[env-trinity] Siskiyou Daily News:Siskiyou farmers win court battle over water;

[Tom Stokely]

http://www.redding.com/news/2012/dec/26/siskiyou-farmers-win-court-battle-over-water/ 
Siskiyou farmers win court battle over water; judge says DFG oversteps authority in requiring permits
By Damon Arthur

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

In a decision that farmers say could have statewide implications, a judge has ruled that the state Department of Fish and Game cannot require ranchers in Siskiyou County to obtain permits to take water from the Shasta and Scott rivers.

Siskiyou County Superior Court Judge Karen L. Dixon ruled the DFG overstepped its authority in requiring the permits, according to the Siskiyou County Farm Bureau.

"This ruling establishes an important statewide precedent," farm bureau President Jeff Fowle said. "There is no doubt that if the DFG had been able to expand its authority here, it would have tried to regulate water rights elsewhere in the state."

There are 400-600 property owners with rights to water from the Shasta and Scott rivers, Fowle said.

Jordan Traverso, a spokeswoman for the department, said she could not comment on the decision, but said the DFG was trying to establish a larger-scale program for permits, rather than requiring individual permits from each property owner taking water from a stream.

Traverso also said she couldn't comment on whether the department would appeal the judge's decision.

The permitting plan has been controversial since the DFG began implementing it in 2010. Many Siskiyou County ranchers and farmers said the DFG was overstepping its authority, while environmental groups and area Indian tribes said the DFG and other state and federal agencies weren't doing enough to protect endangered coho salmon living in those rivers.

Environmental groups


say Shasta and Scott river water users have been taking too much water from the streams and not leaving enough for the salmon.

Fowle said the DFG was asking farmers and ranchers to obtain "streambed alteration agreements" just to open irrigation valves to release water from streams to irrigate fields. Previously, those permits had been required only when someone planned to block a stream or do other work, such as with a backhoe or bulldozer, he said.

Fowle said the DFG was trying to regulate water in the streams using the wrong law. Water rights holders in the Shasta and Scott river watersheds are already regulated by another state agency and by court rulings on how much water they can take from streams.

"This decision reaffirms that water rights are administered by the courts and the State Water Resources Control Board," Fowle said. "Now, we can turn our attention to finding collaborative ways to improve conditions for fish, while maintaining the sustainability of our farms and ranches."

But Craig Tucker, Klamath coordinator for the Karuk Tribe, said the judge's decision hurts fish. The DFG permits are needed because on the Scott River there is no water master to prevent people from taking more than their allotment.

"I see it as an important tool to ensure that the public trust is protected," Tucker said of the permitting program.

He said he wasn't surprised by the judge's ruling and said he wants the DFG to file an appeal and get a more fair hearing.

"Meanwhile, the coho are going extinct," Tucker said. He said all parties in the debate need to come up with better ways to protect the fish.

"I think we need to find a way for land owners and fish advocates to figure out what the future looks like; otherwise, there's going to be more litigation," Tucker said.
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