John Doolittle: “this area has been devastated by government mismanagement already. We already know the history when for no good…”

“this area has been devastated by government mismanagement already. We already know the history when for no good scientific reason the water was cut off to the farmers. It did irreparable harm, and it should not have happened, and now we come with this new amendment which is going to just compound the error that was made then and will do grave injustice to a community that depends upon the farming. The farming is essential to these refuges. These refuges do not use much water. I think 2 percent of the water developed in the basin goes for the purpose of agriculture. It is really a de minimus amount. It is clear that pesticides are not a problem. We have had these uses compatible that have gone on for over a hundred years in this area. There is a waterfowl area. We need farming. The Kuchel Act mandates we have farming in order to sustain the refuges. We have to have this continue. It would be a terrible injustice to enact this amendment. We need to stay focused, get the good science; and the good science says that agriculture and refuges are compatible. Please defeat this amendment.”