A group of about 15 Tea Party supporters gathered at the parking lot of the former Ribeye restaurant in Chehalis Friday afternoon to raise money and awareness for the Farmer Relief and Freedom Relay, a cross-country drive in support of farmers in California who are being negatively impacted by the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

    Tea Party supporters are politically unaffiliated yet view their ideas as conservative.

    “Over-spending by the government and Constitutional rights are our two main concerns,” Olympia Tea Party organizer Ken Morse said.

    The issue of water rights for the Central Valley, Calif., farmers and the ESA protecting the delta smelt, a minnow-like fish designated as “threatened” under the ESA, are hotly contested by the Tea Party supporters.

    “This is an extension of what is going on in Oregon with the Klamath Valley,” Winlock resident Mark Erickson said.

    According to Andrew Ian Dodge, who has driven across the country in support of the California farmers, over 1,000 Tea Party advocates have shown up to events similar to the one on Friday afternoon.

    “We put this together two weeks ago. It has been getting great reception,” the Washington state coordinator and board member of the National Tea Party Patriots, Sally Oljar said.

    “It will take an act of Congress to turn on the water,” Oljar said, who noted that the organization has until Dec. 31 to persuade Congress to pump water back into the valley.

    “We see this as eco-tyranny,” she said.