The Klamath Basin
The Klamath Basin is one of the nation’s great ecological treasures. Considered a
“western Everglades,” this area in northern California and southern Oregon once contained some
350,000 acres of shallow lakes, freshwater marshes, wet meadows, and seasonally flooded
basins. The 200-mile long Klamath River was among the most productive salmon rivers in the
west. Lakes and steams in the upper Klamath Basin contained great populations of C’Wam and
Qapdo (i.e., Lost River and Shortnose Suckers) and spring salmon. These fish provided a major
food source for Native tribes. Early white explorers to the Basin were astounded by spectacular
concentrations of ducks, geese, swans, grebes, pelicans and other birds. Trappers with the
Hudson Bay Company harvested beaver, otter, marten, and other fur-bearing animals here.
Damming and diversion of rivers, and draining of wetlands in the upper river basin has
taken an enormous toll on the Klamath Basin’s ecology and wildlife as well as a once robust
lower river fishing economy. More than 75 percent of the Basin’s wetlands have been drained
and converted to agriculture. Logging, grazing, fire suppression, road construction and other
factors have also impacted the area’s ecology dramatically. The hydrology of the Klamath River
and related streams and lakes has been dramatically altered and water quality has been severely
degraded. Klamath River Coho salmon are listed as a federally threatened species and Kuptu and
Tshuam are now endangered. In some years, water quality from the Upper Klamath has been so
poor that salmon runs far downstream have been destroyed. An estimated 6,870 fishing-dependent
jobs amounting to more than $137 million in total personal income have been lost
from the Klamath Basin economy as a direct result of salmon declines. Fishing jobs from Coos
Bay, Oregon to Fort Bragg, California have been effected (Figure 2). Hundreds of fishing guides
once operated on the Klamath River and fishermen supported numerous businesses, particularly
in the winter steelhead season when logging was inactive. With the decline of the fisheries,
many of the guides and other businesses supported by the fishermen, have gone out of business
or had to diversity into other income areas. White water enthusiasts still use the Klamath River.
However, clients and staff often complain about the water quality of the river.
Even in its diminished form, the Klamath Basin still attracts nearly 80 percent of the
Pacific Flyway’s waterfowl and supports the largest wintering population of bald eagles in the
lower 48 states. Salmon still migrate in the Klamath River and enormous trout still reside in
lakes and streams. The Klamath River Basin can be restored, and with it much of the local
fishing-based economy. Ecological restoration in the Klamath Basin can help ensure a healthy economy and
high quality of life in the region. The Klamath River Basin should support vibrant Native American,
sport, and commercial fishing, and wildlife/wildland-oriented recreational opportunities. The
Klamath Basin can also support a healthy agricultural economy that is ecologically sustainable.
**The two maps (Klamath River Basin, and Historic & Current Wetlands in the Klamath
Project Area) are in a separate PDF file.**
A Coalition for the Klamath Basin
The Klamath Basin Coalition is an alliance of local, regional, and national organizations
dedicated to conserving and restoring the Klamath Basin. Founding members include
Institute for Fisheries Resources, Klamath Basin Audubon Society, Klamath Forest
Alliance, Oregon Natural Resources Council, Oregon Chapter Sierra Club, Pacific Coast
Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, Water Watch, and The Wilderness Society. We
have pledged to work together to promote and implement the vision and actions
presented here. We have pledged to work together to promote and implement the vision
and actions presented here. We invite constructive feedback from all interested parties
and invite other organizations to join our coalition.
Our vision is to restore a healthy, naturally diverse, and productive Klamath Basin
ecosystem by reestablishing, to as great a degree as feasible, natural hydrological
conditions and ecological functions throughout the entire basin. This should be
accomplished through a comprehensive, ecosystem restoration program.
The goal of these efforts should be to restore “normative” conditions, under which
ecological processes occur under natural patterns of variation, throughout the Klamath
Basin. Restoration efforts must comply fully with the Endangered Species Act and the
Clean Water Act, and satisfy all responsibilities to Native American tribal rights.
Viable populations of native species should be restored to the Basin. Salmon stocks in
the Klamath River should be restored to a level that not only satisfies the requirements of
the Endangered Species Act but also supports Native American tribal rights, and the
commercial and sport fishing economies of river and coastal communities in Oregon and
California.
Ecological restoration in the Klamath Basin can help ensure a healthy economy and high
quality of life in the region. The Klamath River Basin should support vibrant Native
American, sport, and commercial fishing, and wildlife/wildlands-oriented recreational
opportunities. The Klamath Basin can also support a healthy agricultural economy that is
ecologically sustainable.
Our vision will be advanced by implementing the actions described below. Many of
these actions can be taken cost effectively, with few impacts to existing uses and will in
themselves contribute substantially to the regional economy.
ACTION PLAN
I. Reforming the Klamath Project
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s
massive Klamath Project is responsible
for much of the damage to the Basin’s
ecology. Authorized in 1905, the Project
controls the flow of water in the Basin
through an elaborate network of seven
dams, 45 pumping plants, 185 miles of
canals, and 516 miles of lateral ditches.
Because the Project is largely
responsible for the problem, the Project
needs to be reformed.
Actions
1) Fish, wildlife, and ecosystem conservation
and restoration should be an explicit purpose
of the Klamath Project.
Project purposes should be
amended in any legislation concerning
the Klamath Basin.
2) Restorative flows should be provided
in the Klamath River and its tributaries
to meet instream flow needs, while
providing for adequate lake levels in
Upper Klamath Lake and sufficient
water for Klamath Basin National
Wildlife Refuges. Klamath Project
agricultural deliveries should be adjusted
as necessary to help achieve this goal.
3) Suitable screens and fish passage
facilities should be installed on all water
diversions and dams throughout the
Basin. If necessary to provide suitable
fish passage and restore ecological
function, diversions and dams should be
modified or removed.
4) Water uses that are non-agricultural
and of minimal economic or ecological
value should be retired.
II. Restoring Fish and Wildlife Habitats
Fish and wildlife habitats throughout the
Klamath Basin have been degraded. An
array of conservation tools including
acquisition of land and water rights,
public land restoration, and conservation
easements can and should be used to
restore fish and wildlife habitats,
improve water quality, increase natural
water storage of wetlands, forests, and
riparian areas, and help reestablish the
normative hydrology of the Klamath
River Basin. Many of these mechanisms
would fully compensate landowners in
the process. The highest priority actions
are as follows.
A. Lower Klamath Lake Actions
1) That portion of the former Lower
Klamath Lake which lies north and west
of the Lower Klamath National Wildlife
Refuge (known as the “Klamath Straits”)
should be among the highest priorities
for purchase and restoration. The goal
for this area should be to restore the
normative conditions and functions of
the area.
2) A more natural hydrological regime
should also be restored on lands within
the present boundaries of the Lower
Klamath Refuge. It may be possible for
the refuge to take advantage of peak
river flows by flooding a greater area of
the refuge in the winter and spring, and
allowing the refuge to gradually release
some of this water back into the river
over the remainder of the year. Restoring
Lower Klamath Lake would improve
habitat conditions for fish and wildlife,
and would also improve water quality,
increase natural water storage, and help
maintain water supplies to farmers in dry
years. Without adequate water supplies,
refuge marshes dry out, threatening
wetlands, wildlife and the bald eagles
that feed on them. When wetlands are
diminished, waterfowl are forced to
inhabit smaller areas which can increase
the probability of bacterial diseases such
as botulism and avian cholera. These
diseases have been responsible for large
numbers of bird deaths on the refuges.
Ironically, in some years. Scarce water
has been used to irrigate crops on the
refuges even as refuge marshes have
been allowed to go dry.
B. Tule Lake
Actions
1) The normative functions and
processes of Tule Lake should be
restored to the extent feasible.
2) Commercial agriculture within the
refuges should be phased out in an
equitable manner and the lands should
be returned to a natural habitat
condition.
3) Crops such as onions, sugar beets, and
potatoes which are of little or no value to
wildlife and require particularly toxic
pesticides should be eliminated
expeditiously.
Background and Rationale
Tule Lake NWR was established in 1928.
Historically, Tule Lake expanded and
contracted dramatically as a result of
variations in flow from the Lost River,
reaching a maximum size of around
100,000 acres. The pattern of drying and
flooding made Tule Lake particularly
productive for migratory birds and other
wildlife.
Through damming of Clear Lake,
diversion of the Lost River, and diking
and draining, Tule Lake was reduced
drastically in size. In the 1940s, a tunnel
was constructed through Sheepy Ridge,
connecting Tule Lake with Lower
Klamath and enabling further drying of
Tule Lake.
Tule Lake Refuge is 39,100 acres
although only 13,000 are remnant
lake/marsh. The Bureau of Reclamation
leases 15,500 acres to farmers and the
Fish and Wildlife Service has contracts
for farming another 2,000 acres with
farmers who leave a portion of their crop
standing for wildlife. (Figure 3).
The current extent and configuration of
lease lands on the Tule Lake refuge are
an impediment to water storage and
fluctuation of water levels, and
contributes to poor water quality in the
Klamath Basin. The crops are treated
with pesticides that can kill or sicken
wildlife. Row crops (onions, sugar
beets, and potatoes), which are of little
or no value to wildlife and require
particularly toxic pesticides, are allowed
on up to a quarter of the refuge leaselands.
Even in this greatly diminished state,
Tule Lake NWR was once the most
outstanding refuge in the country for
migratory waterfowl and other wildlife.
Unfortunately, over time artificially
stabilized water levels, sedimentation,
poor choice of crops grown, and
contamination from agricultural run-off
have degraded the quality of Tule Lake’s
habitat and reduced the abundance and
diversity of its wildlife.
High concentrations of nitrogen,
phosphorus, and un-ionized ammonia,
low levels of dissolved oxygen, and
extreme pH levels are among the
problems that have been identified in the
Tule Lake refuge. According to at least
one study, the refuges’ water is known to
be toxic to frog embryos, resulting in
death and malformations. Botulism and
avian cholera are also serious problems
for the refuges’ waterfowl populations.
C. Upper Klamath Wetlands Actions
1) Additional drained wetlands around
Upper Klamath Lake should be restored
to wetlands. Efforts by The Nature
Conservancy to restore nearly 4,000
acres of the Tulana Farms property and
the Bureau of Land Management to
restore more than 3,000 acres of the
Wood River Ranch property are an
important start. These projects will
restore fish and wildlife habitat, improve
water quality, and increase natural water
storage within the restored wetlands.
2) The Bureau of Reclamation’s
acquisition of the 7,000 acre Agency
Lake Ranch provides an important
opportunity to restore wetlands habitat
and improve water quality. The Bureau
should refrain from operating this
property merely for deep water storage.
If managed appropriately, the land can
provide natural water storage, wildlife
habitat, and water quality benefits.
Background and Rationale
Historically the 133-square mile Upper
Klamath Lake was fringed with more
than 80,000 acres of wetlands.
However, diking and draining of these
marshes to promote cattle grazing and
farming has eliminated more than three
fourths of these wetlands. The loss of
wetlands and runoff of cattle waste
contributes to the severely degraded
water quality in Upper Klamath Lake.
The majority of wetlands that remain
around Upper Klamath Lake are within
the 14,400-acre Upper Klamath National
Wildlife Refuge. Efforts by federal
agencies, conservation organizations,
and private landowners have shown that
drained wetlands in this area can be
restored.
D. Riparian Restoration Actions
1) Streamside riparian areas in the
Williamson, Sprague, and Wood Rivers
north of Upper Klamath Lake, in the
Shasta and Scott River sub-basins, and
in other high priority areas throughout
the Basin need to be protected and
restored through land and water rights
purchases, conservation easements to
exclude cattle, and other means.
2) Many common land uses need to be
re-evaluated and their impact on riparian
areas reduced and mitigated.
3) Additional riparian restoration
projects will improve fish and wildlife
habitat and water quality, and increase
natural storage capacity of the riparian
areas. Oregon Trout’s efforts to restore
normative functions to an important
stretch of the Wood River are proving to
be highly beneficial.
Background and Rationale
Destruction of riparian areas throughout
the Klamath Basin has damaged streams
and wildlife habitat, degraded water
quality and reduced natural water
storage. Throughout the basin, loss of
protective riparian vegetation has lead to
elevated water temperatures beyond the
preferred temperature ranges of
salmonids and other native fish, and to
high sediment loads.
E. Forest Management
Actions
1) Uplands should be managed to restore
normative hydrological functions, and
reduce excessive sediment loading of
streams. Managers should work to
reduce run-off, increase infiltration, and
increase storage capacity of upland soils.
2) Additional funding should be
provided for road decommissioning in
priority watersheds within the Basin.
3) Restoration forestry, focused on areas
in which past management has harmed
ecosystem health, can be an important
tool for restoring normative ecological
processes in the Klamath Basin.
Riparian areas in particular should
receive additional protections.
4) All remaining roadless areas on the
federal public lands of 1,000 acres or
more should be protected from road
building, logging, or other developments
that could harm their ecological health,
alter hydrology, or further impair water
quality.
Background and Rationale
Management of National Forest lands
has a direct impact on the hydrology,
water quality, and fish and wildlife
habitats of the Klamath Basin. Past
logging and road building activity has
reduced the forests’ natural water
storage function, increased run off, and
led to increased sediment loading and
degradation of streams. Independent
scientific panels studying the
effectiveness of logging rules for private
timberlands in both states have
concluded that current rules are
insufficient to prevent extinctions.
III. Restoring Hydrology and Flows
Damming and diversion of rivers, and
draining of wetlands has dramatically
altered the hydrology of the Klamath
River. Logging, grazing, road
construction, and other land uses have
contributed to the problem.
The following actions should be taken to
restore the normative hydrology and
flows in the Klamath River.
Actions
1) Restorative flows must be provided in
the Klamath River and its tributaries to
meet instream flow needs for fish and
wildlife while providing for adequate
lake levels in Upper Klamath Lake and
sufficient water for Klamath Basin
National Wildlife Refuges. Klamath
Project agricultural deliveries should be
adjusted as necessary to help achieve
this goal.
2) Natural storage capacity of Upper
Klamath Lake, Lower Klamath Lake,
and Tule Lake, should be increased
through restoration of normative
wetland/lake systems in these basins.
Options for off-stream water storage
should be studied, and implemented if
environmentally sound.
3) Water conservation measures should
be aggressively pursued so that water
conflicts can be reduced. A basin-wide
water conservation plan, with
accompanying water use efficiency
standards, should be developed and
implemented. The Reclamation Reform
Act of 1982’s requirement that project
users develop and implement water
conservation plans should be enforced.
Water saved through conservation
should not be appropriated for new uses,
but should be used to meet instream and
refuge needs.
4) All ground and surface water users in
the Klamath Basin should be required to
install and maintain measurement
devices which allow for the
determination of actual water use. All
water users should also be required to
report their water use on an established
schedule. A water right enforcement
strategy that effectively detects and
penalizes violators, and encourages
compliance should be implemented
throughout the basin. These measures
can reduce illegal and wasteful water
uses and measure progress in meeting
instream flow needs.
5) Dry year fallowing, retirement of
water uses, and acquisition and transfer
of water rights from willing sellers to
conservation purposes are all necessary
tools that should be funded, promoted,
and utilized throughout the basin in
order to meet instream, lake level, and
refuge needs.
6) The potential for conjunctive use of
groundwater should be investigated.
7) Authorization and funding should be
provided for the timely completion of a
comprehensive flow study in the
Klamath Basin and all sub-basins.
Priorities should include the Klamath
mainstem, Shasta, and Scott Rivers.
8) Water needs for the basin should be
analyzed, planned and addressed as a
whole, regardless of state and local
jurisdictional divisions. Fragmentation
of basin planning across artificial
boundaries and among innumerable
agencies merely generates political turf-wars,
gridlock and waste. Existing
institutions for basin-wide planning and
coordinated restoration efforts should be
supported and strengthened.
Background and Rationale
Water is a precious and controversial
commodity in the Klamath Basin. While
water is vital to maintaining the
ecological integrity of the Klamath
Basin and in supporting tribal trust
resources and commercial and sport
fisheries, the dominant use of water in
the Klamath Basin remains irrigated
agriculture.
Historically, the flow regime in the
Klamath River was somewhat unique in
that the difference between peak flows in
the winter and low flows in the fall was
proportionally less than for most western
rivers. This was a result of the large
natural storage capacity of Upper
Klamath Lake and Lower Klamath Lake.
Damming and diversion of rivers,
draining of wetlands, and establishment
of irrigated agriculture in the upper
Klamath Basin has had a pronounced
effect on the hydrology of the Klamath
River. Logging, grazing, road
construction, and other land uses on
surrounding uplands have contributed to
the problem. Peak flows in the winter
and spring months are now greater than
historically and low flows in the summer
and falls months are greatly diminished.
(Figure 5).
Seasonal shortages of water result in the
failure to meet the full array of water
needs. Water withdrawals have
contributed to the decline and listing
under the Endangered Species Act of
resident and anadromous fish, to the
failure of streams and lakes to meet
water quality and temperature standards,
and to the nonfulfillment of Native
American senior reserved rights. The
wildlife refuges rank last in the basin’s
fiercely contested water allocation
scheme and are in need of a secure
source of water.
IV. Water Quality
The Klamath River and several of its
tributaries have been listed by the federal
Environmental Protection Agency as
water quality “impaired” under the
Clean Water Act. The following actions
should be taken to improve water quality
in the Klamath Basin.
Actions
1) Interstate TMDLs (total maximum
daily loads) should be established and
implemented for the Lost and Klamath
Rivers. This should be the highest water
quality priority of the U.S. EPA, Oregon
DEQ, and California Water Quality
Control Board Northcoast Region.
2) Log storage in the Klamath River
should be terminated and other activities
that negatively impact water quality
should be altered or mitigated. The
feasibility and benefits to water quality
from removing accumulated bark from
the river and lake bottom should be
investigated.
3) Land management modifications, land
and water rights acquisition, and
conservation easements envisioned in
various sections of this document as
means to restore fish and wildlife
habitats and restore hydrology should be
implemented because they will also
result in substantial improvements to
water quality.
4) The Clean Water Act’s prohibitions
on new discharges, for example new
sewer hook-ups and industrial discharge
permits into impaired waterways must
be enforced.
Background and Rationale
Because it emanates from an old and
therefore nutrient rich lake system, the
Klamath River is naturally nutrient rich
as compared to most other northwest
salmon rivers. This may have been
partially responsible for the traditionally
high salmonid production of the river
system, which historically ranked behind
only the Columbia and Sacramento-San
Juaquin systems. However, a
combination of factors, including
conversion of wetlands for agriculture,
reduction in flow due to water diversion,
agricultural drainage and point source
chemical pollution, have resulted in
super-nutrification of Klamath Lake and
the Klamath River. Nutrient loads
emanating from the upper Klamath
Basin are intensified when the Shasta
and Scott tributaries join the Klamath
River in California. These watersheds
have extensive agricultural drainage high
in nitrate fertilizers and animal wastes.
The Klamath River is listed by the
federal Environmental Protection
Agency as water quality “impaired”
because of low dissolved oxygen,
excessive nutrients and algae blooms,
and extremely high water temperatures.
Pesticide contamination may also be a
major problem. Multiple-fish kills,
including kills of endangered Kuptu and
Tshuam (i.e., Lost River and Shortnose
Suckers) in the Upper Basin are an
annual event and the killing has spread
to the Lower Basin affecting salmon,
steelhead and other fish species. The
Lost River and Shasta River area also
listed as water quality impaired.
The State of Oregon is obligated under a
1986 federal court consent decree to
develop a plan for reducing nutrients in
the Klamath River. This was supposed
to be completed by 1996. However, the
first plan, called a Total Maximum Daily
Load (TMDL) in the parlance of the
Clean Water Act, was rejected by the
federal Environmental Protection
Agency as insufficient. Implementation
of a plan to reduce nutrient pollution in
the Klamath Basin is urgently needed.
This vision and action plan for the Klamath Basin was prepared by A Coalition for the Klamath Basin. The
document was produced by The Wilderness Society.
THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY
900 17 th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006
THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY
424 Fourth Ave., Ste. 816
Seattle, WA 98101-2217
1-800-THE-WILD
www.wilderness.org
Founded in 1935, The Wilderness Society works to protect America’s wilderness and
wildlife and to develop a nationwide network of wild lands through public education,
scientific analysis, and advocacy. Our goal is to ensure that future generations will enjoy
the clean air and water, wildlife, beauty, and opportunities for recreation and renewal that
pristine forests, rivers, deserts, and mountains provide.
Wendell Wood