Bly, Ore. – Drought conditions are already taking their toll on farms and ranches in the Klamath Basin.
NBC2’s Lyle Ahrens spoke with a longtime rancher from Bly who’s sold his cattle.
Butch and LeeAnna Hadley got married in 1954, and purchased a ranch near Bly 10 years later.
“We got it paid for by fallin’ timber and running equipment for Weyerhauser for 25 years.” Notes Butch Hadley.
Butch has run as many as 250 head of cattle on his 580 acres.
“One of the first things we done was drill us an irrigation well.” Adds Hadley. “That was about 1978, 40 years ago.”
But, the Hadleys can no longer use that water to irrigate the pasture for their cattle. “You can furnish stock water for them – but not irrigate.”
LeeAnna Hadley isn’t pleased. “I think it’s awful that they’re taking our water.”
But, that water may never have been theirs to start with.
“They tell me that we never do own the water.” States Butch Hadley. “All we own is the hole, the well that we drilled.”
And without irrigation, the value of their property has dropped.
“They don’t lower property taxes, they just raise them.” Butch observed. “And it don’t seem to matter if this went from being worth quite a bit, to nothin’.”
Butch and LeeAnna have kept some sheep on their ranch to help pay those taxes.
And for now, LeeAnna says they plan to stay. “Where else would we go? I think we’ll stay right here until we die.”
But much of their once productive ranch is now idled.
“Everything has to have water.” Said Butch. “I don’t care what it is.”
New regulations went into effect this year on which wells can be used by farmers and ranchers.
Those irrigators are also feeling the higher electrical costs of pumping that water.
Klamath County Commissioners estimate this summer’s drought could cost the basin 500 million dollars.
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