Here is a picture of our irrigation ditch. As you can see it is more ditch than it is irrigation right now. The Grants Pass Irrigation District used to fill it with water in mid April to the delight of farmers and wildlife. Now, thanks to misguided environmentalists fronting for large land developers and power hungry political organizations like Oregon Water Watch the deer go thirsty and my fields are dry.
For 80+ year the Savage Rapids Dam has provided inexpensive water to over 7000 homes and farms in the Rogue Valley. In that time we have had numerous record setting salmon runs above the dam. But in the mid 90s GPID and SRD came under attack by an assortment of organizations all being liberally supported by land developers and special interests groups none of whom even live in Oregon. Their cause: save the fish.
GPID has been forced by a liberal federal judge out of L.A. to begin preparations to remove the dam to protect fish passage. Although upgrading fish passages (which are already far and above adequate) would cost less than 14 million dollars, GPID will be forced to find and spend 27 million to remove the dam and replace the current gravity powered pumps with electric pumps (read: oil or nuclear powered) it's either that or lose their rights to the additional 60 cubic feet per second that it takes to service most out-lying farms such as mine. Water which would otherwise just be flowing out to the ocean.
All of this for a fish which is no longer even on the endangered species list.
2 comments:
"misguided environmentalists fronting for large land developers and power hungry political organizations"
That's the key statement right there.
Hey Ed. Yeah I'll be voting for Jason. Seems like an upright fella.
Hi Rae Ann. You pegged it. Same thing happened in Orange county CA back in the 60s, irrigation districts and farming regions attacked to lower land values so developers could expand cheaply. Nowadays they cover themselves with a thin veneer of environmentalists.
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