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Op-Ed: The truth about Idaho’s farms and water in eastern Idaho
By Blayne Wright • July 24, 2024The following Op-Ed was submitted by Blayne Wright. Op-Eds do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of those at the Idaho Dispatch.
“There is a fight happening in southeastern Idaho right now, over the most important resource we have: WATER. Unfortunately, there is also a lot of misinformation being spread that is trying to pit farmer versus farmer, and even farmer versus Idaho, over what some are calling “an attack on farmland”.
It’s time we cut through the noise and start talking about the facts. Here’s the truth about what’s actually happening in southern Idaho:
AdvertisementFirst, NO FARMLAND in Idaho is being shut down and Governor Brad Little DID NOT command any farmers to close their farm. Farms with junior groundwater rights have the opportunity to continue farming by complying with the mitigation plan they entered into in 2016 to restore the aquifer and mitigate.
Second, the Idaho Department of Water Resources is a state agency that DOES report to the Governor as it follows state law. The Department approved the above referenced 2016 mitigation plan and enforces the plan.
Third, water from the Eastern Snake River Plain Aquifer is NOT being taken away from farmers and diverted to Boise.
AdvertisementAnd finally, junior groundwater users DID AGREE to adhere to all Idaho laws and mitigation plans, and the potential curtailment earlier this year was issued because some users CHOSE NOT TO UPHOLD that agreement.
The misrepresentations currently being spread are outlandish generalizations that aim to create doubt and perpetuate fear. No one wants any farmland to go without water. Why would we, when those farms put food on our tables and bring jobs and revenue to our communities? But ALL farmers need water and according to the Idaho Constitution, there is a clearly defined process, the prior appropriation doctrine that dictates how to distribute this limited resource while helping ensure we have enough for future generations.
Here’s how this entire water disagreement began.
AdvertisementIdaho’s water is conjunctively allocated by “first in time, first in right”. So senior right holders, typically surface water users, get their allotment first, then junior right holders, who are primarily groundwater users. Nearly all groundwater users in eastern Idaho get their water from the Eastern Snake River Plan Aquifer. But due to the last few years of severe drought and historical declines from years of over-pumping, the ESPA’s water levels are declining at an alarming rate. This puts every user at risk of having less water during irrigation season as rain and snowpack supplies fluctuate.
The Idaho Department of Water Resources is responsible for monitoring the state’s water supplies, and this year, IDWR calculated a water shortfall to senior surface users. So, according to state law, IDWR said that junior groundwater users not complying with an approved mitigation plan would be subject to curtailment and those complying with an approved plan had safe harbor from curtailment.
Most groundwater districts did comply with that agreement – but a few chose not to, and instead, started making false claims to the media that thousands of acres of farmland were going to dry up because the government took their water.
Do these JUNIOR WATER USERS realize that when THEY DECIDED NOT TO COMPLY, they weren’t taking water from Boise but were actually taking water away from other eastern Idaho farmers and impacting neighbors who were complying or desiring to stay in business?
Do they realize that IDWR and the Governor are doing their jobs to uphold the state law and the agreement signed by the groundwater districts, and that the groundwater users’ disregard for following the law and agreement puts other farmland that relies on surface water at risk of drying up?
Do these groundwater users understand that this all started because of their own choices?
The truth is the surface water farmers and irrigators are the reason the potential curtailment was canceled. They forgave tens of thousands of acre-feet of water owed to them by three groundwater districts to protect the entire region’s farming season.
Also, the rhetoric that Idaho’s state government would want to shut down any agricultural land is absurd, especially when you consider how important the ag industry is to our state economy and identity. Both the Governor and Lt. Governor are generational ranchers who know firsthand how important water is, and both worked tirelessly to help avoid any injury to farmers. They also know that priority of water rights is the backbone of water. Without priority there is chaos.
These are not the bad guys. Our state government is upholding our Constitutional laws, and our surface water users are simply asking to receive the water they need to keep their farms in business.
We all want the same thing here: enough water to plant our crops, feed our cattle, and supply our communities with clean drinking water. It’s time we stopped listening to the few who want to create panic and start working together as neighbors towards a long-term solution that supports all eastern Idaho water users.
Blayne Wright is a 3rd generation Idaho farmer. He and his wife, Joyce, produce beans, garden bean seeds, wheat, barley, corn, hay and cattle on their farm located just north of Filer, Idaho.”
Tags: Blayne Wright, Farmland, Farms, Idaho Department of Water Resources, Water
15 thoughts on “Op-Ed: The truth about Idaho’s farms and water in eastern Idaho”
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May only be me but I think this is a great wright-up. I know how poorly things can go, ex: the Klamath Water Crisis.
I agree
Yes! It’s great to hear from the actual people affected and part of the issue. So much distortion these days.
It’s time for farmers to look at the bigger picture. Rain water could be relocated through cloud seeding – a project funded through tax dollars via IDWR to Idaho Power (maps are available on NOAA reports). Where are the studies to show that IDWR and Idaho Power haven’t impacted rainfall totals by drawing moisture out of clouds near their generators and flight paths while not sacrificing the neighboring area rainfall totals? Or, where are the studies to demonstrate over seeding did not cause the drought conditions? Instead, our legislature passed HB 266 in 2021, giving IDWR and their contractors liability exemptions for the cloud seeding program.
If the author wants to make sure we have clean water, let’s ask why DEQ is not testing after Idaho Power cloud seeds.
Search “Idaho” and then search “Boise” to see maps of cloud seeding generators and flight paths. Could this be impacting southern Idaho rainfall totals?
https://libguides.library.noaa.gov/weather-climate/weather-modification-project-reports
Did you notice it says nothing about the lush lawn and golf courses in sun valley, What about the manufactures politicians have given the state to so they move to Idaho and consume way more water than we have, what about the City ordnances that require vegetation that needs water to get any type of building permit, and above all what about all the 60 gallon per day cows that are year round.
Sorry, this is merely an explanation of why the problem exists.
I think that whoever made this write up needs to do alot more research.
My hub’s grandfather was WA State Cattleman of the Year. As was hub’s father. Though we have lived in Idaho for the last 40 years, we still own the 2nd oldest brand in WA. Every property we have owned has had water on it. We don’t take its value lightly. So it has been with THIS foundation that, about 5 years ago, I began to notice vast changes in our streams, weather patterns and health of our pastures, forests, soil and water flow around us. During CV, I began to REALLY look up. And I noticed something: Nothing is as it appears. As a long retired nat’l magazine writer I used latent research skills to unearth full comprehensive professionally done documentaries like The Dimming and Frankenskies and was stunned. My Idaho skies riddled with white lines blocking out sunshine were their evidence. As was the infamous clip of President Johnson proudly touting, “He who controls the
weather, controls the world! ” What on earth (or off it) had been happening on MY watch? I wrote letters to Gov Little and was referred to Idaho Power and ID Dept of Water, etc. Wrote to them too. No response. Meanwhile watching the skies turn a fairly consistent milky metallic color, the soil turn rock hard, and using a radar app to chart the tail numbers of the jets spewing out what I now knew are toxic chemicals (aluminum, barium, strontium to name just a few) in my precious once-vivid Idaho-blue heaven. The op ed writer is approx my age. If he’s like the rest of my peer group of Boomers, he’s likely still using mainstream media and governmental talking points as his resources for what he believes are facts. Those days are long gone and it’s time today’s farmers and ranchers get their heads out of the proverbial sand and truly look up: Start with a precursory search on Rumble (not censored like YT) of one simple word–“chemtrails” and don’t stop in until you’ve “harvested” the REAL truth to the agenda in our skies. Brace yourselves. You’ve been lied to. Again.
You are not wrong about media and information sources. Too many of the mainstream sources are not trustworthy anymore. Conspiracy cr*p (as some say) or not, there’s something to the chemtrails and something needs to be done about it.
I completely agree
I completely agree we can no longer trust the mainstream media or our politicians. There is something going on with messing with the weather. The writer needs to learn a thing or two.
Maybe look at Bill Gates since he is squeezing farmers and ranchers out
Water is the life blood of everything. Our lives depend on it. So, it’s time for everyone in Idaho to find solutions to the drought. Otherwise, we will be fighting for water, just like the states in the Colorado Water System are fighting each other now.
Note that the author does not address the key factor: the calculation of water done by the governors own office and that the calculations used departed from existing precedent and the calculations used when the agreements were signed. This one omission colors the entire article decidedly purple -the color of the RINO.