A group representing irrigators is urging its supporters to stop intimidating and harassing government workers.
Mark Johnson of the says some people are posting personal information like phone numbers and home addresses online.
鈥淎nd that's just unacceptable,鈥� Johnson says. 鈥淚t's not their fault. I mean, they're just doing as they're told. They understand the hydrology and they're just the messenger of the bad news.鈥�
Irrigators normally get water from the Upper Klamath Lake, but the Bureau of Reclamation announced it鈥檚 closing the major canal this season. That鈥檚 never happened since it opened in 1907.
Bureau officials say the lake is too low, and diverting its water this year could cause further harm to two endangered fish species critical to the Klamath Tribes.
In a , KWUA wrote: 鈥淭here are rumors that people are being recruited from other parts of the country to participate in demonstrations. In the past, persons threatening property have represented a tiny fraction of the irrigated acreage in the Klamath Project.鈥�
After last week鈥檚 announcement, the users association blasted the federal government for prioritizing two endangered species over water for irrigators.
The canal, known as 鈥淎 Canal,鈥� diverts water from Upper Klamath Lake to irrigators in Klamath County in Oregon as well as Siskiyou and Modoc counties across the border in California. The Bureau says forced their decision.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has in eight counties, including Klamath, Lake and Jackson counties. The latest report from the shows the region experiencing extreme and, in some areas, exceptional drought.
