer,it was farmers at the upper end of the Klamath River basin of Oregon and California who made news. Upset that the subsuduzed water to which their farms had become accustomed was cut back (off) due to drought and for four threatened or endangered fish, they stormed the headgates and turned the water on themselves. The farmers action made national headlines (I didn't notice) and in the end they received roughly 75 percent (?) of the water they'd expect in a normal water year.This year, it's the salmon downriver that are making headlines. But while the farmers ended up...

Clinton talks on the global economy at N.Y.U. Former President Bill Clinton called on an audience of students to prepare for a future when America will no longer be "the biggest dog on the street" at the keynote address Tuesday of a New York University forum on globalization. The current globalized world is not sustainable economically, politically or from a security vantage point, Clinton said at the second annual conference co-sponsored by New York University and the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation. Clinton spoke to an audience of about 450 students and guests. "On Sept. 11, 2001, members of...

Bush administration ready to approve drilling inside national park... Developing...

A California state agency has blamed the federal government for the deaths of 33,000 salmon and steelhead trout in the Klamath River in September because it diverted "too much water for farmers" last year without leaving "enough flow for the fish." According to a Los Angeles Times report Monday, the California Department of Fish and Game, in a 63-page study released Friday concluded that "too many migrating fish crowded into a depleted river, allowing the spread of two naturally occurring parasites that destroy the gills of fish. The salmon and steelhead subsequently died of asphyxiation." The study also warned that...