At the request of the Klamath County Commission, Gov. John Kitzhaber signed an executive order Wednesday declaring a state of drought emergency in Klamath County.

The declaration is the first step in seeking federal aid for business and residents of the county.

Kitzhaber also sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman asking for a natural resource disaster declaration for losses incurred because of the drought.

According to the letter, streamflow into the Upper Klamath Lake is only 29 percent of normal and water levels from melting snow packs in the Basin are 40 percent of normal levels.

"Because the drought is affecting producers' planting decisions this spring, much of the remaining acreage will not go into production at all," Kitzhaber wrote. "This is a prevented planting situation, which will mean income lost to producers -- over $65 million in farmgate value -- as well as to many local businesses where growers purchase inputs, which would otherwise put over $45 million into the local economy."