Fall and winter flooding benefit Klamath Ag and wildlife

The flooded fields in the Klamath Drainage District not only the success of the district’s family farmers and ranchers, it also echoes the ecosystem of Lower Klamath for area wildlife.

After the last potato has been dug, the last lush hayfield swathed and baled, and the last kernel of grain harvested and stored in a granary, farming and ranching in the Klamath Drainage District takes on a distinctly different tone.

Cows that lazed about pastures now eagerly await the feed wagon for hay. Fields once green with thriving crops and then brown from those same crops harvested give way to a flooded landscape reminding us that the 27,000 acres of rich cropland was once a part of Lower Klamath Lake.

A flooded field in the Klamath Drainage District farmed by Ron McGill, Klamath Falls, Oregon. — This field flooded by Ron McGill benefits from natural pest control (including weeds) while the soil is replenished.

KDD is unique from other districts in the Klamath Project in part because of its unique soils, which make fall and winter flooding advantageous for growing conditions the following spring and summer.

In recognition of this historical practice, the district’s water rights specifically provide for fall/winter flooding. At times these water rights have been criticized despite the benefits managing water this way provides for KDD family farmers and ranchers, the Klamath Project, wildlife in the district, and the greater Klamath Basin ecosystem.

Winter in the district

KDD farmers and ranchers operate much like other operations in the Klamath Basin in the winter.

For ranchers, cows and other livestock need to be fed. Grain, hay, and row crop growers are reaching out to buyers and moving commodities as needed.

However, KDD’s fall and winter water diversions add another element producers in other Klamath Project districts don’t have to worry about – irrigation.

Benefits for Klamath Ag

For KDD farmers and ranchers, fall/winter flooding provides several advantages that support sustainable agriculture in the district.

A wheel line in a flooded field in the Klamath Drainage District farmed by Ron McGill, Klamath Falls, OR. — A wheel line sits in a flooded field farmed by Ron McGill.

One primary benefit for KDD producers, as well as other farmers in Klamath Project irrigation districts, is fall and winter flooding pre-irrigates the pastures and fields in the district. When the Bureau of Reclamation allows for water to be diverted from Upper Klamath Lake for Klamath Basin agriculture, the demand from KDD is less in those early months.

With less demand from KDD growers, elevation levels in Upper Klamath Lake are impacted less, and in those early months of the irrigation season other districts are able to divert more water to their patrons.

There’s also the benefit of chemical-free pest control and fertilization.

After crops are harvested, some producers burn their fields to rid them of stubble and weeds. Burning fields helps stop invasive weeds from getting a foothold in the fields while also putting nutrients back into the soil.

Flooding those same fields helps break down the torched organic matter further and keep the seeds of pest plants from growing. And for fields that weren’t touched by fire, soil health is enhanced at the microbial level, recreating the rich earth that encouraged early settlers to establish farms in the area.

As a result, KDD farmers and ranchers require less fertilizer and pesticides when the growing season rolls around. For this reason, KDD alone accounts for nearly 10 percent of all of Oregon’s organic farming acres.

A harvested grain field that is being flooded in the Klamath Drainage District, Klamath Falls, Oregon. — Fall and winter flooding helps break down plant matter and return important nutrients back to the soil.

Benefits for the Lower Klamath ecosystem

Aside from the need for fewer pesticides and fertilizers, winter irrigation benefits the greater Klamath Basin ecosystem in several ways.

By cutting down on the amount of fertilizer needed to grow a crop, fall and winter flooding helps cut down on the amount of phosphorus needed to grow a crop. Not only does that help prevent excessive phosphorus from potentially being sent down the Klamath River, it helps prevent excess phosphorus from leaching into groundwater.

For groundwater, flooding fields in the off season helps recharge the aquifer. Over the last few years, wells have gone dry due to the Bureau of Reclamation cutting off water to the Klamath Project. Getting moisture into the ground helps replenish these sources of water, and during hot, dry summer months, can affect the local climate when that moisture is evaporated and then released during thunderstorms.

Canada geese walk on ice in a field flooded by Ron McGill in the Klamath Drainage District, Klamath Falls, Oregon. — Flooded fields provide habitat for birds migrating the Pacific Flyway, such as these Canada geese.

Flooding KDD’s fields during the fall and winter months also helps this region of the Klamath Basin function more closely to how it did before the Klamath Project was developed. Before white settlers came to the area, this marshy triangle on the north end of Lower Klamath Lake provided the Modocs with food and fiber to sustain their way of life.

Though the plant life has changed, getting water onto the landscape annually remains essential to honor the traditional ecosystem function of the area.

Helping wildlife in the Lower Klamath

Swans and geese in a flooded field in the Klamath Drainage District, Klamath Falls, OR. — Swans and honkers taking advantage of a flooded field north of the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge.

The Klamath Basin is a major migration corridor for birds traveling the Pacific Flyway. With KDD’s proximity to Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge and Bear Valley National Wildlife Refuge, the district is a hotspot for birdwatchers and hunters alike.

Since water to Tule Lake and Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuges has been scarce for water the last few years, fields and pastures have become the principal refuge for wildlife.

From Tulelake to Worden and up to Midland, farms and ranches have provided much needed habitat and food sources for wildlife. In the fall, these seasonal wetlands provide food for shore birds, migrating Sandhill cranes, and local herons and egrets.

Come winter, with the increased migration of ducks, geese, and swans on the Pacific Flyway, the flooded fields become open water that welcome the travelers to stop and rest before continuing their journey south.

A bald eagle on a post in a canal in the Klamath Drainage District, Klamath Falls, Oregon. — For raptors, such as this bald eagle, winter flooding provides hunting opportunities.

For coyotes and raptors, the advancing and receding waters drive small prey from the ground for them to hunt. The abundant waterfowl near the fields’ shorelines and in the canals provide another source of food for predators.

In the spring, as the flooded fields are drained for farming, deer and antelope can be found eating the soft green growth as it emerges.

Draining KDD’s fields ends up benefitting the wildlife in the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge too. Last spring, for example, KDD sent nearly 2,500 acre/feet of recirculated water to Unit 2 of the Lower Klamath refuge to help offset the shortage inflicted by the Bureau of Reclamation.

From soil health to providing habitat, KDD’s fall and winter flooding is as important to the success to the growers in the district as it is the Klamath Basin ecosystem and ultimately the entire Pacific Flyway. And as time goes on, sustainable practices such as this will be more recognized for the wide-ranging advantages they provide agriculture and the environment.