<html><head></head><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:garamond, new york, times, serif;font-size:16px"><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_62952" dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.opb.org/news/article/klamath-farmers-look-for-compensation-for-past-irrigation-cuts-/" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63121" class="">http://www.opb.org/news/article/klamath-farmers-look-for-compensation-for-past-irrigation-cuts-/</a><br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63130"><br></div><div><br></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; font-size: 13px; width: 960px; max-width: 60rem;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63024"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0.9375rem; width: 960px; float: left; position: relative;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63025"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; margin: 0px 0; padding: 0px; width: auto; max-width: none;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63026"><header style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 20px 0.9375rem 0px; width: 960px; float: left; position: relative;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63027"><h1 style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; font-size: 42px; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: 100; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); text-rendering: optimizelegibility; line-height: 1.2em;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63028">Klamath Farmers Look For Compensation For 16-Year-Old Irrigation Cuts </h1><div style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-size: 14px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 0.9em; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; color: rgb(61, 61, 61);" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63029">by <a href="http://www.opb.org/contributor/jes-burns/" rel="author" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; color: rgb(61, 61, 61); text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63030"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: inherit;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63031">Jes Burns</strong></a> <a style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 1px solid rgb(5, 110, 153); margin-bottom: 1.25rem; padding: 2px 5px; font-size: 0.8em; color: rgb(5, 110, 153); text-decoration: none; line-height: normal; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; position: relative; text-align: center; -webkit-appearance: none; border-top-left-radius: 10px; border-top-right-radius: 10px; border-bottom-right-radius: 10px; border-bottom-left-radius: 10px; display: inline-block; background-color: white; -webkit-transition: background-color 300ms ease-out; transition: background-color 300ms ease-out;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63032" href="">Follow</a> <span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 11px; color: rgb(185, 185, 185);" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63033">OPB/EarthFix | Jan. 30, 2017 6:15 p.m. | Updated: Jan. 30, 2017 8:15 p.m. | Ashland, Oregon</span></div><hr style="box-sizing: border-box; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(234, 234, 234) rgb(221, 221, 221) rgb(221, 221, 221); margin: 25px 0px; padding: 0px; clear: both; min-height: 0px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63034"></header></div></div></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px; font-size: 13px; width: 960px; max-width: 60rem;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63035"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px; width: 628.796875px; float: left; position: relative;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63036"><article style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; font-size: 18px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 1.5em;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63037"><div style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; margin: 0px 15px 15px 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: rgb(234, 234, 234); width: 300px; position: relative; float: left !important; max-width: 100% !important;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63038"><a style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; color: rgb(0, 140, 186); text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63039" href=""></a><div style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; margin: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; font-size: 13px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5em; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; color: rgb(63, 63, 63);" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63041">Water shortages in the Klamath Basin have caused tensions for decades.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; margin-top: -10px; margin-right: 10px; margin-left: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; font-size: 11px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5em; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; color: rgb(137, 137, 137);" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63042">Jes Burns, OPB/EarthFix</div></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; line-height: 1.5em; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63043">Irrigators from Southern Oregon and Northern California are in federal court this week. They’re arguing the U.S. government owes them millions of dollars in compensation for water shut-offs 16 years ago.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; line-height: 1.5em; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63044">A major drought in 2001 made water in the Klamath Basin scarce. Federal regulators cut off irrigation to hundreds of farms to ensure there was enough water in the rivers for endangered salmon and other fish. </div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; line-height: 1.5em; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63045">The farmers say the irrigation water is property that was taken without compensation. This is prohibited by Constitution’s 5th Amendment.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; line-height: 1.5em; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63046">“The issue is the fundamental issue of who owns the water and how does that water get used when there’s an over-appropriated situation like we have in the Klamath,” says Glen Spain with the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations.</div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; line-height: 1.5em; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63047">Spain’s organization has intervened against the irrigators in the case. He says salmon have rights to the water as well. </div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; line-height: 1.5em; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63048">The case is being heard in the <a href="http://www.uscfc.uscourts.gov/" target="_blank" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; color: rgb(5, 110, 153); text-decoration: none; line-height: inherit;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63049">U.S. Court of Federal Claims</a>. A ruling in favor of the irrigators could make it much more expensive for the federal government to protect Pacific Coast salmon runs. </div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63050"></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; clear: both;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63051"></div></article></div></div><div class="signature" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_62962"><div dir="ltr" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485827672506_63113"><br></div></div></div></body></html>