The Oregon Natural Resources Council hopes to raise
$100,000 to defend itself against a lawsuit concerning its
activities in the Klamath Basin in south-central Oregon and
northern California. The group, with an annual budget of $650,000,
has already spent $25,000 on defense. Farmer Marion Palmer charges
that ONRC and others have interfered with his water rights from the
federal Klamath Project since 1991. ONRC has filed lawsuits and
administrative actions against the Bureau of Reclamation to ensure
that the agency releases enough water to meet the needs of the
endangered short-nosed and lost river suckers. Palmer says the
group’s actions were done “to deceive the general public and
extract contributions …” and have prevented him from getting his
fair share of water on a timely basis. He wants $40,000 for damages
and reimbursement of his legal fees. Phil Berry, an attorney
representing the ONRC, characterizes the lawsuit as a SLAPP suit
(Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) that has no merit.
But his motion to have the case dismissed last fall was
denied.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Legal fight is costly.
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