"Convoy of Tears" Heads for Klamath Basin

By Pat Taylor
from http://eco.freedom.org/el/20010802/taylor.shtml

8/15/01- A "Convoy of Tears" will set out from at least three states this week and travel thousands of miles to bring supplies and donations to beleaguered farmers and their communities in Klamath Basin on the California-Oregon state line.

By holding rallies and auctions of donated items along the way, convoy organizers hope to gather more than 20,000 supporters and be well on the way to raising $20 million worth of relief by the time they converge in Klamath Falls, Oregon, next Tuesday, 21, for a huge "Freedom Day" rally.

But the most important goal, according to organizer Joe Bair, is "to send a message to the American people that if we work together, we can solve the problems that our government has been creating in Klamath Falls and elsewhere through the Endangered Species Act."

"Convoy of Tears" organizer Joe Bair said the idea for the convoy - and for a May 7 "Bucket Brigade" protest that thrust the Klamath Basin into the national spotlight - was inspired by a "Shovel Brigade" protest that took place in Jarbidge, in the northeast corner of Nevada, in January of 2000.

Bob St. Louis, who helped organize the "Shovel Brigade" and is also helping the Klamath folks organize this week's "Convoy of Tears," said there are many similarities between the Elko situation and the Klamath Basin situation.

In both cases - and in many other instances around the country - he said, environmental activists have used the Endangered Species Act to force the government to take actions that would destroy the livelihoods and communities of the people who live there.

In the Klamath Basin, farmers and their communities are being destroyed because professional environmental activists, through "citizen" lawsuits filed under the ESA, forced the government to use irrigation water for protecting suckers and salmon instead of for irrigating cropland.

In Jarbidge, St. Louis said, after a flood washed out a road that is critical to the town's tourism industry, a group of environmental activists convinced the federal government to declare an ESA "emergency" listing of the bull trout, which inhabits the river that runs beside the road.

As a result, the government could not fix the road because it would impact the trout's habitat, and the townspeople saw their livelihood and community nearly destroyed.

But St. Louis said the citizens of Jarbidge decided to fight back. They started a "Shovels of Solidarity" campaign to protest the government's actions. Supporters from all over the country sent 10,000 shovels, and on July 4, 2000, close to a thousand citizen volunteers formed a "Shovel Brigade" and manually opened the road.

Since then, he said, the citizens have won several court battles and the government has been ordered to fix the road - although the government is still dragging its feet, he said.

As a fundraiser for their cause, "Shovels of Solidarity" created a giant steel shovel that stands 30 feet tall, on which supporters could have their names engraved. St. Louis said the giant shovel will be brought to Klamath Falls by a "Convoy of Tears" contingent from Montana, where the shovel has been utilized as a protest symbol in a similar situation created by the Endangered Species Act.

On August 21, the giant shovel will be joined by two 11-foot tall, one-and-half-ton buckets, which are being brought by convoy contingents from Nevada and California.

The Nevada contingent will leave from Elko on Tuesday, August 14, following a rally and auction Monday evening. The convoy will spend a week on the road, traveling 1,000 miles through Idaho and Oregon. Current plans include rallies and auctions in Twin Falls and Boise in Idaho, Pendleton and Portland in Oregon, and as many points in between as organizers can find someone willing to sponsor an event.

The California contingent plans to depart Malibu Wednesday. This contingent will hold similar events in Bakersfield, Fresno, San Francisco, Sacramento, and points in between along its 700-mile route.

On Saturday, the Montana contingent plans to set out from Kalispell, in the northwest corner of the state, and wind its way along a 750-mile route through Idaho and Walla Walla, Washington on its way to Klamath Falls.

"Freedom Day" organizer Holly Swanson said plans for the August 21 rally have not yet been finalized, but it is hoped that at least one nationally-known entertainer will be on hand.

St. Louis said that after the August 21 event, the giant shovel and buckets will remain at "Camp Headgates," where the Klamath protesters have been keeping an around-the-clock vigil since July 4, "as a symbol of the struggle rural Americans are having with their onerous land barons, the federal government."

Bair said the non-profit organization that is planning the "Convoy of Tears" realizes their goal of $20 million in relief funds for the people of Klamath Basin will probably not be met by August 21, so future events are already being planned. The organization is also encouraging people to give donations through their website www.Klamath-relief-fund.com.