Governor signs 'Wild and Scenic' bill

A bill that will only effect a few thousand farmers in Yolo and Lake Counties was signed today in Sacramento. The State designation of "Wild and Scenic" to the 31 mile stretch of Cache Creek is the first step towards an eventual, and inevitable Federal designation.

So what you may say, I don't want anyone to dam Cache Creek. That was the straw man that the environmentalists stood up before the public. No dams, leave the creek wild. Sounds good, right?

Ask the farmers and ranchers in the Klamath Basin what a nightmare the Federal government can be when it comes to deciding where the water flows when a drought occurs. When the Feds get control of the Cache Creek watershed, the farmers better start drilling water wells. It will only be a matter of time before someone finds a endangered one inch shrimp or sucker fish that is living in the downstream areas of the creek. The Farmers will stand on their property and watch the water that used to irrigate their pastures and crops go past to 'save' a tiger salamander something.

The story was about how farmers say they were betrayed by their government when irrigation water was abruptly cut off at the beginning of the irrigation season, ostensibly to save 'endangered' fish; where federal marshals had to guard head gates against the actions of irate farm families; where public protest became the unlikely but desperate tool for typically quiet farmers to create public awareness; where Indians were pitted against non-Indians. It was such an emotional and heated action that Gasser said in hindsight it was fortunate no one was seriously hurt or killed.

I doubt if there will be a march on the capitol, farmers and ranchers are not the protest type, there is too much work to do to take time off for protesting.