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The H&N view
U.S. water bank tops ONRC's buyout idea
Published March 12, 2003
When it comes to decreasing water demand in the Klamath Basin, the water bank established by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is a better approach than the government buyout proposed by the Oregon Natural Resources Council.
The ONRC sent a letter to farmers in the Klamath Reclamation Project last week urging them to support proposals to buy out either farm land or water rights. Either way decreases the demand, but also takes local land - or water - out of private hands.
There are farmers who want to sell, and it's hard to blame them. The uncertainty of water deliveries in recent years has made farming difficult at best, and reduced the value of the land. It also makes it tougher to find a buyer. In some cases, farmers have been beaten down by the war conducted by such as the ONRC against farming in the Basin.
But we still don't think it's in the best interest of the Basin to increase federal land holdings in the Basin, which a federal buyout would do. Once private land goes into federal hands, it's never going to be private land again. It reduces the Basin's potential as a marketing power, and it erodes support for agriculture-related businesses that are important here.
The water bank put together by the Bureau of Reclamation won't solve the water shortage, either, but it's a valuable piece of the puzzle and it's showing signs of success.
The bureau wants to pay farmers not to farm on about 12,000 acres of project land, which would make available about 33,000 acre-feet for other purposes. It's primarily aimed at meeting stream-flow requirements for endangered fish species on the Klamath River.
In addition, the bureau wants to pay farmers to substitute groundwater for the normal irrigation water, which could save another 25,000 of acre-feet.
The goal is for the water bank to save about 50,000 acre feet this year, and that would increase to 75,000 next year and 100,000 the year after.
This isn't an either-or situation - the water bank and federal buyouts could coexist. But it's too early for that to happen. Give the water bank a chance to work before increasing federal ownership of local lands.
The "H&N view" represents the opinion of the newspaper's editorial board, which consists of Publisher John Walker, Editor Tim Fought, City Editor Todd Kepple and Opinion Editor Pat Bushey.
Published March 12, 2003
When it comes to decreasing water demand in the Klamath Basin, the water bank established by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is a better approach than the government buyout proposed by the Oregon Natural Resources Council.
The ONRC sent a letter to farmers in the Klamath Reclamation Project last week urging them to support proposals to buy out either farm land or water rights. Either way decreases the demand, but also takes local land - or water - out of private hands.
There are farmers who want to sell, and it's hard to blame them. The uncertainty of water deliveries in recent years has made farming difficult at best, and reduced the value of the land. It also makes it tougher to find a buyer. In some cases, farmers have been beaten down by the war conducted by such as the ONRC against farming in the Basin.
But we still don't think it's in the best interest of the Basin to increase federal land holdings in the Basin, which a federal buyout would do. Once private land goes into federal hands, it's never going to be private land again. It reduces the Basin's potential as a marketing power, and it erodes support for agriculture-related businesses that are important here.
The water bank put together by the Bureau of Reclamation won't solve the water shortage, either, but it's a valuable piece of the puzzle and it's showing signs of success.
The bureau wants to pay farmers not to farm on about 12,000 acres of project land, which would make available about 33,000 acre-feet for other purposes. It's primarily aimed at meeting stream-flow requirements for endangered fish species on the Klamath River.
In addition, the bureau wants to pay farmers to substitute groundwater for the normal irrigation water, which could save another 25,000 of acre-feet.
The goal is for the water bank to save about 50,000 acre feet this year, and that would increase to 75,000 next year and 100,000 the year after.
This isn't an either-or situation - the water bank and federal buyouts could coexist. But it's too early for that to happen. Give the water bank a chance to work before increasing federal ownership of local lands.
The "H&N view" represents the opinion of the newspaper's editorial board, which consists of Publisher John Walker, Editor Tim Fought, City Editor Todd Kepple and Opinion Editor Pat Bushey.
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