A recent study showed that last year's water restrictions cost Klamath farms about $71 million in revenue, while the regional economy lost about $134 million, about 3.2 percent of its total.

Farmers are hoping for a quick allocation of water, saying they need to plan for spring planting. They have threatened to resume protests early next year if no decision is made on irrigation allocations.

Nearly every day for the last month, snow has blanketed the area, leading to optimistic but unofficial assessments from authorities who think farmers may get a larger share of water next spring.

But the optimism was marred by the shootings in the town of Chiloquin, which has a majority American Indian population and is the headquarters of the Klamath tribes.

TRIBES HOLD FISH SACRED

The tribes, which consider the endangered sucker fish sacred, were beneficiaries of last spring's allocation, which protect that fish as well as endangered salmon and other wildlife in the area.

Protests ensued and tensions ran high all summer, but there were no shooting incidents until the one reported by dozens of witnesses on Dec. 1.

The witnesses heard the three suspects shouting "sucker lovers" and racial slurs as they drove through Chiloquin, firing shotgun blasts at signs and outbuildings during a 10-minute rampage, Klamath County Sheriff Tim Evinger said.

"This was an act of terrorism," he said. "This kind of action causes great upheaval in people's daily lives, and I consider it to be terrorizing an entire community."

The town of about 800 people has no local police, and tribal officials said they were afraid nothing would be done.

But Evinger, who has worked to mediate the dispute over water, said: "We sent officers out there immediately. They were there in 20 minutes. We took the weapons away from the suspects right away."

Still, the tribe was concerned when no arrests were made until Wednesday, a delay Evinger said was due to the number of witnesses and victims.

'EXTREME EXPRESSION' OF ANIMOSITY

Tribal chairman Allen Foreman said the tribes have felt racial tension throughout the water crisis, but he added that this was the "most extreme expression" of animosity he had seen.

The suspects - all men in their 20s living in Bonanza, Oregon - were charged with felony intimidation, conspiracy, unlawful use of a weapon, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief.

"These young fellows went duck hunting, got snowed out and were bored. They made some poor choices after consuming alcohol, drove through Chiloquin and began shouting and blasting away," Evinger said.

The snow could, at least for this year, end the crisis.

The snowfall has been 180 percent of normal, where last year at this time it was 57 percent of normal, Jim Bryant, the Klamath Irrigation Project manager, said.

The first assessment toward determining the allocation will be based on data collected on Jan. 1 and the results of biological assessments already under way.

"Things are looking a lot better than last year," said Jeff McCracken, a spokesman for the Bureau of Land Management. "Hopefully, we will get an opportunity to operate the project to benefit all parties. Mother Nature has been very helpful."