Recently, the Oregonian published a letter from Mary Hayden of Oregon City about the conditions of the Tule Lake Wildlife Refuge and the potential avian botulism outbreak on the scale of 2020. In her letter, Ms. Hayden offered her thoughts on a solution – “cash out the farmers” and “give the water to the birds.”
Unfortunately, when it comes to Klamath Basin water issues, this is a popular, short-sighted reaction by those whose communities are not dependent upon Klamath ag.
Water flowing from KDD patrons to Unit 2 in the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge in May, 2024.
This way of thinking also doesn’t take into account the work and advocacy Klamath Basin family farmers and ranchers do on behalf of the birds of the Pacific Flyway or area wildlife. Nor does it appreciate the tangled political web of the power of the Federal government, the Endangered Species Act, or water rights that put these refuges last in line and create “paper droughts” affecting farmers and waterfowl alike.
The notion that Klamath ag is “watering the desert” while advocating for sending water to area refuges shows there’s a misunderstanding about the hydrology of the Klamath Basin. Before settlers came to the area, water flowed throughout the Klamath Basin and settled in low-lying areas creating a vast network of shallow lakes and marshlands between Tule Lake and Lower Klamath Lake. The first people of this area, the Modocs, hunted, fished, and gathered food in these marshlands and lakes.
When the Klamath Project was created, many of those areas were converted to rich farmland.
In our district, the Klamath Drainage District (KDD), 27,000 acres of marshland was converted to farmland, leaving over 80,000 acres of the original Lower Klamath Lake as the nation’s first waterfowl refuge. During spring and fall migration, our district provides habitat and food for birds traveling the Pacific Flyway.
The water sent to Unit 2 and Unit 3 on the Lower Klamath Wildlife Refuge encouraged species variation not seen in decades.
KDD has also been a partner with Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge, sending much-needed water from the district to the refuge when other stakeholders and the Bureau of Reclamation refused to send water to these wetlands. KDD has worked with conservation groups such as Ducks Unlimited and California Waterfowl on habitat restoration efforts as well as getting water to Lower Klamath.
KDD and the Klamath Water Users Association (KWUA) have been vocal supporters of the Klamath Basin Refuges, with KWUA sending a letter to the Bureau of Reclamation urging the Bureau to send water to the refuges to head off the impending avian botulism outbreak.
Even today, Tulelake Irrigation District and the Klamath Drainage District are working on plans that not only provide water to these historic refuges, but also send cleaner, cooler water down the Klamath River for salmon.
Potato harvest in Klamath Drainage District. Every dollar generated by Klamath Basin Ag is passed through the community nine times.
Regardless if Klamath Basin ag were cashed out at a fair price, this one-time payout would devastate our communities and the very people working diligently to preserve the refuges that includes a sustainable supply of water. Every dollar created by Klamath ag is passed through the community nine times, more than any other industry in our region. Thousands of workers would be unemployed, and businesses tangentially connected to agriculture would fold.
We haven’t even touched on the nation’s challenges surrounding the loss of farmland and farmers and its effects on national food security.
KDD and Klamath Basin family farmers and ranchers are allies to our refuges, not enemies. While it’s easier to demonize Klamath ag than to appreciate it, we recognize our future is directly tied to the Klamath Basin ecosystem. If Ms. Hayden is interested, we’d love for her to pay a visit to our district to learn more about the incredible work we and our partners are doing on behalf of the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge.
If you’ve driven Stateline Road with the windows down lately, you’ve heard the trilling of blackbirds, honking of Canada geese, and the squawking of herons coming from the Lower Klamath refuge.
It’s as if they’re celebrating the return of the wetlands to the refuge.
Since mid-April, the Klamath Drainage District has been sending water to Unit 2 of the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge (LKNWR).
KDD has been sending recycled water from the district to Unit 2 of the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge.
Using recycled water from within the district, KDD has been able to send almost 120 acre-feet of water a day to Lower Klamath via the Ady Canal. At the time of this writing (approximately three weeks), that amounts to almost 2,500 acre-feet.
By employing KDD’s recirculation pumping stations, the district is able to recycle up to 35,000 acre-feet of water a year. This enables the district to reuse or recycle more than 75% of the water used by its patrons.
This benefits KDD family farmers and ranchers by ensuring they have water during the growing season. It also creates ecological opportunities, such as providing water to LKNWR.
KDD landowners have long been ardent supporters of the Lower Klamath refuge. Over the last four years, the district has sent water across the border to LKNWR to help allay the water allocation shortcomings. One instance, between December of 2021 and August, 2022, KDD sent approximately 3,100 acre-feet of much needed water to the Lower Klamath wetlands.
After the historic droughting of Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge by the Bureau of Reclamation, the storied wetlands are having a banner year after going dry for several years.
On March 7th, KDD along with Modoc Nation, South Suburban Sanitary District, Ducks Unlimited, Friends of Klamath Basin Birding, the Klamath Audubon Society, and the Klamath Water Users Association hosted the Lower Klamath Renaissance Tour to bring attention to the Lower Klamath refuge and discuss projects that could bring long-term water to its wetlands.
Not long after the Lower Klamath Renaissance Tour, on March 25th, with much fanfare and press coverage, Tulelake Irrigation District fired up its historic D-Plant station to pump water from Sump 1A in Tule Lake through Sheepy Ridge to the desiccated beds of Lower Klamath Lake. However, due to the Bureau of Reclamation’s restricted water allocation for the Klamath Project 2024 irrigation season, pumping ceased on April 15th.
In the three weeks that TID pumped water to Lower Klamath, water flowed throughout the refuge, bringing much needed moisture to units that haven’t received water in over three years. And with the water, the wetlands returned.
The combination of the districts’ efforts has been a boon to the birds of the Pacific Flyway as well as for Klamath Basin wildlife. An abandoned rookery along the canal between Unit 2 and Unit 3 is showing signs of life again as herons and egrets reclaim the trees for nesting. Ducks and geese are taking advantage of the rejuvenated wetlands while raptors once again patrol the skies over LKNWR.
Even coyotes, deer, and antelope appear to be more abundant in Lower Klamath now than they have been in the past four years.
The water TID sent through D Plant to the Lower Lake Refuge from Tule Lake revitalized the wetlands.
This year has started off with a strong showing of support for LKNWR, but there’s still a lot of work to be done to ensure its water security.
While KDD and its patrons will continue to find ways to provide water for Lower Klamath, the collaboration and support shown on March 7th will need to come to fruition if we’re going to prevent the nation’s first waterfowl refuge from going dry again.
Hopefully, with the refuge’s recovery on full display, the public and Klamath Basin stakeholders see the value of keeping the basin’s wetlands wet.
(Note: This article was written by the Klamath Drainage District’s PR administrator on behalf of the Lower Klamath Renaissance Tour. This article also appears on Basin Ag News and on the Klamath Water Users Association’s website.)
Known as in the Klamath Basin winter for decades. The workshops brought birders and tourists to our community, while the chance to see a variety of raptors and birds migrating on the Pacific Flyway drew in photographers from all over the world. In recent years, Winter Wings also gave Klamath ag a chance to share how farms provide much needed habitat for area wildlife and the Pacific Flyway, especially with the historic dewatering of two national wildlife refuges.
the nation’s oldest birding festival, Winter Wings provided a bright spot
When word passed through the birdwatching, conservation, and agricultural circles the Winter Wings Festival was canceled, phones started ringing. A conversation regarding the impacts of canceling the Winter Wings Festival between Klamath Drainage District manager, Scott White, and Board Chair of the South Suburban Sanitary District (SSSD), Joe Spendolini, ended the call with the two agreeing for the organizations to arrange a tour similar to one White had organized for the festival in previous years.
The Lower Klamath Renaissance Tour team’s goal was to highlight the importance of the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge (LKNWR) to the Basin and the collaboration needed to create water security for the nation’s first waterfowl refuge. Invitations were sent to guests at federal agencies, conservation organizations, local leaders, and Klamath Basin Tribes. On March 7th, the week’s expeditiously organized tour left the Running Y Resort to see and discuss what could happen.
Dr. Karl Wenner, owner of Lakeside Farms, discussing the importance of the Tule Smoke Hunting Club and Lower Klamath region to the first people of the Klamath Basin and the ecosystem.
From the Klamath Drainage District’s F/FF pumping station through the district, down to where the Ady Canal meets Stateline and on to Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge, the tour centered on projects and plans that KDD, Ducks Unlimited, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Modoc Nation were working on to help improve conditions on the refuge and increase its access to water.
The discussions about the history of Lower Klamath Lake, the people who lived there from time immemorial, the formation of the Klamath Irrigation Project, the creation of KDD and LKNWR, and the projects provided context for the conversations that would take place throughout the day.
A lot of those conversations, both between individuals and in the larger groups, focused on collaboration. There was a quiet acknowledgement that everyone was tied together, and regardless if the guests were there on behalf of farmers, fish, waterfowl, or clean water, no one would be able to succeed in their goal without the other partners succeeding in theirs.
Ken Sandusky, Resource and Development Director, talked about the Shapa’sh Landscape Restoration Project with Modoc Nation Chief Robert Burkeybile, Council Member Braxton Graham , and Homelands Manager Brian Herbert.
“Today provided lines of communication to open up once again. It was a safe space for interested parties to speak, share ideas and share our struggles,” wrote Normajean Cummings, enrolled member of the Klamath Tribes. “It was also an opportunity to see some changes Agriculture is doing to make a difference. Learning more about the difference wetlands can make is eye awakening.”
Ms. Cummings added, “I’m afraid that drought is the new normal, and I think all our communities need to be able to come together to collaborate and find new practices. We have seen what hasn’t worked in the past, but there are some new models out there that bring me hope. I hope to remain involved in seeking solutions and community building. I also hope for more opportunities like today where we can all gather, talk, offer thoughts and ideas and find a path forward that will benefit us all. Opportunities to learn from one another.”
Karuk Tribe Council Member Troy Hockaday’s takeaway of the discussions, “Today was amazing to hear from the farmers and the government and the fisheries people about the problems in the basin. I came out of the day that we all have the same mindset to make the Basin better for everybody and a quality of water for the fish and habitat, I hope some of discussions that we talked about will help with further future programs and projects in the basin, to help water control for the Klamath river base.”
At the Ady Canal, the Lower Klamath Renaissance Tour guests listened to representatives Greg Austin and John Vradenburg discuss getting more water to LKNWR.
“Five to six years ago, we couldn’t get a meeting with anyone from the Tribes, and today we had folks from the Modoc Nation, Karuk, and the Klamath Tribes come to this meeting,” said Bill Walker, board president of the Klamath Drainage District. “I feel strongly that we can fix the problems we’re all facing because we’re all working together. I can’t thank everyone enough for coming and getting the doors open. We need to get together again and keep this momentum moving.”
The day was successful from the point of view of bringing together partners from a variety of backgrounds, interests, and needs, and to get them talking. However, the Lower Klamath Renaissance Tour serves as a starting point for bringing water security to the Lower Klamath refuge and other initiatives for the Klamath Basin. Whether it’s KDD’s Replumbing the Klamath plan, SSSD’s wastewater treatment facility to provide water to the refuge, Ducks Unlimited’s highline canal and pumping station for LKNWR, or the Modoc Nation and Modoc National Forest’s Shapa’sh Landscape Restoration Project, more hard conversations and collaboration will be needed.
And hopefully, the spirit of collaboration we saw on March 7th will continue to push the momentum forward on these projects and more for the future of all creatures that are dependent on the Klamath watershed.
KDD Manager, Scott White, discussing the district’s plans for adding solar panels during lunch at Liskey Farms.
The Lower Klamath Renaissance Tour stopped at KDD’s F/FF Pumping Station along Hwy 97 to talk about the importance of this station to get water to LKNWR .
In KDD, grain crops lost tonnage, as did hay crops. Healthy pastures were stripped of foliage, requiring beef ranchers and other livestock producers to find ground outside the district or use acres they’d hoped to use later in the season. KDD farmers and ranchers also paid for more grasshopper treatment than usual to fight the pests.
In short, the grasshopper infestation was not only an ecological disaster, but also an economic disaster for Klamath Basin farmers.
At the end of November, the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) released its 2023 Grasshopper and Mormon Cricket Report. The report covered the damage done to Oregon agricultural producers due to infestations of Mormon crickets and grasshoppers all through the state, and that report would instruct the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) of economic losses and potential programs to help mitigate the insect damage.
Much to the dismay and chagrin of Klamath ag, the ODA’s report indicated there was very little damage caused by grasshoppers to area producers, and furthermore, no economic damages.
This graphic was taken from the ODA’s 2023 Grasshopper and Mormon Cricket Report to show grasshopper survey densities. The red outline added to emphasize the Klamath County area.
This graphic was taken from the ODA’s 2023 Grasshopper and Mormon Cricket Report to show estimated grasshopper damages.
KDD Rancher, Tim O’Connor, giving testimony at the Klamath County Board of Commissioners’ December 12, 2023 Work Session about the Klamath Basin grasshopper infestation.
Towards the end of the meeting, ODA’s director, Lauren Henderson, joined the discussion via Zoom and indicated that the report had been merely taken out of context; ODA’s pest monitoring sites didn’t capture the same number of bugs that the rest of the Klamath Basin was seeing, and only affected Federal lands, 6,000 acres of which are in KDD.
Eventually, he did concede that Klamath ag did indeed suffer losses. And thanks to Cody Holthouse from the ODA, who joined Mr. Henderson on the phone, the department is still taking grasshopper damage reports.
Unfortunately, there will be more for KDD patrons and the Klamath ag community to report.
In the December board meeting, we heard reports of hay bales being opened up and the centers of them being emptied out, due to grasshoppers that were baled in the forage eating their fill. At auction, average calf weight was down. And if that isn’t enough of a financial brunt for farmers and ranchers to carry, banks are backing away from financing operating lines and loans.
There’s also the worry of grasshopper eggs being spread in the district through feeding livestock the infested hay. Unless there’s a vicious, hard freeze, the eggs will likely hatch in 2024, exacerbating the 2023 grasshopper problems.
Getting In Front of the Klamath Basin 2024 Grasshopper Infestation
Fortunately, Klamath Basin ag’s voice has been heard and work is being done to try and head off another potentially disastrous grasshopper infestation.
The week of January 29th, KDD is hosting a session with ODA director Lauren Henderson to talk about what happened in 2023, and hopefully out of the discussions a plan for 2024 will evolve. When a date and time are confirmed, we will share it on the KDD Facebook page.
To fill out this form, please visit https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/9fb3cf8db4b64d93812eff265128a2b7
Regardless of whether or not members of the ag community are able to make it to the meeting, we strongly recommend taking time to fill out the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s 2023 Public Grasshopper Survey Report Form (you can click on the image on the right to access the reporting form). At this time, the ODA is committed to receiving these reports, and they will help the department ascertain the level of damage 2023’s infestation caused.
With all of the other challenges Klamath Basin family farmers and ranchers face, it’s unfortunate that grasshoppers appear to be another ongoing blow being dealt to our communities. Hopefully another infestation won’t materialize in 2024. If one does, we will be prepared so we can minimize the damage to our local economy and ecosystem.
Scott White, General Manager Reagan Desmond, General Counsel
scott@klamathdrainagedistrict.org rlbd@clydesnow.com
(541) 510-6311 (541) 797-0011
FEDERAL JUDGE RULES AGAINST DISTRICT’S RIGHT TO DIVERT WATER
District concerned of species restoration implications and prepares for appeal
Klamath Falls, OR – On September 11th, a federal judge in Medford’s United States District Court ruled against the Klamath Drainage District (KDD), and entered an injunction against KDD, stating that KDD can no longer divert water from the Klamath River that has not been authorized by the United States, citing the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as its primary basis. On the same day, the same judge issued Findings and Recommendations in two other lawsuits brought by Klamath Tribes against Reclamation for ESA violations under 2021 and 2022 Klamath Project operations plans. In one case, the court found Reclamation violated the ESA in 2022 by providing farmers even a diminished supply when not all species goals could be met; in the other case, the court found Reclamation had not erred by prioritizing the needs of threatened salmon in Klamath River over endangered C’waam and Koptu in Upper Klamath Lake.
Last year, the United States brought the breach of contract case against KDD, alleging that KDD breached its Reclamation Act contract with the United States by irrigating in 2022 after the United States had informed KDD there was no Project supply available for the district. Notably, the United States provided no evidence of harm to any species as a result of KDD’s diversions in 2022. KDD irrigated under its separate state water right permit in 2022, as it has done since 1977 when it was issued. The ruling issued a permanent injunction that requires the United States’ “authorization” to divert water from the Klamath River, including for any diversions under the district’s separate state permit through the district’s private facilities.
“To say we’re disappointed is an understatement. I’m in disbelief,” said Bill Walker, President of the district. “We are still evaluating the effects of this ruling, but on the surface, it appears to reach far beyond where any court has ever gone.”
The District Board met on the 12th to discuss its options and voted unanimously to appeal the decision. The District Board believes there are several appealable errors in the decision, including what appears to be an unprecedented interpretation of the Reclamation Act and court endorsement of federal control over private state water rights. “Frankly,” as Walker stated with respect to appealing the decision, “we have no choice, our livelihoods and our families are at stake.”
KDD owns and operates its own infrastructure and also pays over double the percentage of any other district of Reclamation Project Operation and Maintenance costs, regardless of whether or not Reclamation supplies water. KDD is still in the process of evaluating the costs and impacts of this ruling on the operations and rights of both the district and its landowners. However, it is immediately apparent that it will lead to a significant loss in revenue to its landowners if not overturned on appeal, particularly in light of the court’s separate ruling in the Klamath Tribes case which will almost certainly lead to a reduced amount of Project Supply for farmers under project irrigation contracts going forward.
The district is also assessing how this ruling could play a role in large-scale restoration planning. On the eve of the largest dam removal project in history, the district has been working with agencies, tribes and interested stakeholders to utilize existing district infrastructure for a massive restoration project. The district is concerned there are negative impacts to that effort as a result of this ruling.
“How can we afford to operate and maintain the facilities we are offering up for restoration when our landowners may not be able to pay their assessments,” questioned Scott White, General Manager of the district. “The financial impacts of this decision are so much larger than just harvesting a crop or not. We’re talking about the recovery of species here, and this ruling appears to have the opposite effect of what the court cited as their reason for the decision.”
For the last decade, Tracey Liskey, a lifelong landowner in KDD, a board member of the district, and the President of the Klamath Water Users Association, has committed his time, money, and energy to helping build a facility that grows endangered sucker specifically targeted at recovering the fish. “The United States and their courts are taking the tools right out of the hands wanting to do the hard work it takes for recovery,” Liskey lamented in frustration. “All we want is for these fish to recover and thrive so we can go back to what we love and here we have another ruling that hamstrings our ability to utilize our resources in that effort.”
Liskey was not alone in his concern about the species. “All the restoration experts we work with are focused on ecosystem recovery as the major ingredient to species recovery,” noted Walker. “It is our duty and responsibility to seek a favorable ruling that will not limit anyone’s ability to help in the recovery of our environment. We owe it to the water users, and we owe it to the species to appeal this ruling.”
KDD has a long history in aiding species recovery. In 1978, Bald Eagles were listed as endangered, and the district’s lands became key to the birds’ recovery. In 1983, KDD’s lands were classified as the “Oregon Feeding Grounds” for our nation’s bird due to the district’s historical practice of winter diversions making it prime hunting habitat for the raptors and critical to the bird’s survival. The spirit of recovering species and providing wildlife habitat has been a mainstay for KDD ever since.
More recently, when the Bureau of Reclamation denies water to Tule Lake and Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuges, KDD’s fields provide the much-needed winter habitat for the migrating waterfowl of the Pacific Flyway including Bald Eagles. Last year, KDD’s lands were the only habitat in the Upper Klamath Basin where migrating water birds could find refuge due to the wildlife refuges being dry.
The district plans to begin communicating with its restoration partners immediately to discuss what this means for the projects and to identify if there are some opportunities remaining.
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.
Driving the thin line of pavement that divides Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge and the fields and farms that make up the Klamath Drainage District is getting messier.
Instead of enjoying the the birds and other wildlife that live in the area or marveling at the variety of crops and the people working in the fields in KDD, the ping-ping-pinging of grasshoppers splattering across windshields and sticking to the hoods and grills of cars and pickups are requiring drivers to pay more attention to the road. In their rearview mirrors the desiccated carcasses of the grasshoppers dance in the breeze like the leaves from trees in the fall.
Grasshopper on Stateline Road near Lower Klamath Wildlife Refuge clinging to the window of a pickup
However, unlike midges, the roads can at times become slick with the remains of grasshoppers crushed on the road. Even worse, the grasshoppers damage crops, impacting not just the production of pasture and hay crops but also lettuce, potatoes, and wheat along with the much-needed grasses and other plants that provide food for the wildlife in KDD.
Even worse yet, the grasshoppers aren’t confined to just KDD. People first started seeing the hoards of hoppers in early June, mostly along Stateline Road, reporting the carnage that covered their cars in Facebook posts. As their numbers and hunger has increased, they’ve spread to Merrill, Malin, Tulelake, and even Poe Valley. There’s also reports of heavy grasshopper numbers in Langell Valley.
Without water in Lower Klamath refuge, the eggs and then nymphs have been able to mature and reproduce. Water in the spring helps drown out the young grasshoppers and eggs, which helps keep their populations under control. If you also add the delayed irrigation season by the Bureau on top of the dried refuges, the Klamath Basin becomes the ideal breeding ground for the voracious pests.
In our region, we’ve seen this pattern before, most notably on the Klamath Marsh. Looking at articles about grasshoppers and their devastation on the Klamath Marsh, there’s a common thread between: a lack of water in the spring and being cut-off from irrigation water. And a drive along Stateline Road, drivers will see the same thing.
The interesting thing about what we’re seeing in KDD and Lower Klamath Refuge is that there is tangible evidence between a dry refuge and a wet one. Driving along Stateline, the areas where you find the most grasshopper carcasses littering the road – not to mention more of the pests smearing their guts across windshields – is where Lower Klamath has yet to receive any water. However, as you get close to the Oregon Drain and towards Highway 97, the number of grasshoppers embedding themselves into your vehicle goes down. There’s much fewer of their exoskeletons littering the road, and less of them getting stirred up by traffic.
The bodies of dead grasshoppers littering Stateline Road between Lower Klamath Lake National Wildlife Refuge and the Klamath Drainage District
Grasshoppers flying over Stateline Road to Klamath Drainage District fields
Where Lower Klamath refuge is getting water from KDD, there’s hardly any grasshopper carcasses on Stateline Road
Does the water Klamath Drainage District provide to part of the Lower Klamath refuge mean there’s less grasshoppers in that area?
Not necessarily, and it becomes complicated due to the fact not all of the refuge is underwater.
Walking along the side of the road, grasshoppers still flutter from the green vegetation offering food and protection for them that’s growing in the ditch. With protection and food, there’s very little motivation for the grasshoppers to try and flee from the refuge to KDD for safety. And while the irrigated fields of KDD and water in Lower Klamath helps keep the grasshopper population in check, the area is still plagued by all of the grasshoppers, eating, mating, and laying eggs in the part of the refuge the Bureau of Reclamation has allowed to go dry.
Also worth noting is the number of birds in both areas along Stateline Road. In the area where the grasshoppers are rampant versus the part of Lower Klamath that’s receiving water from KDD, you’ll see more blackbirds (mostly redwing and yellow-headed blackbirds), meadowlarks, sparrows, swallows, blue jays, and even ravens and crows. Between habitat and water, these birds are likely helping keep the grasshopper populations in those areas in check.
This particular species of grasshopper, clearwing grasshoppers, are native to the Klamath Basin, which means they’re part of the ecosystem. In any ecosystem, there are natural checks and balances to help keep various species in check. Historically Lower Klamath National Refuge was never the haven for grasshoppers it is now due to the fact it had always been under water.
However, with the Bureau of Reclamation’s focus on single-species management of Upper Klamath Lake and the Klamath River, governmental officials have created a catastrophe in our ecosystem. As a result migratory birds and other Klamath Basin wildlife bear the brunt of the Bureau of Reclamation and Federal government’s poor water management policies, which is further worsened by adherence to a rigid Endangered Species Act. And now wildlife and farmers alike are having to deal with the unintended consequences of Federal decisions that fail to take entire ecosystems into consideration.
This catastrophe is not only affecting Klamath Basin wildlife, but also the Klamath Basin economy. As area family farmers and ranchers grain, hay and other crops fail, that will echo throughout the Basin’s economy, where one dollar produced by agriculture is used nine times throughout the community. In KDD alone, unofficially, farmers and ranchers are discussing losses in the hundreds of thousands of dollars in each of their operations.
The solution to ending this grasshopper plague is simple. Provide water for Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge and for Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge. This simple solution will help keep the hoards of grasshoppers under control and provide the necessary habitat needed for the birds traveling the Pacific Flyway as well as for the wildlife that make these refuges and surrounding fields their home.
Getting these pests under control will also benefit the Klamath Basin economy, as ag receipts would reflect higher yields which equates to more money to be spent throughout the community. And, if the Feds and Reclamation took KDD’s recommendation of using the Klamath Project as designed, not only would there be more grasshopper abatement, cleaner water could be sent down the the Klamath River for salmon.
In contrast to the parts of Lower Klamath refuge that haven’t received water, egrets and other birds take advantage of the water provided by KDD and its partners
In the end, this ecological catastrophe could have been avoided. Instead, we have migratory birds desperately searching for habitat, farms throughout the Klamath Project still going dry and a grasshopper infestation nearing biblical proportions. The Klamath Drainage District and its patrons will continue to do our best to provide water to the Lower Klamath refuge, but ultimately the Bureau of Reclamation and the Federal government need to readdress how they manage water in the Klamath Project and take into consideration the unintended consequences of their water management policies.
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 patrons are enthusiastic about the wildlife that make their homes in our pastures and fields. From the raptors hunting for prey from the sky to our canals, ditches and drains filled with turtles, ducks and even otters, we’re proud of all the Klamath Basin wildlife that use our lands for habitat.
It should come as no surprise that for decades KDD has produced a flier touting the number of bald eagles seen in our district. A former KDD district manager, Joe Frost, put together a flier titled, “Eagles Flourish on KDD Lands”.
This document offers a great, brief history of KDD, the drainage district’s benefits to the ecosystem and Klamath Basin wildlife, as well as tips for viewing the eagles that nest in the Bear Valley National Wildlife Refuge and hunt in the Klamath Drainage District and the neighboring Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. We hope you enjoy this short read, and if you’re planning on birdwatching in KDD, please be sure to visit “Eagles Flourish On KDD Lands“!
More recently, Klamath Drainage District’s PR Committee Members Scott Fentress and Joel McPherson have put together another flier for visitors to KDD lands – “Klamath Basin Wildlife in KDD”. They created this informative flier to hand out during the 2023 Winter Wings Festival field tours of KDD fields and pastures, and now we’re making this document available to the general public.
While Frost’s document covered a lot of KDD’s history and offered insights on when and where to best view bald eagles, Fentress and McPherson’s flier covers the variety of Klamath Basin wildlife that make their homes in KDD lands, what makes this area appealing to wildlife and how KDD patrons are making a positive impact on Klamath Basin ecosystems.
To read the content of this flier or to download a PDF version you can print out, visit “Klamath Basin Wildlife in KDD“.
If you’re interested and getting a copy of either flier, please visit the Klamath Drainage District business offices, 4240 Highway 39, Klamath Falls, OR 97603.
We hope you take advantage of the information from both of these fliers and pay a visit to KDD to check out the variety of wildlife our lands have to offer. While it’s just a little ways off the beaten path, once you take a side road through our district you’ll understand what makes it unique to the Klamath Basin!
In the still of twilight, on a cool, calm, crisp morning; the sound of Canada Geese coming off their roost to go feed in a nearby field echoes across the landscape. Within minutes, as the day begins to make its mark, whistling wings are heard with the accompanying cry of mallard hens, calling for company. As the sun finally pushes over the crest of the Klamath Hills, the valley erupts with countless songs sung by the hundreds of species of migratory birds resting in the area managed by Klamath Drainage District (KDD).
Waterfowl and shorebirds migrating along the Pacific Flyway don’t recognize borders. For them, the term “wetland” is viewed in the literal sense. Land with water on it, particularly when it contains food resources, is potentially suitable habitat, whether it’s a privately-owned field, a drainage ditch, or a national wildlife refuge.
For the last decade, the Bureau of Reclamation’s operation of the Klamath Project has largely been governed by a hydrological model directing how much water must remain in Upper Klamath Lake for endangered shortnose and Lost River suckers and how much has to be released for threatened coho salmon in the Klamath River. The model also dictates how much and at what times water can go to Lower Klamath and Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuges. There are separate formulas and rules in the model for water going to farms and agriculture. In accordance with the model, over the last three years, just like farms and agriculture, both refuges received little or no water.
In the absence of adequate habitat conditions in Tule Lake and Lower Klamath, migrating waterfowl and shorebirds have been forced to find it elsewhere. Nowhere is the concentration of wildlife more apparent than in Klamath Drainage District (KDD), which comprises the reclaimed portion of Lower Klamath Lake in Oregon.
Over the last three years, the water used by KDD in the fall and winter, which occurs separate from the Klamath Project under district-owned water rights, has provided the majority of waterfowl and shorebirds habitat in the Klamath Basin. As a result, birders and other wildlife enthusiasts have quickly learned that KDD provides some of the best wildlife viewing opportunities in the Klamath Basin.
According to Scott White, the general manager of KDD, “landowners in the district recognize the importance of wildlife on their lands and take great pride in the close connection between their farming operations and the habitat it provides.”
“While most of the lands within the district are privately owned, we have gotten accustomed to having the public driving around, stopping, and viewing wildlife. So long as people don’t trespass, stay on public roads, are mindful not to block driveways and maintenance roads, and are generally respectful, we are happy to have them visit the district.”
According to White, some of the best places to view wildlife in the district are conveniently located along public roads. “Township Road takes you right through the heart of the district,” according to White, including a portion of the refuge within KDD known as Area K. The dirt roads along the Klamath Straits Drain are also public land, though White cautioned Reclamation is still irrigating these lands and roads may be blocked because irrigation lines are across the public roadways.
Running along the Oregon-California border, Stateline Road also provides ample wildlife view opportunities both in KDD and the refuge. Along Stateline Road one can also see the only water being delivered to the refuge, through Ady Canal, which KDD owns and operates. These deliveries are helping maintain Unit 2, which is the only area of the refuge presently containing water.
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
