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<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=kep@cvcwireless.net href="mailto:kep@cvcwireless.net">Dan Keppen</A>
</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=kep@cvcwireless.net
href="mailto:kep@cvcwireless.net">'Dan Keppen'</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, May 16, 2006 7:54 AM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Stop finger-pointing on the Klamath Basin </DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV class=Section1>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-TOP: 6.75pt"><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">In today’s “Commentary” section of
the <I><SPAN style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Portland Oregonian</SPAN></I> .
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-TOP: 6.75pt"><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-TOP: 6.75pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><IMG id=_x0000_i1025 height=34
src="cid:013601c67915$93099270$2a28a8c0@trinitycounty.org"
width=179><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-TOP: 6.75pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN
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<H1 style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt"><B><FONT face=Arial color=#d20000 size=4><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 13.5pt; COLOR: #d20000; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">IN MY OPINION -
THE COASTAL FISHERY CRISIS<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H1>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Stop
finger-pointing on the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Klamath</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Basin</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> </SPAN></FONT></B><FONT face=Arial
size=1><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 8.5pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Tuesday, May 16, 2006
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">GREG ADDINGTON AND
DAN KEPPEN <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">George Gibbs, traveling through
<st1:place w:st="on">Northern California</st1:place> in 1851, was struck by
conditions at the confluence of the Klamath and Trinity rivers.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The
Trinity, wrote Gibbs, "is in size about half that of the Klamath, and its
waters, likewise rapid, are of transcendent purity; contrasting with those of
the latter stream which never lost the taint of their origin."
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The
origin of the Klamath River is warm, shallow <st1:place w:st="on">Upper Klamath
Lake</st1:place>, which feeds the federal Klamath Irrigation Project. More than
150 years after Gibbs' visit, the <st1:place w:st="on">Klamath River</st1:place>
and the irrigation project are now in the sights of the national media and
environmental activists. Every week, we read claims that the river and the
coastal salmon fishery are being destroyed by the project, a convenient source
of blame for all that is apparently tainted in the Klamath ecosystem.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">What
we don't see in the papers is the fact that, over the past four years, between
40,000 and 100,000 acre-feet of water originally developed for agriculture has
instead been bought by the federal government and dedicated annually to an
environmental water bank to "protect" fish. In 2005, nearly 30 percent of the
water traditionally used in an average water year by the Klamath Project and
wildlife refuges was reallocated in this manner. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Further, even though the Klamath
Project is one of the most water-use efficient reclamation operations in the
country, more than 800 growers have applied for 2002 Farm Bill funding to
implement cost-share projects that conserve water. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">These actions are laudable. However,
one has to remember that there is only so much water that can be squeezed from
an area that is just 2 percent of the watershed and uses only 3 percent to 4
percent of <st1:place w:st="on">Klamath River</st1:place> flows in an average
year. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Despite these efforts, irrigators are
now being blamed in the media by environmental activists for a looming crisis on
the coast. This spring, commercial salmon fishing has been closed along 700
miles of Pacific shoreline, which federal regulators believe will prevent "take"
of <st1:place w:st="on">Klamath River</st1:place> salmon. This very complicated
issue is deftly and simply portrayed by faraway activists as " fishermen vs.
farmers." <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Once
again, they've got it wrong. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Recently, a group of irrigator
representatives traveled to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Coos</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Bay</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> and met with more than 50 coastal
fishermen and political leaders. It was somewhat of a revelation that not a
single fisherman at the meeting pointed to the Klamath Project as the cause for
the fishery closure. Instead, they offered up other explanations, including:
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 54pt; TEXT-INDENT: -18pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><![if !supportLists]><FONT
face=Symbol size=1><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol"><SPAN
style="mso-list: Ignore">·<FONT face="Times New Roman" size=1><SPAN
style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></FONT><![endif]><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Insufficient hatchery production and
failure to count hatchery fish. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 54pt; TEXT-INDENT: -18pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><![if !supportLists]><FONT
face=Symbol size=1><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol"><SPAN
style="mso-list: Ignore">·<FONT face="Times New Roman" size=1><SPAN
style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></FONT><![endif]><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Disjointed stock management by state
and federal agencies. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 54pt; TEXT-INDENT: -18pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><![if !supportLists]><FONT
face=Symbol size=1><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol"><SPAN
style="mso-list: Ignore">·<FONT face="Times New Roman" size=1><SPAN
style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></FONT><![endif]><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Sea lion predation.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 54pt; TEXT-INDENT: -18pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"><![if !supportLists]><FONT
face=Symbol size=1><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol"><SPAN
style="mso-list: Ignore">·<FONT face="Times New Roman" size=1><SPAN
style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></FONT><![endif]><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Unfavorable ocean conditions and
several years of drought. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">The
meeting ended in mutual pledges by the irrigators and the fishermen to work
together. As a first step, the Klamath Relief Fund -- created to assist
distressed farmers in 2001 -- has been re-activated by the Klamath farming
community. This time, the money raised will be used to help fishermen and their
families. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">We're tired of the Klamath
finger-pointing. Instead, we want to extend a helping hand.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><I><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Greg Addington is
executive director of the Klamath Water Users Association. Dan Keppen is former
executive director of the association and is now executive director of the
Family Farm <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Alliance</st1:City></st1:place>. They both live near <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Klamath Falls</st1:City></st1:place>. You can
donate to the Klamath Relief Fund for Commercial Fishermen at <st1:address
w:st="on"><st1:Street w:st="on">P.O. Box 5252</st1:Street>, <st1:City
w:st="on">Klamath Falls</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">OR</st1:State>
<st1:PostalCode w:st="on">97601</st1:PostalCode></st1:address>.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Dan
Keppen<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV></BODY></HTML>