Endangered Species Act Hits Home for Klamath Farm Families

The Klamath Basin, located on the border of California and Oregon, is a community that was created, sustained, and is now being destroyed by the federal government. This destruction is being wrought because of federal policies concerning an appropriately named creature–the suckerfish.

The fish has become the centerpiece of a ferocious debate between farmers and environmental extremists, and is being used to impoverish the region’s human population – leaving one to wonder who the “suckers” really are. Recent events in Klamath Basin are a prime example of federal arrogance and the dangers of regulation dictated by extreme environmental special interests.

This past April, in response to environmentalists’ lawsuits, a federal district judge in San Francisco ruled that irrigation water vital for crops in the basin must be reserved to sustain water levels allegedly needed by suckerfish and coho salmon. In effect, the water was turned off, leaving Klamath farms dry in a year of severe drought. This was necessary to comply with the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which has become notorious for its disregard for private property. As a consequence, 1,400 Klamath farmers are facing financial ruin, suffering millions of dollars in property damage, and witnessing first hand the destruction of their way of life.

Klamath’s problems did not originate with fish. They began with the implementation of a program that, like so many others, was conceived with the best of intentions. When the Federal Bureau of Reclamation authorized the Klamath Project in 1905, it was viewed as a means to put the region on the fast track to development. From 1917 to 1948, homesteaders were lured by the promise of well-irrigated land, and veterans of World War I and World War II took advantage of the opportunity. These settlers entered into a contract with the government, believing this would guarantee them access to water for the duration of their farms’ existence. What they could not have imagined at the time was that their livelihood was a thread precariously woven into unpredictable federal agencies.

The suckerfish debate has revealed to these once-favored farmers the stark reality that federal agencies are completely vulnerable to the manipulation of special interests. It’s also proven to them the value of a promise made by the federal government. In this case, the manipulating was done by extreme environmental special interests that want to shut down Klamath farming using the inflexible, command and control regulations of the Endangered Species Act.

The Fish and Wildlife Service, which enforces the ESA, is only one of many federal agencies that have contributed to the Klamath tragedy. First, the Bureau of Reclamation provided the foundation for the community. Then the Federal Farm Service provided millions of dollars in grain subsidies to the Klamath farmers, contributing to the illusion that they had a sustainable future in agriculture. Still another federal agency – the US Fish and Wildlife Service – then determined that the goals of the first two agencies were detrimental to the local suckerfish population. The Department of Justice (another federal agency) is now involved, sending in marshals to maintain order in the chaotic situation that has been created.

It should come as no surprise, then, that Congress and the Bush administration, have found the issue of Klamath suckerfish on their agendas, or that the community has sought federal disaster relief – with an emphasis on “federal.”

Currently, the farmers of the Klamath Basin are in the midst of a pitched battle with the federal government in an attempt to reclaim the irrigation water crucial to their lives and livelihoods. In recent weeks, these individuals have taken to civil disobedience in an effort to convey their message of hopelessness, and to advocate for a review of the ESA. Now, in response to farmers’ four attempts to open the floodgate that separates the water from their fields, federal marshals have been sent to guard irrigation floodgates at a cost of $4,500 per day. The federal government has recently agreed to allow a trickle of water into the parched region – but it’s too little, too late.

The plight of the Klamath farmers should concern all Americans, as it illustrates the tragedy that is so often associated with government-controlled projects, and regulations that are blind to the needs of average Americans. Hopefully, the federal government can find a graceful means of making amends for the mess they have created. Perhaps they could even give the farmers the compensation and protections guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution? This could be followed by a sensible allocation of water rights with real ownership instead of illusory government promises. In the meantime, Klamath farmers must face their uncertain futures and swallow the fact that they – not the suckerfish – are the endangered species in Klamath Basin.