Association broke the law, they made a decision that under most circumstances might be considered unusual: they sent a letter to authorities spelling out exactly what they intended to do.regulation they would defy was an emergency order in response to the state’s punishing drought, in effect forbidding ranchers and farmers in this stretch of land near the Oregon border from diverting water from the Shasta River as they had done for more than a century.
The river flows through glaciers on Mount Shasta, soaking up minerals and nutrients and creating an “ecological powerhouse” that allows fish to grow faster, stronger and more resilient than they do elsewhere, said Ann Willis, a senior staff researcher at the UC Davis Center for Watershed Science.The Shasta has long played a central role in the cultures of the Yurok and Karuk peoples, the two largest tribes in California, who have subsisted on the bounty of the river for millennia.
For months, the Shasta River Water Association, which represents more than 100 farms and ranches in the Shasta Valley, complied with the state’s orders. Justin Sandahl, who owns an organic dairy in the area and also serves on the water association board, said he was spending nearly four times as much on hay for his cows as he normally would. With the increased costs, coupled with low milk prices, the outlook for his family business was dire, he said: “It’s not something a guy likes to brag about. It’s not good at all.”
“Depleting river flow this quickly and at this magnitude imperils sensitive fall run coho and Chinook populations,” the state water board said. “I’m not sure how you keep rational folks from risking a $500 fine if it means keeping their cattle alive,” said Karrigan Bork, a law professor at UC Davis. “The biggest impact of this action is the decision to kind of willfully violate the orders from the board sets a terrible precedent, regardless of the biological damage.”
'...The river flows through glaciers on Mount Shasta...' With glaciers quickly disappearing water stealing will soon be a thing of the past. There will be no water for farmers or any other creature. Climate change.
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