Merkley, Wyden Welcome $400 Million to Combat Historic Western Drought

August 02, 2024

Merkley, Wyden Welcome $400 Million to Combat Historic Western Drought

USDA's New Water Savings Commodity Program Follows Call from Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, California, Arizona, Nevada, & Montana Lawmakers in April

Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden welcomed the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) announcement of $400 million to address drought through investments at the irrigation district scale in 12 states across the American West. The Central Oregon Irrigation District (COID) was selected for this innovative funding opportunity in Oregon.

"As climate chaos fuels long-term drought in Oregon and across the American West, the federal government must use all the resources at its disposal to address this ongoing crisis," said Merkley. "My colleagues and I urged the administration to take action earlier this year, and I applaud the USDA for creating this new program to fund innovative water solutions. This is a much-needed step forward to build a stronger, more resilient future for the West's economy and environment."

"It is absolutely essential that the communities in Oregon and across the nation facing droughts and wildfires have every available resource they need to be safe and thrive," said Wyden. "These are not your grandfather's fires. They burn hotter and bigger than at any other time in recent history. I will continue to advocate for more support for communities in affected by drought and wildfires caused by the climate crisis."

Producers who participate in USDA's Water Saving Commodity Program will receive payments for voluntarily reducing water consumption while maintaining commodity production. This funding will help conserve up to 50,000 acre-feet in water use across 250,000 acres of irrigated land in production, while expanding and creating new, sustainable market opportunities. The new program, coupled with investments from the Western Water Framework, will support innovative measures for water conservation while building resilience for long-term agricultural production in Oregon and the West.

"Central Oregon Irrigation District is grateful for the USDA's investment in our conservation projects. This partnership will advance our ongoing efforts to improve crop yields, create opportunities for long-term water reliability, and conserve water, making a lasting impact in the Deschutes Basin," said COID Managing Director Craig Horrell.

"We welcome USDA's announcement, which will benefit many of our members who need this funding. Over half of the irrigation districts selected to participate in the new Water Savings Commodity Program belong to our organization," said Dan Keppen, Executive Director of the Family Farm Alliance. "Our long-held philosophy is that the best solutions to local water resources challenges come from the locals themselves. Irrigation districts are governed by the farmers and ranchers they serve. Putting those districts in the driver's seat to work with USDA will in turn allow the districts to work with their producers to determine the best specific strategies for water conservation. I'm confident that the innovative strategies that come out of this program will provide a template for additional future success elsewhere in the West. There is more demand out there for additional drought resilience assistance. This program will underscore that need and demonstrate that irrigation districts and producers are true problem solvers in the Western water world."

"Farmers Conservation Alliance is grateful to the USDA for creating the Water savings Commodity Program to support irrigation districts and farmers in managing the ongoing drought in the Western United States. This funding will be instrumental in modernizing aging infrastructure and helping conserve water while ensuring farmers and ranchers can continue to produce essential commodities," said Julie O'Shea, Executive Director, of Farmers Conservation Alliance. 'We appreciate the efforts of Senators Merkley and Wyden in encouraging USDA to create programs that help address the challenges of long-term drought in the Western United States."

In April, Merkley and U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), and U.S. Representatives Yadira Caraveo (D-Colo.) and Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) alongside 26 Senate and House colleagues representing Western states-including Wyden-called on the Biden Administration to make further investments to address long-term drought caused by climate change. The lawmakers applaud the administration's previous and ongoing efforts to combat drought in the American West - including through the Western Water and Working Lands Framework and by opening upInflation Reduction Act funding for additional climate-smart agriculture practices - and called for further action to address Western drought through investments in upstream watershed-scale projects, water forecasting, water conservation, and watershed restoration.

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