On the surface, it looks like there is plenty of water to go around in parts of Stafford and Pratt counties, especially with recent rains flooding an area known as the Rattlesnake River Basin. But farmers and ranchers who have lived in the area are getting ready to fight for their rights to use water far under the ground, threatened by a complaint from federally-controlled Quivira Wildlife National Refuge.
Concerned about federal laws taking away state rights to regulate water use, a group of Stafford County area residents has joined forces to form the non-profit “Rattlesnake Basin Cause.” They are focused on water rights issues stemming from the Quivira Wildlife National Refuge (Wildlife and Parks Services) Impairment Complaint of 2012 which, they believe, is now at a boiling point for resolution.
Rural Stafford County residents Leah Chadd, her son Shaine Chadd, Rachel Crane and her father Alan Crane are the principals in the grassroots movement. They hope to call attention to the issues and proposed resolution between Quivira and southcentral Kansas farmers and landowners, represented by the Ground Management District 5 Board and Kansas Chief Engineer David Barfield.
(Read more: News – The Hutchinson News)