WSTRT's Klamath Basin Relief Convoy
Aug. 10-12, 2001

Our convoy, such as it was, assembled at the Federal Way Costco, where we made our final purchases of supplies for the headgates camp. Most of the TRTers who were planning on joining the convoy decided to go down for the Freedom Day rallies instead which were to begin on the 21st (who could blame them?), so our group ended up consisting of Jeff Stewart and his son Kielan, Kevin Schmadeka, my son Jeremy and myself. We were planning on hitting the road at 5pm. Unfortunately, we didn't pull out until about 6:30pm.

Having left late, we were already an hour and a half behind schedule when we encountered a traffic jam in Tacoma. We saw the thick black smoke rising from the road about a half-mile ahead and waited for over an hour before finally inching past the cause of the backup; a tractor trailer had burned right down to it's chassis, it was thoroughly slagged. Thus began our trek to Klamath Falls and Camp Headgate.

It was 5am by the time we arrived and the first thing we were struck by was the size of Upper Klamath Lake, which feeds the irrigation canal system, several wildlife refuges and Pacific Power and Light. The lake is 30 miles long (we spent the last half hour of the trip driving along it) and 8 miles wide. It's the largest body of fresh water west of the Rocky Mountains. And it was FULL. COMPLETELY FULL. The sight made the federal government's claim -- that there isn't enough water for both fish and farmers -- that much more infuriating.

As we entered Camp Headgate the eastern sky was turning brighter by the minute. There was no time to sleep, but plenty of light for pitching our tent. As we began unloading our gear we were met by Jim Nielson, a truck driver and father of a local farmer, both of whom have lost nearly everything to the federal government's policies. Still, he greeted us cheerfully and strode off to brew up some coffee. After setting up the tent and stowing our gear, we went to join Jim for a cup of coffee and get ourselves acquainted with the current situation.

We found Jim with another local, Lon Goding, who lives in Klamath Falls and grew up in the area on his father's small ranch. As the morning wore on more and more folks started to arrive; Mike the Cook (who set to fixing up some excellent grub), Lynn, Ann, Jim, Mike, Richard, Joe, Bill, Gaylord, Stan, and too many more to list here; all of them salt of the earth folks. They all treated us like next-door neighbors. We deeply appreciate their hospitality.

As we sipped our first cups of coffee, Jim showed us a set of hinges that someone had removed from one of the gates to the federal compound. Some of the guys down there like to pull little pranks on the feds. It helps keep their spirits up and, according to Jim, keeps the feds on their toes. Then Lon filled us in on some of the history of the Klamath Basin and the current crisis. Bill Edington, Richard Rugger and Lon gave us a run down of who's using the water and how much, and they painted a picture of exactly what they're up against.

There's a strange alliance arrayed against the farmers and ranchers in the basin; The enviro-socialists (no surprise there), local indian tribes (who've said "It's payback time.") and the power company -- Pacific Power and Light (PP&L). (Not to mention the socialist judges and bureaucrats whose active involvement in this Rural Cleansing threatens all the American people's Liberty.)

So what's the deal? It's easy to understand why the socialists are involved; private property doesn't compute to a statist true-believer and the Indian tribes, well, they've had an axe to grind for over a hundred years. We even saw a sign on tribal land near the headgates that read: "Now You Know How It Feels." But why the power company? Are they just placating the government? Maybe they're attempting to mollify the enviro-socialists in the hope of gaining immunity from future assaults.

One thing's for sure, the farmers need all the support they can get and they're not getting any from PP&L. It seems PP&L doesn't much like the contract they have with the farmers and ranchers of the basin, since it provides for selling them electricity at reduced rates. The rates are far lower than the prices PP&L can get selling their product to a power hungry California. PP&L's first contract with the farmers ran from 1906 to 1956 and the current contract, signed in 1956, expires in 2006.

PP&L may be backing the enviro-socialists in their assault on the Klamath Basin farmers and ranchers as a way of getting out of their contract without actually violating it. Over the 5 month growing season, with the farmers out of business and their plants operating at their peak, PP&L is making an extra $400 million. Approximately $300 million of that comes from selling the power they usually sell to the farmers, to California utilities. If you're like me, you don't have a problem with a business making big money. But, at what cost? I wonder how much support PP&L will get from the farmers once the enviro-socialists finally turn on them? My guess is, having met these folks, they'll probably come to the power company's aid. That's what good, honest, decent neighbors do.

After spending some time with the folks at the headgate and unloading the supplies we had brought for the camp, Nikki Samson and her husband Dave arrived from the Klamath-Lakes Counties Food Bank. We had the pleasure of presenting them with a check for $1,000. Nikki and Dave graciously accepted the generosity of TRT members and others who donated to our relief drive. They informed us that with the challenge grant they'd recently received, they were now able to leverage that $1,000 into into an unbelievable $50,000 worth of food! The funds will go a long way to helping make ends meet for those affected by the federal government's policy.

Nikki and Dave asked us to thank you all once again for your generosity. And we extend our heartfelt gratitude to Peter Weissbach, Jennifer Andrews, Kirby Wilbur, David Bose and John Carlson of KVI radio for their help promoting our relief effort. Our Klamath Basin Crisis Relief Fund account remains open and, we're happy to report, growing. We'll be making another trip down fairly soon. We'll let you know when and we sure hope you can all join us.

After receiving our donation, Nikki and Dave offered to take us on a tour of the area. Before leaving we pulled out our bullhorn and Jeff gave the feds a few choice words, imploring them to search themselves for any spark of conscience they might find and to leave these good people alone. Those in attendance at the camp cheered and applauded their approval. With that we headed out for our tour.

We got to see first hand some of the damage the feds have done, as well as some of the farms and ranches that are doing well. Most of those are fed by springs and are lush and green, l ike the rest of the basin usually is. We also saw some of the wildlife on area farms. In fact, most of the eagles and other wildlife of the basin, as in every farming community, live on the farms. The populations on the refuges represent a small percentage of area wildlife. We returned to the headgates with a much more personal understanding of the effect of the federal action and difficulties faced by the affected communities. When we got back to the camp I took up the bullhorn and gave the feds a piece of my mind, telling them about our tour and how disappointed I was in them for the role they're playing in this injustice. Jeff also had some choice words for them, continuing his earlier theme of conscience. Our comments drew more applause from the headgates camp and more folks thanked us for coming to lend our support.

A crowd was gathering and Mike, the Cook, was putting the last few hunks of llama meat on a massive barbecue and basting them thoroughly with his own secret barbecue sauce. Let me tell you, the man is a master of the grill. I'd never tasted llama before, but I doubt I'll ever taste any better. I spent some of time growing up in Texas and I know good barbecue. I'll tell you what, that was some good barbecue!

Before dinner Kevin and I walked down to the Link River Dam with Lon and Richard, and a reporter from the San Francisco Chronicle, to see the PP&L plant and to witness how much water was being released downriver. Lon had told us that the day before one flume of the dam, which is operated by PP&L, was open completely and another was open one-third of the way. When we got there we found that two flumes were fully open. The amount of water that was churning out from the dam was enormous. Not only that, the spillway -- which is used as a fish ladder -- was flowing. And of course the power plant is also using water, adding to the flow, which dwarfs (by orders of magnitude) the water being released for the farmers.

The actual amount of water PP&L is using to power their generators is unknown, it seems that the meters they normally use to record the flow are broken and they aren't in any hurry to repair them. The enviro-socialists aren't putting any pressure on PP&L to make the repairs either. Kind of odd for a bunch of people who claim to be so concerned about the suckerfish that they cut off the water to some fine American farmers and ranchers, an amount of water far less than what they're sending downriver right now.

When we got back to the camp we talked with more of the locals and listened to more stories of hardship and worry for the future. We heard from some folks who've had more than enough of this tyranny and are ready to turn the water back on the next time the feds shut it off. They've vowed to stand their ground, to save their farms. One thing's for sure; if there isn't a solution to this mess by next spring, there may be some real trouble down in Klamath Falls.

The 2001 growing season is all but over. The only thing left to these folks this year is a possible second cut of alfalfa. It's too late for cash crops, no amount of water can replace them. But, if the farmers lose another season, most of them will be ruined and the land-grab will have succeeded. We can't stand idly by while the enviro-socialists use government force to steal these fine Americans' property.

Sunday morning we packed up our gear, gave the feds some parting words and waved the headgate camp farewell. We promised to return and thanked them for their hospitality. I wish I were down there right now. These are the kind of people, the kind of families, I grew up with. They're the kind of families that make America great. They're hard working people who've never asked for anything they didn't earn. We can't afford to let them down. There's more at stake than the farms of the Klamath Basin and the locals know it. The ESA (Endangered Species Act) is being used to bludgeon rural Americans into the ground. It is a weapon, used by petty tyrants in the federal bureaucracy to drive rural families off their land.

Our property rights must be respected by our government. Rural Cleansing has got to stop. If we all work together, we can stop it at Klamath Falls.

For taste of what many of us missed on Freedom Day, Aug. 21st at Klamath Falls, please see Helen Chenowith's Freedom Day Speech at The Sierra Times.

Songwriter Brian D. Burns has written and recorded a poignant song called "Kill The Land" for the benefit of the citizens struggling in the Klamath Basin.

UPDATE: Brian's website is (sadly) going out of circulation, but he has graciously allowed WSTRT to make his song "Kill The Land" available from our website. You can hear it by clicking here.