Salmon Sightings in Klamath Drainage District Emphasize Urgency for Fish Screens

The Ady Canal in the Klamath Drainage District near pumping stations F/FF along Hwy 97 south of Klamath Falls, OR. Photo by Darcy Hill, KDD.

October 21, 2025

Salmon Sightings in Klamath Drainage District Emphasize Urgency for Fish Screens

Ignored for years, KDD’s call for protection for family farms and fish becomes urgent with Chinook spotted in canal.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Scott White, Klamath Drainage District
General Manager
Email: scott.white@klamathdrainagedistrict.org
Phone: 541-884-1739

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.

###

Download a PDF version of “Salmon Sightings in Klamath Drainage District Emphasize Urgency for Fish Screens”.

The Ady Canal where it crosses Township Road in the Klamath Drainage District. Photo by Darcy Hill — 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.

October 2, 2025

Klamath Drainage District Prepares for Salmon in Klamath River

The Ady Canal diversion before it enters into the Klamath Drainage District north of Worden, Oregon.

Klamath Drainage District Prepares for Salmon in Klamath River

KDD has been working with various partners to ensure water security for district family farmers and ranchers while ensuring success for endangered fish populations.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Scott White, Klamath Drainage District
General Manager
Email: scott.white@klamathdrainagedistrict.org
Phone: 541-884-1739

Klamath Falls, OR – On September 26th, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife shared a short, 11-second video of a Chinook salmon leaping from the last pool of the Keno Dam fish ladder on its way up the Klamath River.

While social media commentators celebrated and scrutinized the video, the Klamath Drainage District board has been preparing for this moment.

KDD has two diversion points on the Klamath River – the Ady Canal and the North Canal. Both are possible avenues for salmon making their way into the district, with the Ady Canal being one of the first diversion points the Chinook would encounter on the Klamath River in Oregon.

“We have been very aware of this possibility and have been planning with a variety of partners and stakeholders on how we can ensure the success of these fish if they enter the district while providing water security for our landowners,” said KDD Manager, Scott White. “We’ve been working to find a balance to ensure the district’s family farms continue for generations while protecting salmon and sucker fish populations.”

Part of the preparation for salmon in the district can be found in KDD’s Ady Canal Reconnection Project, also known as the Lower Klamath Reconnection Project or colloquially as Replumbing the Klamath. This project focuses on permanently connecting the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge (LKNWR) to the Klamath River, providing habitat for birds that use the refuge as well as for potential spawning grounds for C’waam and Koptu populations. By opening up Ady Canal for fish passage to LKNWR, migrating salmon could also access Lower Klamath Lake.

The original plans were to keep fish from accessing the district’s canals and drains by building large fish screens at the North Canal and Ady Canal diversions. However, the plan has evolved to have smaller screens installed at turnouts along the canals where water is allowed on to fields. By installing fish screens at these turnouts, fish will be able to access Lower Klamath Lake.

“Let’s be clear – there are no guarantees that salmon will make it into the district. But if they do, we want to be prepared and our farmers and ranchers to be protected,” said White. “I’m grateful to the partners we have working on this project, and in regards to the fish screens, I would like to especially thank the Family Water Alliance for their guidance on this.”

The installation of the first fish screen is slated for 2026 pending KPFA promised funding from Oregon and the United States.

To learn more about the Lower Klamath Reconnection Project, please visit https://klamathdrainagedistrict.org/replumbing-the-klamath/. From there, you can also find a list of the organizations that are partnering with KDD on this project.

About the Klamath Drainage District:

###

Download a PDF version of “Klamath Drainage District Prepares for Salmon in the Klamath River”

The Ady Canal diversion from the Klamath River before it enters into the Klamath Drainage District at pumping station F/FF. — The Klamath Drainage District’s Ady Canal diversion point before entering the district, located across from the district’s F/FF pumping stations along Highway 97, just north of Worden, OR. Photo: Darcy Hill, Klamath Drainage District.

The North Canal diversion from the Klamath River into KDD, south of Midland, OR. — Klamath Drainage District’s North Canal diversion from the Klamath River just south of Midland, OR. Photo: Darcy Hill, Klamath Drainage District.

The North Canal diversion from the Klamath River before it enters into Klamath Drainage District, just south of Midland, OR. — The North Canal diversion from the Klamath River before it enters the Klamath Drainage District. This diversion point is located just south of Midland, OR, off Highway 97. Photo: Darcy Hill, Klamath Drainage District.

December 17, 2024

KDD Manager Moderates REAL Oregon Panel

The panel for the REAL Oregon discussion held in Merrill, Oregon, at the Civic Center.

REAL Oregon hosts panel about Klamath Basin Water

Members of REAL Oregon’s Class 8 learned about Klamath Basin water issues from stakeholders from throughout the watershed

On a blustery November evening, Class 8 of REAL Oregon got a firsthand look of the challenges of Klamath Basin water issues.

Following a day of touring the Klamath Basin that included stops at the former J.C. Boyle dam site and Spencer Creek with Klamath Water Users Association’s Director of Water Policy, Moss Driscoll, the bus rolled into the Merrill Civic Center for a panel discussion titled, “Dam! Now What?”

The eight-person panel was filled by representatives for economic, Tribal, agricultural, and governmental interests in the ongoing Klamath Basin water discussions. Sitting on the panel were:

- Darren Rutledge, Executive Director, The Klamath Idea
- Becky Hyde, Upper Klamath Basin Ag Collaborative
- Ken Griggs, Acting Refuge Manager, US Fish & Wildlife Service Klamath Refuge Complex
- Willie Ray, Jr., Chairman of the Klamath Tribes
- Jonathan Teichert, City Manager, City of Klamath Falls
- Dave Hensley, Klamath County Board of Commissioners
- Frankie Myers, Vice Chairman, Yurok Tribe
- Tracey Liskey, KWUA President and Klamath Drainage District board member

After audience and panel introductions, discussion moderator Scott White, KDD general manager and member of REAL Oregon’s Pioneer Class, jumped into the conversations.

With the recent completion of Klamath River dam removal, White focused the discourse on the history of the Klamath dams and the panelists’ thoughts about them, what dam removal means to the stakeholders and their groups, and what they foresee with salmon returning to the Upper Klamath Basin.

Klamath Drainage District general manager, Scott White, moderated the REAL Oregon panel. — KDD General Manager and REAL Oregon alumnus, Scott White, hosted the panel discussion.

As expected, the conversation was lively and passionate, though friendly.

Panelists shared their frustrations about the dam removal process, as well as their hopes for their communities now that the structures were out. One point of consensus was the fact that with the dams are out and the salmon are coming, the focus needs to shift rebuilding trust and working together on restoration efforts in the entire Klamath River watershed.

KDD board member and KWUA president, Tracey Liskey, speaking to the REAL Oregon panel audience.

Tracey Liskey, KDD board member and KWUA president, spoke to the audience about the effect of salmon returning to the Upper Klamath Basin on agriculture.

Klamath Tribes Chairman Willie Ray Jr. speaking at REAL Oregon panel.

Klamath Tribes’ Chairman, Willie Ray Jr., gave his perspective on what salmon returning to the Klamath Basin represents to the tribe.

At the end of the panelist conversation, the REAL Oregon audience had time for a brief question and answer session. Like the panel discussion, the responses to Class 8’s questions highlighted the complexity of Klamath Basin water issues as well as the need for cooperation.

REAL Oregon Class 8 member asks the "Dam! Now What?" panel a question. — REAL Oregon’s Class 8 audience asked the panel questions after the main discussion.

What is REAL Oregon?

Standing for Resource Education and Agricultural Leadership, REAL Oregon is a program operated by the Oregon Agricultural Education Foundation (OAEF) through the Oregon Farm Bureau.

With a focus on Oregon agriculture, the REAL Oregon program “is a leadership enhancement and development program designed for farming, ranching, forestry, and commercial fishing professionals, producers, affiliated industries, association staff, public agency personnel, and members of resource related boards, commissions, and associations”.

Each Class starts in November and runs through March, with class members attending a monthly session in a different part of the state. While the sessions focus on training Oregon’s future ag leaders about working with government, dealing with the media, and skills that are useful in the boardroom, the program also delves into subjects specific to Oregon agriculture, such as November’s topic, “Klamath Water Project”.

Class 1, also known as the Pioneer Class, graduated in March of 2017. Since then, REAL Oregon has educated over 130 alumni.

“Frankly, it is an honor and a privilege to be an alumnus of the pioneer class and accompanied by such prestigious leaders,” said White. “We still attract the finest talent in the state. I think that says a lot about this program”.

To learn more about REAL Oregon and Class 8, visit https://realoregon.net/.

December 21, 2022December 23, 2022

Fall & Winter Flooding In the Klamath Drainage District Yields Benefits for the Klamath Basin and Klamath Project

Geese in a winter flooded field in the Klamath Drainage District

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

Bald eagle perched on pivot hunting the flooded fields of the Klamath Drainage District. Photo by Scott White — 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.

Geese in a winter grain field in the Klamath Drainage District

KDD’s fall harvest leaves winter feed and habitat for a variety of birds

Rainbow over a flooded field in the Klamath Drainage District

Winter flooding provides a number of benefits to the Klamath Basin and the Klamath Irrigation Project

Coyote hunting the flooded fields of the Klamath Drainage District

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.