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Commissioners OK Barnes Ranch with conditions
County letter of support wins 2-1 vote
Published March 12, 2003
By JENNIFER BATES
On the third try, the American Land Conservancy received support from a divided board of Klamath County commissioners for the Barnes Ranch project.
The conservation group wants to buy the 2,785-acre Barnes Ranch in the Upper Klamath Basin and sell it to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for habitat restoration and water storage.
The commissioners voted 2-1 Tuesday to give a letter of support for the project, with conditions.
The conditions include:
The ranch remains in private ownership.
It gets no tax breaks.
Any water storage be credited to Klamath Irrigation Project water bank or used for Klamath irrigation.
"I want to get the monkey off the backs of farmers," Commissioner Steve West said.
Commissioner John Elliott voted against the support, saying he was skeptical about the success of shallow-water storage, especially if the federal government owns the land.
West and Commissioner Al Switzer said they shared the skepticism, but with another dry year looming, they choose to support the Barnes Ranch project as a way to remain focused on a solution.
West called the Barnes Ranch an opportunity for irrigators hemmed in by the Endangered Species Act. The only way out for farmers is to restore endangered species populations, he said.
The letter of support was drafted by West and will be sent to Oregon's U.S. senators, Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith, U.S. Rep. Greg Waldon, and Secretary of Interior Gale Norton. It contained a brief paragraph of support for the project, but listed the conditions.
Rich McIntyre of the American Land Conservancy had asked the commissioners for a tax break. Because the conservancy intended to sell the land to the federal government, a tax penalty would be attached to the land for being taken out of agricultural use. The penalty totaled $283,122.
McIntyre said time was running out of time, and more support was needed or federal appropriations to help purchase the ranch could be lost.
"Timing is critical. Federal appropriations must be filed in ten days," he said Tuesday.
McIntyre hoped this time to address the concerns the commissioners had expressed in the two previous meetings.
"The ALC does not care who owns the property. As for the taxes, if the land is privately owned, there is no tax issue. If the federal government owns the land, then the taxes must and will be paid," he said.
He told the board he receive a phone call and follow-up letter of support from Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski just before the meeting.
In a second water issue, the board voted unanimously to file a friend of the court brief supporting the Klamath Water Users in U.S. District Court in the case of Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman's Association and other downstream interests on the Klamath River against the Bureau of Reclamation.
The commissioners said that if the court chooses in this case to impose a certain level of Klamath river flows, water deliveries to the Klamath Project would be threatened, which would severely impact local agriculture and businesses.
The Klamath board of commissioners meets 9 a.m. every Tuesday at the Klamath County Government Building, 305 Main St., Room 219. The meeting can be viewed live in Klamath Falls on cable channel 3. The meeting is rebroadcast 7 p.m. the following day. For more information call the Klamath County Commissioners office 883-5100.
Published March 12, 2003
By JENNIFER BATES
On the third try, the American Land Conservancy received support from a divided board of Klamath County commissioners for the Barnes Ranch project.
The conservation group wants to buy the 2,785-acre Barnes Ranch in the Upper Klamath Basin and sell it to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for habitat restoration and water storage.
The commissioners voted 2-1 Tuesday to give a letter of support for the project, with conditions.
The conditions include:
"I want to get the monkey off the backs of farmers," Commissioner Steve West said.
Commissioner John Elliott voted against the support, saying he was skeptical about the success of shallow-water storage, especially if the federal government owns the land.
West and Commissioner Al Switzer said they shared the skepticism, but with another dry year looming, they choose to support the Barnes Ranch project as a way to remain focused on a solution.
West called the Barnes Ranch an opportunity for irrigators hemmed in by the Endangered Species Act. The only way out for farmers is to restore endangered species populations, he said.
The letter of support was drafted by West and will be sent to Oregon's U.S. senators, Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith, U.S. Rep. Greg Waldon, and Secretary of Interior Gale Norton. It contained a brief paragraph of support for the project, but listed the conditions.
Rich McIntyre of the American Land Conservancy had asked the commissioners for a tax break. Because the conservancy intended to sell the land to the federal government, a tax penalty would be attached to the land for being taken out of agricultural use. The penalty totaled $283,122.
McIntyre said time was running out of time, and more support was needed or federal appropriations to help purchase the ranch could be lost.
"Timing is critical. Federal appropriations must be filed in ten days," he said Tuesday.
McIntyre hoped this time to address the concerns the commissioners had expressed in the two previous meetings.
"The ALC does not care who owns the property. As for the taxes, if the land is privately owned, there is no tax issue. If the federal government owns the land, then the taxes must and will be paid," he said.
He told the board he receive a phone call and follow-up letter of support from Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski just before the meeting.
In a second water issue, the board voted unanimously to file a friend of the court brief supporting the Klamath Water Users in U.S. District Court in the case of Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman's Association and other downstream interests on the Klamath River against the Bureau of Reclamation.
The commissioners said that if the court chooses in this case to impose a certain level of Klamath river flows, water deliveries to the Klamath Project would be threatened, which would severely impact local agriculture and businesses.
The Klamath board of commissioners meets 9 a.m. every Tuesday at the Klamath County Government Building, 305 Main St., Room 219. The meeting can be viewed live in Klamath Falls on cable channel 3. The meeting is rebroadcast 7 p.m. the following day. For more information call the Klamath County Commissioners office 883-5100.
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