A Healthy Agricultural Community and a Healthy Fishery

Are Both Possible? Improvements in Efficiency

The Compact would have used a significant portion of the Tribes damage claim to repair an aging irrigation infrastructure and make improvements in efficiency. With climate change, an efficient system is essential for both fish and producers. Improvements in efficiency are mutually beneficial to fish and ag producers.

Instream Flows

Instream flows protect fish and the ecological integrity of streams, but they also help producers because instream flows help to recharge groundwater, which helps with late-season base flowseven more important with a changing climate. Instream flows also help maintain subirrigationmeans greater production. Instream flows help to buffer the impacts of droughts.

ESA

A changing climate and increasing invasion by non-natives mean that westslope cutthroat trout may be listed, and bull trout may be moved from threatened to endangered. Westslope cutthroat trout have already been petitioned twice and the reasons for not listing the species have been mostly political. New research is shooting holes in the FWS justification for not listing. Protecting aquatic habitats is the best defense against a future listing, which would affect a much larger landscape that the current bull trout listing and could impact irrigators on this federal project. Protecting fish is in everyones interest.

Politics

Increasingly, the public places a high value on wild fisheries. As human populations increase and become more urban, that sentiment will only increase. For ag producers, the maintenance of healthy streams and fisheries displays good stewardship of shared resources like water, fish, and wildlife and that creates friends and allies for agriculture.

Agricultural producers need allies. Politically, they cannot afford to be perceived as environmentally destructive. Ranchers and farmers say they are the original environmentalists and that they are good land stewards. If they them put obstacles in the way of protecting fish and stream flows, they have less credibility when they make that claim. Well-managed, healthy, productive riparian areas and streams with robust fisheries can be a powerful tools for producers to persuade decision makers that agriculture is not only compatible with but helps create a healthy environment. Working cooperatively as opposed to being at war with the environmental community places agriculture in a stronger position politically. Environmentalists would much rather see well-managed agriculture than subdivisions. So they have an interest in ensuring that agriculture stays economic. In many ways, producers and environmentalists are natural allies. And when people work together, it brings out the best in them, when they fight, it brings out the very worstour communities are healthier and stronger and better places to live when we work together.

Economics

Good stream flows mean healthier riparian areas, and healthy productive riparian areas represent an opportunity to make more money since abundant water, shelter, and forage, translate into cash. Land values are much higher for properties that have healthy fisheries. Increasingly, markets are demanding ecologically friendly products. Walmart and Costco only buy cherries now that are produced in a way that protects the environment and workers. This trend is spreading across agriculture.

Heritage and Quality of Life

Ranchers and farmers grew fishing with their grandparents and parents. Healthy fisheries are part of the ag communitys heritage too. By protecting wild fisheries they are protecting their heritage. Producers want to pass on to their kids and grandkids healthy streams, a legacy they can be proud of. The shape of a fishery is an index of how we have lived on the land.