KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley says Congress has passed an emergency supplemental spending bill that includes $10 million in drought relief for farmers and ranchers in the Klamath Basin. The bill how heads to President Barack Obama for his signature.
The Oregon Democrat says he’s pleased that Congress is finally able to help families that rely on the land, although he says financial assistance “is a poor replacement for water.”
A combination of drought and Endangered Species Act demands for protected salmon and sucker fish have forced steep cutbacks in the Klamath Basin’s federal irrigation project that serves more than 1,000 farms.
