Rose Comstock
1843 Quincy Jct. Road
Quincy, California 95971
530-283-1565 phone/fax comstock@inreach.com
California Farm Bureau Federation
Executive Office
Mr. Bob Vice, President
2300 River Plaza Drive
Sacramento, CA. 95833-3239
July 8,1998
Re: Quincy Library Group Meeting Invitation
Dear Mr. Vice,
As you are probably well aware the Quincy Library Group legislation is pending the Senate awaiting a vote. Serious concerns have been raised by QLG steering committee member Mr. Wally Roney about the possible impacts of the pending legislation to his State adjudicated water rights within his allotment on the Lassen National Forest. The California Farm Bureau Federation's legal counsel, Carolyn Richardson, has previously been involved in discussions with the US Forest Service and California Cattlemen's Association members concerning the possible impacts to grazing permittees and you also have been involved in instrumental communications with Congressman Herger's office concerning the implementation of the SAT guidelines should the QLG legislation pass and be signed into law. The California Farm Bureau Federation can again be instrumental in helping to resolve the serious concerns over the interpretation and consequences of the implementation of the pending QLG legislation to permittee's within the QLG area.
The QLG steering committee members would like to invite you to attend the next scheduled meeting, to be held in Quincy on July 23rd, to be apart of a discussion about the impacts, if any, the pending QLG legislation would have on State adjudicated water rights that Mr. Roney currently holds in Lassen County.
Although Mr. Roney has raised his concerns with various associations and the QLG, it seems as though the issue has not been resolved to the cattlemen's satisfaction. Many are of the belief that the proposed colloquy language that the Farm Bureau and the CCA submitted to Congress and the fact that the bill is silent on water rights is sufficient to ensure security against any threat towards the utilization of existing water rights but Mr. Roney and others do not believe this resolves the concern.
This seemingly unresolved issue is causing a great deal of unrest for many throughout the nation who have supported the passage of the QLG legislation but also have questions as to whether or not the pending legislation will in effect take State adjudicated water rights by virtue of implementation of the SAT guidelines in a project area within the QLG landbase.
Our intention is to bring the affected parties together with the appropriate legal counsel from the State Water Resource Control Board, the appropriate US Forest Service representatives, Congressman Herger's staff, the Cattlemen's Association representatives, the California Farm Bureau Federation representatives and the QLG steering committee at our next scheduled meeting. We are all in hopes that information that is brought forward from the invited guests will settle the issue once and for all. We are not looking for combative arguments between the cattlemen and any of the QLG members, but we want to know specifically how, or if, this pending legislation would negatively impact State adjudicated water rights. We are also seeking information from the US Forest Service about how the Presidents Forest Plan SAT guidelines affected grazing on the North Western side of the state where they have been in place for several years. At our last QLG steering committee meeting we agreed that this was a necessary step in order to settle the dispute to be able to move forward with the forest health legislation. I am in hopes you will be able to help provide necessary input to help resolve this issue.
I believe that legal interpretation of what the pending legislation allows the US Forest Service to do concerning State adjudicated water rights and what the US Forest Services interpretation is of the pending legislation, is the only reasonable avenue that will resolve the dispute and garner the trust of everyone affected by the pending legislation to support the process in Congress and at the local level in the future. I have requested from the State Water Resources Control Board Chief Counsel to review the necessary information as well as an addition water law expert to provide those opinions and I hope they will be able to contribute that information at this meeting.
I am also wondering if you received any further information from the Regional office of the US Forest Service concerning this issue since your meeting in February? If so, would you mind forwarding it on to me?
We would appreciate it very much if you could attend the July 23rd meeting. If this date will not accommodate your schedule please let me know. If you have any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to call me. I'm not always available during the workday hours, but if you leave me a message I will return your call. I'm looking forward to your response as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Rose Comstock
Quincy Library Group Steering Committee Member
cc; QLG Steering Committee