Klamath Falls, OR (December 5, 2025) – The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Oregon has released a Final Watershed Plan Environmental Assessment (EA) and a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Klamath Drainage District (KDD) Infrastructure Modernization Project.
NRCS Oregon has determined that the project will not cause significant local, regional, or national impacts to the environment. With a Final Watershed Plan EA in place, the project is now eligible for federal funding (pending Plan authorization by NRCS Chief Bettencourt) and may move forward into final design and construction.
The project will install a fish screen at the North Canal Diversion on the Klamath River; extend the North Canal and connect it to the P-1 Lateral; modify the North Canal to increase flow capacity; upgrade two pump stations for operational efficiency and to reduce water discharge to the Klamath River via the Klamath Straits Drain; and install flow monitoring and automated gates throughout the project area to improve water management.
By modernizing infrastructure, the proposed project would enable KDD to improve water management within its conveyance system and benefit fish populations in the Klamath River by preventing fish from getting trapped in KDD’s canals. By reducing water use inefficiencies, the proposed project would improve water quality in the Klamath River. The project would also allow KDD to supply additional water to the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge, which would increase critically needed habitat for wildlife.
The project is a joint effort among NRCS Oregon and KDD as the project sponsor and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as cooperating agencies, in coordination with other agencies, stakeholders, and the public.
The project may be partially funded through the Watershed and Flood Prevention Program, administered by NRCS and authorized by Public Law 83-566. Through this program, NRCS provides technical and financial assistance to local organizations (project sponsors) for planning and implementing projects that help solve natural resource and related economic problems in a specific watershed. These projects can include watershed protection, flood prevention, erosion and sediment control, water supply, water quality, fish and wildlife habitat enhancement, and wetlands creation.
Klamath Falls, OR – Last week, Klamath Drainage District (KDD) staff witnessed large dark masses below the surface of the water in the Ady Canal. Upon further inspection, those dark masses surfaced the water exposing their fins. On Friday, October 17th, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) confirmed that the fins were those of Chinook salmon. To date, salmon have been spotted from the head of the Ady Canal all the way down to the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge).
Scott White, the General Manager for the district said, “It’s a very exciting time. However, I never want to have to say, ‘I told you so.’ But dang it, I told you so,” he said with frustration. “It’s been nine years since the KPFA was signed and none of the promises made to farmers in that agreement regarding reintroduction of species have been upheld.”
White is referring to the Klamath Power and Facilities Agreement (KPFA) which was signed in 2016 by the United States, the State Governments of Oregon and California, and multiple Klamath Basin stakeholders. Specifically, White refers to Section II.B.2a and b that commits the federal and state parties to support funding “entrainment reduction facilities” for Klamath Project contractors (water users). There have been no fish screens installed under the agreement to date.
“We have been warning folks of this day for years and begging for support and very little has been done beyond lip service,” White continued. “Are you paying attention, now? A lot of effort and dollars were put into dam removal and restoration—now let’s see that fish are protected the way the KPFA intended.”
Although there have been no screens installed under the terms of the KPFA, KDD and Family Water Alliance (FWA) are forcing movement on the installation of five screens on turnouts in the Ady Canal. KDD has been working closely with the FWA, the Bureau of Reclamation and the ODFW on a $4.5 million multi-screen project that will assist in keeping these fish from going down turnouts where they don’t belong.
“While it’s exciting for everyone to see salmon in the Upper Basin and even in our district, we need to protect our landowners as well as the fish for this to be successful,” said KDD Board Member and district farmer, Scotty Fenters. “These screens should have been installed already to do just that.”
Since the early days of dam removal, KDD has been working hard with other stakeholders, especially the Yurok Tribe, on salmon restoration projects on its private lands and its private facilities. The screening project complements KDD’s plan to connect the river to the Refuge permanently. The project could provide access to thousands of acres of wetland habitat for the benefit of fish, fowl, and farms. The concept, known as “Replumbing the Klamath” or the “Lower Klamath Lake Reconnection”, includes water security for Klamath Project water users, which results in habitat for fish and birds in the heart of the Pacific Flyway. White said, “These salmon sightings prove the concept and define a secure future of balance and sustainability for all interests in the Klamath Basin.”
KDD owns all the district’s delivery infrastructure and want to remind everyone to respect private property, particularly for safety reasons.
“It’s an exciting time on the district for fish and bird watchers. We get it,” said White. “We frequently invite tours on our waterfowl-rich lands,” he said, citing to the popular annual Lower Klamath Renaissance Tour. “We are working on ways that we can be more accommodating to the public, but we have more work to do. Please be patient with us, but more importantly, please respect our landowners’ private property.”
About the Klamath Drainage District:
Klamath Drainage District (KDD) is a 27,000-acre district located in southern Oregon bordering the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge in California. KDD proactively works to improve distribution and delivery of its scarce water resources including recycling over 35,000 acre-feet annually through its recently installed recirculation pumping plants. Of this recycled water, most is reused to grow crops, but a percentage is used for growers outside of the district and used for habitat improvement and other refuge purposes. KDD is home to one of the largest concentrations of bald eagles in the lower 48 states and prides itself on its restoration activities and the tremendous wildlife viewing opportunities it provides.
The Klamath Drainage District has been working for nine years to get fish screens installed in the district’s canals to protect family farmers and fish populations. Photo by Darcy Hill, KDD.
Klamath Falls, OR – On August 28th, 2025, the Klamath Drainage District held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the North Canal autogate to celebrate the groundbreaking and installation of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) equipment on the district.
$5 million in funding was secured by Senator Jeff Merkley in the Fiscal Year 2022 Appropriations Bill with assistance from the Klamath Water Users Association and the Farmers Conservation Alliance (FCA) to help push it across the finish line. The district’s SCADA project is part of a greater network of sites located throughout the Klamath Reclamation Project. Installation of the system is being coordinated by the FCA, the group that has been instrumental in getting many district Watershed Plans drafted.
“This has been a long time coming,” said KDD Manager, Scott White. “Sometimes it feels like we spend too much time analyzing, but I’m not complaining today. Today, we’re celebrating.”
The SCADA system will allow KDD to gather data to monitor the water levels in the district’s canals and drains, and as needed, automatically open and close gates as well as turn on pumps to maintain water levels. “This will add another layer of efficiency for the district, which is already able to recycle more than 75% of water used by our growers,” added White.
White also recognized the turn out by the Bureau of Reclamation who are overwhelmingly supporting this work. “It was great to see so many folks from Reclamation here for this event. There were folks from Sacramento who came up to celebrate with us.” said White.
Gene Souza with the Klamath Irrigation District (KID) also gave praise to all the good work that has recently gone into getting this equipment installed. “It’s a great opportunity to be part of a new era in water management.” Souza said. KID is slated to install five SCADA sites with this first phase of installations.
For KDD family farmers and ranchers, the eight sites and the system’s real-time data collection abilities will help make water delivery smoother, allow for automated adjustments, and in the long-run, help with drought planning and flood conditions. By making water deliveries more efficient, opportunities for creating more water available for Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge and the district’s other habitat restoration efforts arise as well.
“The completion of this SCADA project marks an important step forward in supporting districts with more efficient, timely, and reliable water delivery,” said KWUA Executive Director, Elizabeth Nielsen. “Congratulations to KDD and the partners that worked together on this effort, including Reclamation and the Farmer’s Conservation Alliance.”
“First off, I’d like to thank Senator Merkley for securing the funds for this project,” said KDD board president, Bill Walker. “And I’d also like to thank the folks at the Bureau of Reclamation and at FCA for getting this project on the ground. It’s going to be incredibly helpful for our landowners, not to mention efforts like the Lower Klamath Lake Reconnection project. It’s a classic win-win.”
In attendance at the ceremony were the KDD Board of Directors, Bill Walker and Josh McPhearson; representatives from Senator Merkley’s office, the Bureau of Reclamation, Farmers Conservation Alliance, Klamath Water Users Association, Klamath Irrigation District, the Klamath County Chamber of Commerce and the general public.
About the Klamath Drainage District:
Klamath Drainage District (KDD) is a 27,000-acre district located in southern Oregon bordering the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge in California. KDD proactively works to improve distribution and delivery of its scarce water resources including recycling over 35,000 acre-feet annually through its recently installed recirculation pumping plants. Of this recycled water, most is reused to grow crops, but a percentage is used for growers outside of the district and used for habitat improvement and other refuge purposes. KDD is home to one of the largest concentrations of bald eagles in the lower 48 states and prides itself on its restoration activities and the tremendous wildlife viewing opportunities it provides.
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Guests visiting before KDD’s SCADA ribbon-cutting ceremony on the North Canal off of Lower Klamath Lake Road. Photo by Darcy Hill, KDD.
KDD President Bill Walker had the honor of cutting the ribbon to kick-off the Klamath Drainage District’s SCADA system installation. Photo by Darcy Hill, KDD.
The Bureau of Reclamation’s Deputy Regional Director Adam Nichols addressing KDD’s guests. Photo by Darcy Hill, KDD.
Gene Souza, Klamath Irrigation District Manager, addressing KDD’s guests. Photo by Darcy Hill, KDD.
KDD Board President Bill Walker cutting the ribbon for the district’s SCADA system project. Photo by Darcy Hill, KDD.
Klamath Drainage District’s guests celebrating the ribbon-cutting on KDD’s SCADA system project. Photo by Darcy Hill, KDD.
Klamath Drainage District Manager Scott White visiting with representatives from Senator Jeff Merkley’s office. Photo by Darcy Hill, KDD.
KDD’s SCADA ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by representatives from Senator Merkley’s office, the Bureau of Reclamation, Farmers Conservation Alliance, Klamath Water Users Association, Klamath Irrigation District, the Klamath County Chamber of Commerce and the general public. Photo by Darcy Hill, KDD.
KDD President Bill Walker visiting with Alan Heck and Heather Casillas of the Bureau of Reclamation after the ceremony. Photo by Darcy Hill, KDD.
Klamath Water Users Association’s Executive Director Elizabeth Nielsen visiting with Bureau of Reclamation Deputy Regional Directors Adam Nichols and Kristin White. Photo by Darcy Hill, KDD.
After Klamath Drainage District’s SCADA project ribbon-cutting ceremony, guests visited about other projects. Photo by Darcy Hill, KDD.
During irrigation season, it’s not uncommon to see white pickups with long poles jutting from the bed and over the cab as they make their way throughout the Klamath Basin to ensure water is being delivered to farms and ranches.
In the winter in the Klamath Irrigation Project, you’ll find fewer pickups bouncing down ditchbanks and along canals. Instead, you’re more likely to see backhoes and excavators perched along waterworks.
An excavator sits in a Klamath Drainage District field, ready to clean the canal. Darcy Hill, KDD
That doesn’t mean work slows down for Klamath Project irrigation districts.
According to Klamath Irrigation District (KID) district manager Gene Souza, the district’s winter operations and plans are the results of “careful thought and hard lessons learned.”
Within KID are over 200 miles of canals and 200 miles of drains that provide water for over 40,000 acres in its district, 7,000 acres of individual Warren Act contracts, and another 10,000 acres for lands under the Klamath Basin Improvement District.
KID fall/winter operations start at the end of the irrigation season. A 30-day “sluffing off” period allows the canals to slowly draw down to prevent collapsing, followed by “ratting” to fix problems caused by burrowing animals and inspections to identify emergency repairs and prioritize the maintenance and repair list.
On that list are a variety of standing projects, including repairs to roads, bridges, and canals, fish-screen cleaning, replacing actuators on the A Canal Headworks, building turnouts, piping problem
Klamath Irrigation District’s crews removed snow from the A Canal Facility during the latest round of winter storms. KID District Manager, Jaxsen Sikorski
sections of the canals, and much, much more.
Even with this week’s snow fall, KID’s crews were anything but idle.
According to Souza, “This week (the week of February 10th) we have had the crews, when the roads allowed, to focus on HQ maintenance and pouring concrete turnouts instead of cleaning drains and repairing bridges.”
But the most dramatic project KID worked on was repairing a mile-long tunnel that runs under Klamath Falls.
The original tunnel was built in 1904, but abandoned by the Bureau of Reclamation and then redug in 1906. Over the decades, the tunnel received a concrete lining to preserve its integrity and a new floor was poured in the 1980s.
Klamath Irrigation District maintenance crews applied hydrophobic layer of shotcrete to a mile long tunnel of the A Canal that runs beneath Klamath Falls. KID District Manager, Jaxsen Sikorski
However, since 2021, KID’s inspection crews noticed more repairs were needed to the walls and ceiling of the tunnel. If the tunnel failed, the disaster would affect citizens in Klamath Falls as well as the farms served by the A Canal.
When funds from the Federal government failed to materialize, Souza made the decision for the district to fund its own solution. The result was KID’s board approving a budget to address the areas of concern in the tunnel.
“To make it a more lasting 50+ year solution,” said Souza, “we put extra expense into applying a hydrophobic layer of shotcrete to the areas of the walls that come into contact with water.”
In spite of the challenges winter presents the irrigation districts – especially a wet, snowy one like the Klamath Basin is experiencing – the district manager still appreciates the moisture.
“Snow is always welcome . . . even when it slows us down,” said Souza.
For the Klamath Drainage District (KDD), winter brings its own set of challenges. But according to district manager Scott White, there isn’t much of a shift from irrigation season to winter operations.
“Since we have a year-round water right, our single purpose for delivering water is to make sure it is available for our landowners whenever they need it,” said White. “So that means making sure our canals have water in them and our delivery systems are operating properly.”
Klamath Drainage Districts maintenance shop on Lower Klamath Lake Road. Darcy Hill, KDD
Similar to KID, maintenance and repairs are an important part of winter operations. But water delivery remains the district’s top priority.
The 27,000 acres served by KDD have a unique water right that allows the district to take water from the end of the irrigation season (usually around October) through the winter months. This water right helps the district – and the Klamath Project – operate as it was originally designed and helps the Lower Klamath area operate in a manner inline with how it did naturally.
From maintaining soil moisture that makes its growers less reliant on spring and summer irrigation to managing pest and weeds that benefits KDD’s organic farmers, this water right is hugely beneficial to the district’s patrons. And for wildlife, the district’s flooded fields provide “key habitat for migratory birds in the fall/winter and even the early spring.“
For KDD’s crews, this means making sure pumps and pumping stations are operating properly, checking water quality, and ensuring headgates and turnouts aren’t being slowed or blocked by ice. As noted by White, winter operations are similar to irrigation season, with ice replacing weeds and moss.
Another challenge for the district is when the farms request the fields to be drained for spring.
“I do worry about our landowners wanting to drain all at once but I do not have that sense at this time,” said White. “Furthermore, with the hard freeze we’re having, the ice will not allow massive drainage, so we may be ok without having to ask our landowners to slow down or take turns.”
In the winter, Klamath Drainage District ensures Unit 2 of the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge receives water under its water right. Darcy Hill, KDD
During this time of year, KDD is also responsible for ensuring that the Klamath Basin Refuges Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge receives water as requested per the refuge’s water right. And if there’s drainage water available, the district can elect to send it to Unit 2 of the refuge versus down the Klamath River.
When asked more about the benefits of the district’s winter operations, White answered, “We have tremendous opportunities to utilize Lower Klamath for the benefit of the Project, the refuges, and the entire Basin from an operational perspective. The sooner folks begin realizing the potential of Lower Klamath, the better off we all will be in managing the water for species, habitat and growing food.”
As a part of the June 14th-15th Opportunities Tour, Strickler visited the Klamath Drainage District and met with district manager, Scott White, and district supervisors Tracey Liskey and Luther Horsley. In their discussion with Deputy Assistant Secretary Strickler, they talked about the work being done and the partnerships developed with Ducks Unlimited, Klamath Watershed Partnership, Trout Unlimited, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, California Waterfowl, and many other stakeholders to benefit the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge and the Klamath Basin wildlife that call it home.
Below is a excerpt from the article “Deputy Assistant Secretary Strickler’s “Opportunities Tour”” that appeared in the June edition of Basin Ag News, provided by the Herald and News. The excerpt focuses on Strickler’s stop in KDD, but you can read the article in its entirety at Basin Ag News.
It is not every day that you get to interact with the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Department of the Interior.
But Matt Strickler quickly makes one forget his official title, with his unassuming, down-to-earth demeanor.
Strickler, a long-time congressional staffer and former official in Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s administration, is a seemingly good fit for the Klamath Basin, where stakeholders are still getting to know the Secretary of the Interior’s lead representative on water issues in the Basin.
On June 14 and 15, Strickler visited the Klamath Basin to meet directly with agricultural and tribal leaders, prior to a broader meeting of stakeholders on June 16. The Klamath Water Users Association took the opportunity to organize a tour of the Klamath Project, to look at and discuss concepts that could possibly benefit multiple stakeholders, including fish and wildlife.
The objective of this so-called “opportunities tour” was to demonstrate the capacity and willingness of agricultural producers within the Klamath Project to help solve some of the intractable problems related to water management in the Basin.
The first stop was Midland Hill, which offers a bird’seye view of Miller Island, the Tule Smoke Club, the Southern Pacific railroad embankment, and expanse of Klamath Drainage District and Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. There, Klamath Drainage District’s manager Scott White, along with district supervisors Tracey Liskey and Luther Horsley, spoke briefly about the concepts being discussed among the district and other stakeholders based around the basic concept of reestablishing functioning wetlands within the Tule Smoke Club, Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge, and possibly beyond. Wetlands that could potentially be habitat for endangered Lost River and shortnose sucker (C’waam and Koptu).
Klamath Watershed Partnership, Trout Unlimited, and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife are involved in this planning effort, among other stakeholders.
Strickler indicated he is hoping to identify a handful of large-scale projects towards which federal funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act (BIL) can be targeted. The goal, Strickler said, is to get away from the perception of “random actions of restoration” that have traditionally characterized federal activities in the Basin.
Following Midland Hill, the group proceeded to the Ady Canal headworks and the terminus of the Klamath Straits Drain.
There, one can see the complicated nature of water management in Lower Klamath Lake, as the Klamath Straits Drain goes both over and under the headworks of the Ady Canal, and the remnants of the original Klamath Straits are still visible just north of the existing channel. The discussion there continued around river flows and potential for the district’s ideas to potentially benefit the Klamath River.
The group then drove to the district’s recirculating plant on Township Road, which is responsible for a large portion of the water that made it to Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge this past winter and spring. After a brief explanation of the pump’s workings, a quick drive down to the lower end of the Ady Canal led to the site where Ducks Unlimited (DU) plans to build a similar unit with a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A trickle was then flowing through the Ady Canal into Unit 2 on the south side of Stateline Road (commonly known as Stateline Drain). These deliveries are being attributed to a complicated water right transfer from the Wood River Valley, when similar quality water in the adjacent drain is often available if the pump only existed to lift it.
Juvenile suckers have recently been transplanted into Unit 2, making the need for a secure water supply all the greater. Meanwhile the rest of Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge is bone-dry, with great clouds of dust blowing off the former wetlands.
After breaking off from Scott White and Klamath Drainage District, the tour continued down Stateline Road, looking at DU’s other planned pumping site on the west end of Stateline Drain.
You can read the rest of this article and more at Basin Ag News.
Klamath Drainage District landowners have practiced fall and winter flooding since the inception of the district. Despite the number of years it’s been used to the benefit of not only KDD family farmers and ranchers, there are benefits to the Klamath Basin as a whole.
An important fact that should be discussed more is that KDD returns or reuses more than 75% of the water that is used in the district. Other than ensuring the landowners of KDD can produce a crop, that fall and winter irrigation water is also used to benefit:
Klamath Basin refuges
Augment flows in the Klamath River
Get reused in KDD
Offer support for other districts in the Klamath Irrigation Project
Lessen demand on Upper Klamath Lake at a critical time for C’waam and koptu spawning
Rehydrate the aquifer that produces cold, clean spring water to the Klamath River
KDD’s winter flooding offers hunting opportunities to threatened species, such as the bald eagle.
KDD, Klamath Basin Wildlife & The Refuges
With the refuges of the Klamath Basin getting last in line priority, KDD fields are essentially “the only restaurant in town” for the birds of the Pacific Flyway. Fall harvest has provided much needed food and habitat for songbirds, ducks, geese and cranes. Flooding the fields brings out mice and other prey for for bald eagles and other area raptors to feast on while also decreasing the need for pesticide use. In effect, KDD is the default habitat for migrating birds and other wildlife.
Speaking of the refuges, from December of 2021 through August, 2022, KDD sent approximately 3,100 acre feet of much needed water to the Lower Klamath Lake National Wildlife Refuge. While we can hope that much needed precipitation will help salvage our wetlands, right now, KDD has been the only source of water for the refuge. And without winter flooding, the chances of KDD being able to make water available for the refuge becomes incredibly slim simply from the fact there is no water for KDD to reuse for it.
KDD Winter Flooding and Its Impact on Upper Klamath Lake and the Klamath River
The beauty of maximizing KDD’s winter deliveries is that it has no impact on the fishery. KDD’s allocation is only 2% of the forecasted fall and winter inflows to Upper Klamath Lake. In reality, that is less than 1/10 of a foot on Upper Klamath Lake and 5% of the rate in the Klamath River. On top of that, the Klamath Drainage District has already limited its diversions by 60% to help fill Upper Klamath Lake, and the Klamath River is projected to get 58% of fall/winter inflows.
Fall and winter flooding allows KDD to return that water to the system in the spring when it’s desperately needed for salmon spawning. Plus, in March and April when the demand for Klamath Project irrigators is ramping up, KDD has little to no demand at that time when the district receives its full allocation.
How is this possible? The marshlands reclaimed for farmland from Lower Klamath Lake has acted like a “sponge” for millenia, taking in and holding moisture that would be released later in the spring and summer. As the warmer months of the spring roll, the ground is already charged and ready for the growing season ahead. On the other hand, if these fields weren’t flooded during the fall and winter, KDD patrons’ needs from Upper Klamath Lake would add to the stress on Upper Klamath Lake when other districts are making demands on the lake, and there would be no water to send down the Klamath River to help augment spring spawning flows.
But there is a challenge KDD is facing at the moment – the Bureau of Reclamation’s has taken over 900 acre feet in Area K. With the Bureau taking this water, they’ve left no water in our drains for us to utilize for our patrons, which in turn requires us to take more of our winter allocation in order to meet our landowners’ demand.
KDD’s fall harvest leaves winter feed and habitat for a variety of birds
Winter flooding provides a number of benefits to the Klamath Basin and the Klamath Irrigation Project
The winter fields of KDD offer hunting opportunities for a variety of predators, such as this coyote
KDD Patrons Pay the Bureau of Reclamation for Operating Costs
Klamath Drainage District patrons pay 20% of the operation and maintenance (O&M) on the Link River Dam and Upper Klamath Lake. However, in the past these very patrons have not been eligible for any of the Bureau of Reclamation’s drought programs.
Without any drought assistance funding, KDD patrons become more reliant on irrigating in order to survive year to year. In the past, many KDD patrons have volunteered to set aside thousands of acres in order to help send water down the Klamath River. However, despite that offer, the Bureau of Reclamation still wouldn’t allow these patrons to participate in any drought response agency programs.
KDD continues to do the right thing to the best of its ability and within its legal authority to the benefit of the fish, wildlife, ecosystems, and other basin stakeholders and have made some tremendous partners over the years that share this same vision. If you’re interested in learning more, or interested in partnering with the district on any of the multiple sustainable projects the district is pursuing, the district is always looking for great partnerships.
Geese traveling the Pacific Flyway appreciate the “only restaurant in town”, the Klamath Drainage District
Imagine a fire on a hillside starting and it’s in your backyard. In the dry summer heat, the flames quickly grow and multiply, consuming the dying cheat grass, sagebrush and everything else on the hill. Fire doesn’t give a damn for fences, public land versus private, homes versus open ground. It just consumes.
A helicopter with a bucket drop arrives, and makes a pass over the water. But it’s a long trip back to another water source, likely Upper Klamath Lake, and only God knows how much more the fire will consume.
This is where Klamath Drainage District, and the Klamath Project for that matter, make a difference.
On July 2nd, that scenario took place. Had it been 2021 instead of 2022, the dry canal wouldn’t have done any good and perhaps some homes would have been in immediate danger. But this year, even with the scant Klamath Project, there was enough water in the KDD canal next to the fire to allow the helicopter to quickly drop water on the fire.
While federal scientists, environmental advocates and Tribal interests point at the Klamath Project and KDD as “irrigating the desert”, they fail to see the actual good agriculture in the Klamath Basin provides.
The hundreds of miles of canals, ditches and drains provide a replacement for the wetlands that were drained to allow the Klamath Basin to contribute to feeding a hungry nation and world. When the Feds at the urging of the NMFS decide to drought the Project, human health and safety are greatly impacted, as we’ve seen over the last two years.
If not for KDD’s canal, we can only speculate on the damage that fire could have caused and who it could have harmed. Luckily, it was there, full of water and able to aid the firefighters who were able to get the fire under control and protect a threatened neighborhood.
This is why when we say, “good for wildlife, good for Klamath Basin communities” we’re earnest in that statement.
What’s good for the Klamath Drainage District IS good for basin wildlife – and people.
