the film forum library tutorial contact

Water Rights by Wayne de la Motte The Idaho Statesman, September 20, 2003

In a state like Idaho that is sheep-dipped in gun culture, magnum metaphors are apropos, even de rigueur.

Yes, the environmental lobby is holding a gun to the hydro-headed farm lobby. The tree-hugger coalition will sue in federal court for the annual fish flush if the Lower Snake dams are not breached.

Earth to farm lobby: The water you steal every year belongs to the first water right holder, the Nez Perce Tribe. They have a treaty with the U.S. government (under Abraham Lincoln) that predates statehood and the age of the hydrofathers.

Will a federal court convince agribusiness to team with the save-the-salmon crowd to save their precious spud farms? If so, it could inspire a new Idaho license plate slogan: Famous Shotgun Weddings.