- a weekly column published in the Pioneer Press

According to Peter Townley, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS-USDA.) has launched the Klamath Basin Watershed Team under the Klamath Basin Adaptive Management Plan.

In 2001, the federal government made a decision to cut off irrigation water in the Upper Klamath Basin so that more water could be used for endangered sucker fish and salmon. As a result, an emergency watershed program was put into place to establish cover crops to prevent erosion. Later, in 2002, President Bush created the Klamath River Basin Federal Working Group. Comprised of the Secretaries of Agriculture, Interior, and Commerce, and the Chairman of the Council of Environmental Quality. The purpose of  the working group is to advise the President on immediate steps and long-term solutions to enhance water quality and quantity and address other environmental issues in the Klamath River system.

The Klamath Soil & Water Conservation District in Oregon and the Lava Beds/Butte Valley Resource Conservation District in California also followed up with some strategic planning sessions. Their goal was a reliable water supply for agriculture and the environment. They set four objectives: (1) Decrease demand for water (water conservation); (2) Increase water supply (storage); (3) Improve water quality; and (4) Develop fish and wildlife habitat.

The two districts asked the federal government for money and technical assistance. They received $50 million for surface and groundwater conservation efforts - EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentives Program) http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/eqip/ and other programs. Originally the proposal was only for the Upper Klamath/Butte Valley area, but it was expanded in the Farm Bill to include the entire area from the top of the Williamson to the mouth of the Klamath – including the Scott and the Shasta Valleys.

A collaboration of the Oregon and California State Conservation Districts has resulted in the hiring of a team for basin-wide planning assistance. The team consists of a civil engineer, hydrologist, range specialist, wildlife biologist and a forester. According to their website, http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/feature/klamath/klamplan.html , planning is to occur in three phases:

·          Phase 1: The NRCS Watershed Team is tol work with local Resource Conservation District (RCD.s) to provide “rapid assessment” of current resource conditions, recommendations of resource management systems to solve identified problems, and estimates of on-farm effects for each sub-basin.

·          Phase 2: Evaluate the cumulative effects of proposed resource management systems on a basin-wide scale.

·          Phase 3: Specialized assistance with planning, designing and implementing projects at the sub-basin or community level, including tasks to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the conservation being applied.

The prospects of what appeared to be a directive toward top down federal land and resource management planning concerned me. This would encroach upon the County’s jurisdiction and authority in land planning.

In a presentation to the Board of Supervisors, Townley indicated that the process is initiated at the request of the local RCDs. So far, the Scott and Shasta Valley RCDs have not made such a request. Townley assured the Board that local work would retain a “bottom-up” approach, driven by landowner interest and voluntary participation. The NRCS, however, is particularly interested in working with groups of interested landowners on voluntary local ground and surface water planning possibilities. He also indicated that he will be going back to the RCDs to ask where they want assistance in filling in the gaps.   

The NRCS has always been a non-regulatory agency. Historically, it has offered incentive-based programs to attract landowners to implement desired conservation practices. It has worked to educate landowners and to provide technical assistance within the context of the overall business goals and operational limitations of the individual landowner. This “bottom-up” approach has been a successful model in producing lasting change that benefits the landowner, while accomplishing larger societal goals. I hope that Mr. Townley’s assurances bear fruit and that this will not evolve into another top-down attempt at federal basin-wide planning and control over land and resource use.

Don’t forget the Regional Water Quality Control Board’s hearing Tuesday, October 12 at 6:30 p.m., at the Miners Inn Convention Center to discuss proposed sediment prohibitions and action plan for the Scott River: http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/rwqcb1/programs/basinplan/swdp.html