[env-trinity] Fw: KWUA Media Advisory: Landmark Klamath Agreement Signed

[Tom Stokely]

I was able to obtain a copy of the MOA inserted below this message.  I confess I'm unclear as to what this will really result in.

Tom Stokely

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Dan Keppen 
To: Dan Keppen 
Cc: KWUA 
Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2004 1:40 PM
Subject: KWUA Media Advisory: Landmark Klamath Agreement Signed


Earlier today, a historic watershed agreement was signed by the governors of Oregon and key cabinet secretaries of the Bush Administration. A copy of the U.S. Interior Department press release follows. Attached, is a copy of the reaction of the Klamath Water Users Association to this development. A copy of the Memorandum of Agreement is available at                             www.doi.gov
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Office of the Secretary
Contact: Dan DuBray
For Immediate Release: October 13, 2004
202-208-6416

Interior Secretary Gale Norton Announces
Klamath Watershed Coordination Agreement

Duluth, Minn. - Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton announced a landmark agreement between four cabinet-level federal agencies, the President's Council on Environmental Quality, and the States of Oregon and California, committing to future cooperation and collaboration in Klamath River watershed activities, and pledging to make those activities a priority in their respective agencies.

"The people of the Klamath Basin cherish the land and its natural beauty and desire to hand their way of life down to future generations," Norton said. "Together, we have an opportunity to work toward a vision that includes clear waters, abundant fisheries, increased waterfowl, a vibrant agricultural community, and an end to the legal fighting among the various interests, which continues to poison the relationships among its people."

Norton made the announcement this afternoon in a telephone conference call with reporters.  Participating with Secretary Norton was California Secretary of Resources Mike Chrisman - representing Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger --  and David Van't Hof, natural resource advisor to Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski.

Secretary Norton stressed that the agreement will focus on and prioritize mutual efforts in the entire Klamath watershed.  The agreement will enhance coordination and communication among the signatories, tribal and local governments, and other interests as they work to resolve water quantity, water quality, and fish and wildlife resource problems in the entire basin.

"Specifically, this will include coordinating work to recover threatened and endangered fish, enhance anadromous fish runs, improve wildlife habitat and water quality, and provide water for irrigation and other beneficial uses," Norton explained. "The agreement confirms that each party will set its own budget priorities, but encourages joint awareness of one another's plans and collaborative action based on common goals."

Although all the parties to the agreement have long been active in the watershed, efforts have not been coordinated to specifically establish work priorities or concentrate resources to resolve the Basin's complex problems.  Last year, the National Academy of Science's National Research Council released a study underscoring that Klamath Basin issues should be addressed in an integrated and comprehensive way for a lasting resolution.

The respective federal and state agencies and offices will manage their own activities and resources, including the expenditure of their own funds, in pursuing the objectives of this coordination agreement.

The agreement supports the creation of the Conservation Implementation Program (CIP), a stakeholder-driven, watershed-wide, ecosystem restoration program.  The CIP is a long-term approach that will identify the Basin's critical needs, set priorities and measures of success for addressing those issues, and monitor progress in resolving them.

Representatives of the States of Oregon and California, the Klamath River Basin Working Group, and the Environmental Protection Agency have been meeting to address the need for better coordination.  The signatories to the agreement include Gale A. Norton, Secretary,Department of Interior; Ann M. Veneman, Secretary, Department of Agriculture; Donald L. Evans, Secretary, Department of Commerce; Michael O. Leavitt, Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency; Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski, and California Governor Arnold  Schwarzenegger.

President Bush established the Klamath River Basin Working Group on March 1, 2002, to advise him of the immediate and long-term actions necessary to enhance water quality and quantity, and to address the other complex economic and natural resource issues in the Klamath River Basin. The group -- comprised of the Secretaries of the Interior, Agriculture and Commerce, and the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality -- is chaired by Secretary Norton.

                                 -- DOI --

   [Editors Note:  A copy of the Memorandum of Agreement is available at
                               www.doi.gov]


Dan Keppen
Executive Director
Klamath Water Users Association
2455 Patterson Street, Suite #3
Klamath Falls, OR  97603
(541) 883-6100 - Fax (541) 883-8893

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Klamath River Watershed Coordination Agreement

The Klamath River Basin has long been renowned for its strong agricultural economy, its

premier waterfowl viewing on the Pacific Flyway, its National Wildlife Refuges, National

Parks and National Forests, its lakes and rivers, its fishery, wildlife and timber resources,

and its hunting and fishing opportunities. Over the past decade, however, the Klamath

River Basin has been in the forefront of national attention due to contentious resource

issues related to water allocation, water quality, protection and recovery of threatened and

endangered fish, and maintenance of sustainable irrigation and anadromous fish runs.

California, Oregon and the federal government have targeted efforts and resources to

address these complex Klamath Basin issues. Establishment of the President’s Klamath

River Basin Working Group has improved coordination among federal agencies and

focused additional federal resources on addressing environmental, Tribal, and agricultural

concerns. Better coordination among the States and the federal agencies is needed to

maximize the benefits of these efforts and available resources. Last year, the National

Academy of Sciences released a study that confirmed that the Klamath Basin issues must be

dealt with in an integrated and comprehensive way for a lasting resolution of the issues in

the Basin. Representatives of the States of California and Oregon, the President’s Klamath

River Basin Working Group and the Environmental Protection Agency have been meeting

to address this need for better coordination.

 

Coordination will bring to bear science-based attention to identify and address the

environmental, economic, agricultural, and Tribal trust needs of the Basin and its

communities. We recognize that resolution of the complex issues of the Klamath Basin will

take many years, close coordination, and consistent, focused application of available

programs and resources.

 

Accordingly, we the undersigned agree to the following:

1. The State and Federal Klamath Basin Coordination Group, co-chaired by designated

representatives from Oregon and California state governments, is formally established. It

will consist of the appropriate designees of the two states, the U.S. Departments of the

Interior, Agriculture, and Commerce, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

 

2. The members of the Klamath Basin Coordination Group and their respective agencies

and staffs are to place a priority on their Klamath Basin activities and on their coordination

and communications with one another and with tribal governments, local governments,

private groups and individuals, to resolve water quantity, water quality and fish and wildlife

resource problems in the basin. They should work diligently to recover the threatened and

endangered fish species in the Klamath basin, enhance anadromous fish runs, improve and

protect fish and wildlife habitat and water quality, and provide water for irrigation and other

beneficial uses. They should also move expeditiously to identify existing funding sources to

accomplish these ends.

 

3. The State and Federal Klamath Basin Coordination Group should implement an

aggressive, coordinated approach to allocate existing resources to the extent possible toward

short-term opportunities that will improve conditions in the basin. These short-term

actions are important, both to demonstrate a coordinated intergovernmental approach and

to reduce the likelihood of year to year crises in the Basin.

 

4. As a vehicle to develop a long-term management approach, a common vision, and

integrated planning, the state and federal agencies which are signatories to this coordination

agreement should develop and implement the Klamath Basin Conservation Implementation

Program concept which will meld a scientific oversight body, the broad communities of

Klamath Basin interests, and resource agencies to identify the Basin’s critical water quality,

water quantity, and fish and wildlife restoration problems, set priorities and measures of

success for addressing those issues through consensus, and monitor progress in resolving

them.

 

It is further mutually agreed that:

A. All commitments made by the signatories to this coordination agreement are

subject to the availability of funds and each agency’s budget priorities, statutory authorities

and legal obligations. Nothing in this agreement, in and of itself, obligates the signatory

entities to expend appropriations or to enter into any contract, assistance agreement,

interagency agreement, or other financial obligations.

 

B. The respective federal and state agencies and offices will handle their own

activities and utilize their own resources, including the expenditure of their own funds, in

pursuing the objectives of this coordination agreement.

 

C. This coordination agreement does not create any right or benefit, substantive or

procedural, enforceable by law or equity against the signatory entities, their officers or

employees, or any other person or third party, and does not direct or apply to any person

outside of the agencies covered by this agreement.

 

D. This coordination agreement may be signed in counter parts and will take effect

upon the date of the last signature of the parties below, and shall remain in effect for five

years from the date of execution. This agreement may be extended or amended upon

written request of any of the parties below and the subsequent written concurrence of the

others. Any of the parties may terminate their participation in this coordination agreement

with a 60-day written notice to the others.

 
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