Water and Species

A lawsuit has been filed against the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation by the environmentalist group, Center for Biological Diversity in an effort to save the Oregon spotted frog. That in and of itself is a noble gesture but it could cost approximately 4600 farmers and their families their livelihoods. The Crane Prairie and Wickiup reservoirs are part of the Central Oregon Irrigation District and just about 3600 farmers and ranchers depend on these waters for irrigation. Another 1000 farmers and ranchers belong to the North Unit Irrigation District. Without going into copious detail, the contention of the lawsuit is that the controlled rising and falling of the reservoirs which have altered the Deschutes River natural flow have, in turn, interfered with the lifecycle of the frogs. Masses of frog eggs get flushed away and frog populations, both adult and juvenile gets stranded on dry land.

It's always easy for conservatives to sneer and say, " What? We are worried more about some frogs than almost 5000 livelihoods? It's always easy for liberals to say, "Another species getting wiped out by human encroachment on habitat." You know what, both sides make valid points. With some thoughts about water and species eradication, We asked Kierán Suckling, Executive Dir. for The Center for Biological Diversity: if you were going to make a list of what is threatening animal life, where would the loss of water rank? "It would be at the very top. The majority of these habitat loss situations involve water.