Mr. McCarthy fails to mention Klamath EQIP in the 2005 Farm Bill. That included $50 million to Klamath Basin  irrigators to improve irrigation efficiency in order to make more water available for salmon and refuges. Much of the money was used to exploit groundwater; there was no benefit to flows and the refuges continue to be dewatered. 

But McCarthy is misinformed about the Klamath Irrigation Project's power subsidy. He claims that "A decade ago, WaterWatch, Oregon Wild and our allies in the commercial salmon fishing industry helped overturn this exclusive subsidy and normalized pumping costs to encourage water conservation in the Klamath Basin." 

The low power costs were actually the result of a long-term contract which PacifiCorp inherited when it purchased the Klamath Hydroelectric Project. When the contract's term was up, PacifiCorp declined to renew it and pumping costs went up. 

It is not a good sign when a spokesman for Water Watch misrepresents the facts.