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Bureau officials say decisions made in Basin
Wall Street Journal story denied
published august 7, 2003
By DYLAN DARLING
A story published recently by the Wall Street Journal has sparked new debate about whether water management decisions in the Klamath Basin are being guided by science or politics.
Local officials at the Bureau of Reclamation dismissed the notion that politicians are dictating water policy, but the issue has drawn attention from major newspapers this week, including the Portland Oregonian and the New York Times.
Dave Sa-bo, manager of the Klamath Reclamation Project, said today the decisions of the Bureau are driven by science, not politics. He said no officials outside of the Basin are making decisions.
"The decisions have been made by me," he said. "I've never had any discussions with anyone in the White House or anything else."
He said his decisions are based on biological opinions written by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service for management of Upper Klamath Lake and the Klamath River respectively.
Sabo has been area manager since February of 2002.
A July 30 report by the Wall Street Journal said that Karl Rove, a top political aide for President Bush, came to the Basin in January 2002 to met with U.S. Department of Interior officials. The Interior Department is the parent agency for Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife, and National Marine Fisheries.
Jeff McCracken, spokesman for Reclamation's regional office in Sacramento, said he wasn't aware of Rove's visit to the Klamath Basin.
"I never knew he was there, and if he was I don't know who he met with," he said. "He didn't meet with anybody in our office."
The Wall Street Journal also said Rove made a return visit to Oregon before the start of the 2002 irrigation season. McCracken said he was unaware of this visit as well.
Although the White House has a keen interest in the Basin and even has a cabinet level working group focused on it, McCracken said the Bureau operates the Klamath Project as it does its other projects. The area manager - Sabo - makes the decisions.
"We certainly don't call the White House all the time," McCracken said.
He also said the process used to create the biological opinions were not influenced by politics.
"It was all based on science - it's a biological opinion, not a political opinion," McCracken said.
When the guidelines of the biological opinion for the lake nearly caused the Bureau to shut down irrigation deliveries on June 25, the first person U.S. Rep. Greg Walden called was Rove. He didn't get an answer, though.
Walden said he made the call because Rove is Bush's "right-hand man," and because Bush cares deeply about the Klamath Basin.
He said he also called many other people in Washington, D.C., that day.
"I called everyone who had a phone number that day," Walden said this morning.
Later that day, the Bureau reversed its decision and kept water flowing to farmers after coming to a compromise with the Fish and Wildlife Service about lake levels. Sabo said the compromise was forged by officials working in the Basin.
Walden said he has called Rove for other issues because he is a way to get a message to the president. He said Rove has been with Bush since he was governor of Texas.
Bush's interest in the Basin is represented in the many officials he has sent there, Walden said. He said several cabinet officials, as well as Interior Department Secretary Gale Norton, have been in the Basin to assess the situation.
Reporter Dylan Darling covers natural resources. He can be reached at 885-4471, (800) 275-0982, or by e-mail at ddarling@heraldandnews.com.
published august 7, 2003
By DYLAN DARLING
A story published recently by the Wall Street Journal has sparked new debate about whether water management decisions in the Klamath Basin are being guided by science or politics.
Local officials at the Bureau of Reclamation dismissed the notion that politicians are dictating water policy, but the issue has drawn attention from major newspapers this week, including the Portland Oregonian and the New York Times.
Dave Sa-bo, manager of the Klamath Reclamation Project, said today the decisions of the Bureau are driven by science, not politics. He said no officials outside of the Basin are making decisions.
"The decisions have been made by me," he said. "I've never had any discussions with anyone in the White House or anything else."
He said his decisions are based on biological opinions written by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service for management of Upper Klamath Lake and the Klamath River respectively.
Sabo has been area manager since February of 2002.
A July 30 report by the Wall Street Journal said that Karl Rove, a top political aide for President Bush, came to the Basin in January 2002 to met with U.S. Department of Interior officials. The Interior Department is the parent agency for Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife, and National Marine Fisheries.
Jeff McCracken, spokesman for Reclamation's regional office in Sacramento, said he wasn't aware of Rove's visit to the Klamath Basin.
"I never knew he was there, and if he was I don't know who he met with," he said. "He didn't meet with anybody in our office."
The Wall Street Journal also said Rove made a return visit to Oregon before the start of the 2002 irrigation season. McCracken said he was unaware of this visit as well.
Although the White House has a keen interest in the Basin and even has a cabinet level working group focused on it, McCracken said the Bureau operates the Klamath Project as it does its other projects. The area manager - Sabo - makes the decisions.
"We certainly don't call the White House all the time," McCracken said.
He also said the process used to create the biological opinions were not influenced by politics.
"It was all based on science - it's a biological opinion, not a political opinion," McCracken said.
When the guidelines of the biological opinion for the lake nearly caused the Bureau to shut down irrigation deliveries on June 25, the first person U.S. Rep. Greg Walden called was Rove. He didn't get an answer, though.
Walden said he made the call because Rove is Bush's "right-hand man," and because Bush cares deeply about the Klamath Basin.
He said he also called many other people in Washington, D.C., that day.
"I called everyone who had a phone number that day," Walden said this morning.
Later that day, the Bureau reversed its decision and kept water flowing to farmers after coming to a compromise with the Fish and Wildlife Service about lake levels. Sabo said the compromise was forged by officials working in the Basin.
Walden said he has called Rove for other issues because he is a way to get a message to the president. He said Rove has been with Bush since he was governor of Texas.
Bush's interest in the Basin is represented in the many officials he has sent there, Walden said. He said several cabinet officials, as well as Interior Department Secretary Gale Norton, have been in the Basin to assess the situation.
Reporter Dylan Darling covers natural resources. He can be reached at 885-4471, (800) 275-0982, or by e-mail at ddarling@heraldandnews.com.
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