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A28 u.s. news
Diaranson 26 Mei 2021

Water crisis ‘couldn’t be worse’ on Oregon-California border

said it would not release any yards (91 meters), and they
so-called “flushing flows” worried about their wells The situation in the Klamath
from the same dam on the running dry. Basin was set in motion more
Upper Klamath Lake to bol- than a century ago, when
ster water levels downstream About 30 protesters showed the U.S. government began
in the lower Klamath River. up Thursday at the head gates draining a network of shal-
The river is key to the surviv- of the main dam to protest low lakes and marshlands, re-
al of coho salmon, which are the shut-off and ask the irri- directing the natural flow of
listed as threatened under the gation district to defy federal water and constructing hun-
Endangered Species Act. In orders and divert the water. dreds of miles of canals and
better water years the pulses The Herald and News re- drainage channels to create
of water help keep the river ported that they were with a farmland. Homesteads were
cool and turbulent — con- group called People’s Rights, offered by lottery to World
ditions that help the fragile a far-right organization War II veterans.
species. The fish are central founded by anti-government
to the diet and culture of activist Ammon Bundy. The project turned the region
(AP) — The water crisis Calimlim Touton, calling the Yurok Tribe, California’s into an agricultural power-
along the California-Or- the decision one of “historic largest federally recognized Oregon Gov. Kate Brown house — some of its potato
egon border went from consequence.” “Reclamation tribe. and California Gov. Gavin farmers supply In ’N Out
dire to catastrophic this is dedicated to working with Newsom, both Democrats, burger — but permanently
week as federal regulators our water users, tribes and The tribe said this week that have declared drought emer- altered an intricate water sys-
shut off irrigation water partners to get through this low flows from drought and gencies in the region, and tem that spans hundreds of
to farmers from a criti- difficult year and developing from previous mismanage- the Bureau of Reclamation miles and from southern Or-
cal reservoir and said they long-term solutions for the ment of the river by the fed- has set aside $15 million in egon to Northern California.
would not send extra wa- basin.” eral agency was causing a die- immediate aid for irrigators.
ter to dying salmon down- off of juvenile salmon from a Another $10 million will be In 1988, two species of sucker
stream or to a half-dozen The canal, a major compo- disease that flourishes when available for drought assis- fish were listed as endangered
wildlife refuges that har- nent of the federally operated water levels are low. Yurok tance from the U.S. Depart- under federal law. Less than
bor millions of migrating Klamath Reclamation Proj- fish biologists who have been ment of Agriculture. a decade later, coho salmon
birds each year. ect, funnels Klamath River testing the baby salmon in that spawn downstream from
water from the Upper Klam- the lower Klamath River are Ben DuVal, president of the the reclamation project, in
In what is shaping up to be ath Lake just north of the finding that 70% of the fish Klamath Water Users Associ- the lower Klamath River,
the worst water crisis in gen- Oregon-California border are already dead in the traps ation, urged his members to were listed as threatened.
erations, the U.S. Bureau of to more than 130,000 acres used to collect them and 97% remain peaceful and not let
Reclamation said it will not (52,600 hectares), where are infected by the parasite the water crisis “be hijacked The water necessary to sus-
release water this season into generations of ranchers and known as C. shasta. for other causes.” tain the coho salmon down-
the main canal that feeds the farmers have grown hay, al- The seasonal allocations are stream comes from Upper
bulk of the massive Klamath falfa and potatoes and grazed “Right now, the Klamath the region’s most dramatic Klamath Lake — the main
Reclamation Project, mark- cattle. River is full of dead and dy- development since irrigation holding tank for the farm-
ing a first for the 114-year-old ing fish on the Yurok Reser- water was all but cut off to ers’ irrigation system. At the
irrigation system. The agency Only one irrigation district vation,” said Frankie Myers, hundreds of farmers in 2001 same time, the sucker fish
announced last month that within the 200,000-acre vice chairman of the Yurok amid another severe drought in the lake need at least 1 to
hundreds of irrigators would (80,940-hectare) project will Tribe. “This disease will kill — the first time farmers’ in- 2 feet (30 to 60 centimeters)
get dramatically less water receive any water from the most of the baby salmon in terests took a backseat to fish of water covering the gravel
than usual, but a worsening Klamath River system this the Klamath, which will im- and tribes. beds they use as spawning
drought picture means water growing season, and it will pact fish runs for many years grounds.
will be completely shut off have a severely limited sup- to come. For salmon people, The crisis made the rural
instead. ply, the Klamath Water Users a juvenile fish kill is an abso- farming region hundreds of The drought also means
Association said in a state- lute worst-case scenario.” miles from any major city a farmers this summer will
The entire region is in ment. Some other farmers national political flashpoint not flush irrigation water
extreme or exceptional rely on water from a different Irrigators, meanwhile, re- and became a touchstone for into a network of six national
drought, according to fed- river, and they will also have acted with disbelief as the Republicans who used the wildlife refuges that are col-
eral monitoring reports, and a limited supply. news of a water shut-off in crisis to take aim at the En- lectively called the Klamath
Oregon’s Klamath County is the canals spread. A newslet- dangered Species Act, with National Wildlife Refuge
experiencing its driest year in “This just couldn’t be ter published by the Klam- one GOP lawmaker calling Complex. The refuges, nick-
127 years. worse,” said Klamath Irri- ath Water Users Association, the irrigation shutoff a “post- named the Everglades of the
gation District president Ty which represents many of er child” for why changes West, support up to 80% of
“This year’s drought condi- Kliewer. “The impacts to our the region’s farmers, blared were needed. A “bucket bri- the birds that migrate on the
tions are bringing unprec- family farms and these rural the headline, “Worst Day in gade” protest attracted 15,000 Pacific Flyway. The refuges
edented hardship to the com- communities will be off the the History of the Klamath people who scooped water also support the largest con-
munities of the Klamath Ba- scale.” Project.” Farmers reported from the Klamath River and centrations of wintering Bald
sin,” said Reclamation Dep- already seeing dust storms passed it, hand over hand, to Eagles in the lower 48 states.
uty Commissioner Camille At the same time, the agency that obscured vision for 100 a parched irrigation canal.

New $1.7B Los Angeles International Airport concourse opens

(AP) — A massive new $1.73 bil- ture,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said dur- Officials said it is based around a digi- baggage handling and boarding sys-
lion concourse with 15 gates ing an opening ceremony. tally based travel experience, includ- tem as the most advanced in the U.S.
opened Monday at Los Angeles The 4½-year construction project ing biometric boarding gates, thou- The airport improvement project in-
International Airport. was part of a $14.5 billion airport sands of places to plug in and access volves all of the airport’s passenger
modernization project. wireless internet — with 5G later this terminals. New facilities include an
Known as West Gates, it will serve year — and touchscreen kiosks. automated people mover train, a con-
both international and domestic Located just west of the Tom Bradley There are two nursing rooms, three solidated rental car facility and a park-
flights. International Terminal, the five-level, play areas for children and a relief ing structure for 4,300 vehicles.
750,000-square-foot (69,677-square- area for service animals. And a new metro station will at long
“This is a big day in a big city that’s meter) West Gates concourse is 1,700 last connect the airport to Los Ange-
building out a big new infrastruc- feet (518 meters) long. The airport described the West Gates’ les County’s light rail system.