This week the Capital Press in Oregon reports that the federal government will spend $1.2 million to investigate whether rules governing the Klamath River are eroding farmers’ access to critical irrigation supplies, something farmers believe has been happening for years.
The Klamath Water Users Association said producers in the past have used 400,000 acre-feet of annually from the Klamath Project. That amount was reduced to 390,000 acre-feet in 2013 to aid streamflows for fish protected under the Endangered Species Act. That number was further reduced in 2019 to 350,000 acre-feet.
This summer as drought struck the region again, and farmers saw their water shut off early, huge tractor protests drew national attention to their plight. Read more from the Capital Press here.
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