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Methow Valley News February 3, 2000 Endangered Species Coverage Methow residents advance on Olympia Support local watershed effort, they tell legislators by Lee Hicks A Methow Valley delegation journeyed to the state capital last Tuesday (Jan. 25) with the message that residents will work for endangered fish but the process must be grounded in strong local support and participation. Any solutions, they argued, need to be supported by solid science and adequate funding for research, planning, fish screens and other projects to improve habitat. Speakers wove stories of tragedy and comedy. They told of people willing to do the right thing for fish against odds that include inflexible state and federal agencies, archaic laws and unrealistic regulations. There was even an anecdote of precocious ditch-digging cows that brought laughter and maybe recollections of George Orwell’s "Animal Farm." In front of the House Agriculture and Ecology Committee, a number of speakers complained of failures by the state Department of Ecology to help with solutions, even after other federal and state agencies were willing to cooperate. National Marine Fisheries Service was criticized for its heavy-handed approach to managing endangered fish recovery in the Methow Valley. But a recurring theme was the need to break through what speakers called DOE’s paralyzed process for acting on water rights changes that could benefit fish. The hearing was co-chaired by Rep. Gary Chandler, R-Moses Lake, and Kelli Linville, D-Bellingham. Locals need assurances on water rights Rep. Linda Evans Parlette, R-12th District, who arranged for the local presentation, told the committee that Methow residents had "traveled over several passes....to tell you what it’s like to live with two endangered species." Parlette said Methow water users are willing to work through the state-authorized watershed planning process to help save fish. "But they need some assurances" Parlette noted. She said residents need to know they’ll not lose water rights by volunteering to add water to streams to help fish. Okanogan County Commission chairman Dave Schulz also called for local watershed planning and the right approach to helping salmon. "We want to comply (with endangered species recovery). We want to do things, but we want to do it from the local 2514 process," Schulz said. House Bill 2514 is the legislation, which emerged in 1997 from the committee, through which the Okanogan County watershed planning unit was established. Leading off comments by local irrigators, Steve Devin of Early Winters Ditch Company summarized his efforts to work with NMFS and other agencies to get his ditch opened for the past growing season. Early Winters is one of the 14 Methow ditches operating by Forest Service special use permits and subject to Section 7 federal agency consultation requirements under the Endangered Species Act. Although the ditch has been able to identify several solutions with NMFS, such as converting surface water rights to wells, DOE has been unable to process the changes. Methow ranching in "crisis" Devin observed that DOE, "I hate to use this word, but I couldn’t find any other—is non-functional." Craig Boesel told the committee: "We are in a crisis in the Methow Valley." Regulations are now being imposed on irrigators on private land who are subject to Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act. Those ditches affect "over twice" the area irrigated by federally permitted irrigation, Boesel said. Improvements are costly including $200,000 just for a fish screen on the Chewuch ditch, he explained. Boesel said, "good scientific data" is needed to "either verify or correct NMFS target flow data. "The effect of not having any water this summer will be the end of my ranch," Boesel emphasized. Don Carlson spoke of the economic hardships already suffered in the Valley. He cited the bankruptcy filing by Sunny Meadows resort owner Lani Odenthal who is unable to get water for her golf course; the uncertainty of a $6 million expansion by the Valley’s largest employer, Sun Mountain Lodge; the demise of plans for Arrowleaf resort and the hundreds of jobs it would have created; and the lack of water to maintain athletic fields at local schools. Carlson lamented that millions of dollars will be spent on various studies and projects to improve conditions for fish while the local economy suffers. "All this because we are simply trying to live and do the best job we can for the environment," he added. Better data needed for salmon effort Dick Ewing emphasized to lawmakers: "One of my key points to leave you is the importance of local involvement," in fish and water issues. Salmon recovery efforts will require many years and community support, Ewing said. "The 2514 process allows for that type of engagement on a local level." He estimated that irrigation use may have dropped 50 percent in the Valley since the 1970s. Records indicate there were "more fish when there was more irrigation," Ewing said. Understanding the nature of basin hydrology, including recharge of aquifers from irrigation, and better quantifying the extent of water use is needed to plan fish recovery efforts, he said. Without better data, Ewing said, "the real problem is that they (NMFS) will be going down a course that really doesn’t help fish." Replying to questions from lawmakers, Ewing said hydrology studies show barely 2 percent of the basin’s water budget—the total input through precipitation and snowmelt—is attributed to agriculture, domestic and other human uses. Ray Campbell, rancher and planning unit member, called for more flexibility in the state trust water rights program to allow contributed water to be withdrawn more easily when needed for agriculture. "People have not been able to take it out. It needs to be on a more user-friendly basis," Campbell said. Co-chairman Chandler told Campbell that those contributing rights to the program to help streamflows should be, "careful that you don’t (have to) ‘negotiate’ to get it back." Pete LaRock testified that there is "an adversarial relationship" between DOE and water rights holders. "DOE appears to be there to stop growth," he said. "People want to drill wells and not withdraw from streams. DOE won’t process well applications," LaRock said. One solution, LaRock suggested, could be a statutory requirement that the agency process water rights within 90 days. Or counties with new state-enabled water conservancy boards could "opt out of (DOE) having anything to do with water rights," LaRock said, while noting that solution might appear "outlandish." Chandler cautioned, however, "not to ask for something you don’t want." With a 90-day limit, Chandler said DOE could be inclined to a quick solution of denying applications. Cows dig ditches? Carl Miller told the legislators that the Valley’s agricultural community is in danger of "total collapse." He said changes in state law regarding relinquishment, or the "use it or lose it" standard for a water right, and identifying outdated rights should be priorities. "We need to have water in the river for fish. We need to have water on the land for people too," Miller said. The difficulty of working with DOE on water issues was illustrated in black humor by Tom Bartholomew, project manager for R. D. Merrill Co. for the now-mothballed Arrowleaf resort proposal. Bartholomew related how the Arrowleaf team had worked extensively with DOE to identify historically irrigated areas on the 1,200-acre site. In the research, including photographs and surveys, they discovered an abandoned irrigation ditch, Bartholomew said. However, a DOE manager concluded the ditch had been caused by cows going back and forth to the stream. "And apparently these cows were trained as engineers, because they also had stacked rocks along the edge of their little canal," Bartholomew concluded as a roar of laughter filled the hearing room. Opinion | Sports |
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