| Water in the Klamath Basin
Until last year, the agricultural community that depends on the Bureau of Reclamation Klamath Project for irrigation water had been quietly doing what they’d always done: farming. Construction of the Klamath Project was initiated in 1907 and by 2000, the Project was providing water to 1,400 farms—about 210,000 acres—producing oats, barley, wheat, potatoes, and sugar beets, and fueling a $300 million ag–dependent economy throughout the Klamath Basin. However, recent measures to protect endangered fish have created tensions between agricultural and environmental interests. History: Under the 1902 Reclamation Act, California and Oregon ceded wetlands in the Klamath Basin to the federal government to “reclaim” for agricultural homesteading. Subsequently, many of the 359,000 acres of wetlands were drained and offered for homesteads to World War I and II veterans. In 1988, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) listed two sucker fish under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). In 1992, a drought year, FWS recommended a minimum summer elevation of 4,137 feet for Upper Klamath Lake to protect the fish. For the first time, irrigation deliveries were curtailed to meet minimum lake levels. In 1996, the Bureau of Reclamation agreed to meet certain minimum instream flows to protect habitat for Tribal Trust resources in anadromous fish. In 1997, two southern Oregon/northern California populations of coho salmon were listed under the ESA. Further, a study published in 1999 by Thomas Hardy, a Utah State University hydrologist, recommended in–stream flows to protect the fish that were much higher than those Reclamation had agreed to in 1996. In 2001, a new FWS Biological Opinion (BO) for the suckers required that the minimum elevation in Upper Klamath Lake be raised to 4,140 feet with no exceptions, and a new BO based on the Hardy study called for increased flows for the coho. On March 28, 2001, John Kitz-haberm, Governor of Oregon declared a drought emergency for the Klamath Basin. On April 6, Reclamation announced that there would be no water available from Upper Klamath Lake for irrigation to the Klamath Project. On July 24, 2001, Interior Secretary Norton announced that due to higher than anticipated lake levels, about 75,000 acre feet of water would be released from Upper Klamath Lake to the farmers to be used for livestock, to recharge wells, and to save some pastures or row crops. On August 7 of that year, several environmental groups filed a lawsuit challenging the water release and stating that—according to the BO—any extra water must go to the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge to support waterfowl and wintering bald eagles. The Bureau of Reclamation purchased well water for the refuges. As a result of this action, the conservation groups no longer sought a temporary restraining order to halt all water deliveries to the farmers. In the long run, increasing storage has the potential to increase flexibility in Project operations. Feasibility studies will be made on raising Upper Klamath Lake and Gerber Dam. Reclamation also is working with FWS, OWRD, DWR, PacifiCorp, California Waterfowl Association, irrigation districts, tribes, and others to find a balance among the demands for water that will be acceptable to all interests and sustainable through a range of water years. 2002 Biological Opinions: The Bureau of Reclamation received the final biological opinions regarding the effect of the Bureau’s ten–year Klamath Project operations plan on threatened and endangered fishes from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service. According to Bureau of Reclamation spokesman Jeff McCracken, water will continue to flow this year and biological requirements will be met, but the Bureau intends to re–open consultation with the fish agencies before the next irrigation season. For more information on the Klamath River, California Biodiversity News: Volume 9, Number 2 |
