Klamath basin Archives

Klamath Irrigators Vote for Water Deliveries Even if It Puts Federal Drought Funding at Risk

After last year’s drought that saw protests and threats of breaking into federal water management facilities, the implications of the recent Klamath Irrigation District (KID) vote are unclear, but support from irrigators was widespread on March 29, 2022.

Out of 377 votes, 319 KID members voted ‘yes’ to the ballot question: “Pursuant to both our federal contract obligations and state water rights, do you want the district to attempt to deliver you water knowing it will likely complicate federal drought funding?”

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Feds Put Another $5 Million Toward Klamath Basin Drought Relief

The federal Bureau of Reclamation has pledged another $5 million toward drought relief in the Klamath Basin as farmers and other stakeholders in the region continue to grapple with a major shortage of water.

Reclamation previously awarded $15 million toward the Klamath Project Drought Response Agency, and the additional $5 million will join those funds. KPDRA is tasked with distributing the fund to irrigators in Oregon and California who are without an external water supply due to the drought. Reclamation said that the initial funds will be distributed on a per-acre basis later this year.

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Confused About What’s Happening on the Klamath? Here’s a Rundown

August 27, 2021/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Kristiene Gong /High Country Newsby Brian Oaster

Dams are killing salmon on the river’s lower half, while irrigation threatens endangered species on the upper half.

It’s been a tough year for the Klamath River.

The Klamath, which flows through Oregon and Northern California and into the Pacific Ocean, is suffering from drought and infrastructure problems. That’s caused trouble, not just for the fish in the river, but also for the tribes and farmers who rely on it for day-to-day living.

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Running Out of Water: How Climate Change Fuels a Crisis in the US West

July 6, 2021/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Chelsea Campos /The Hillby Jeremy Deaton and Briana Flin

Except for a brief stint in the military, Paul Crawford has spent his entire life farming in southern Oregon. First, as a boy, chasing his dad through hayfields and now, growing alfalfa on his own farm with his wife and two kids, who want to grow up to be farmers.

“I wouldn’t trade a day of farming with my wife and my kids for anything. It’s an amazing life,” Crawford said. “It just may end if we don’t figure something out on this water issue.”

The American west is drying out as the region faces an unprecedented drought. Few places are as devastated as the Klamath Basin, where Crawford’s farm sits. Straddling the border between California and Oregon, the watershed spans 12,000sq miles – from agricultural lands fed by Upper Klamath Lake to tribal communities surrounding the Klamath River.

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‘Nobody’s Winning’ as Drought Upends Life in US West Basin

July 2, 2021/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /AP Newsby Gillian Flaccus

Ben DuVal knelt in a barren field near the California-Oregon border and scooped up a handful of parched soil as dust devils whirled around him and birds flitted between empty irrigation pipes.

DuVal’s family has farmed the land for three generations, and this summer, for the first time ever, he and hundreds of others who rely on irrigation from a depleted, federally managed lake aren’t getting any water from it at all.

As farmland goes fallow, Native American tribes along the 257-mile-long (407-kilometer) river that flows from the lake to the Pacific watch helplessly as fish that are inextricable from their diet and culture die in droves or fail to spawn in shallow water.

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Drought Has Pitted Farmers Against Native Tribes Protecting Endangered Fish

June 30, 2021/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Chelsea Campos /NPR

Along the California-Oregon border, the Klamath Basin is in the midst of a record drought, pitting farmers against native tribes with historic water rights who are trying to protect endangered fish.

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Plan to Raze 4 Dams on California-Oregon Line Clears Hurdle

June 18, 2021/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /AP Newsby Gillian Flaccus

A proposal to bring down four hydroelectric dams near the California-Oregon border cleared a major regulatory hurdle Thursday, setting the stage for the largest dam demolition project in U.S. history to save imperiled migratory salmon.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission action comes after the demolition proposal almost fell apart last summer, but then a new agreement and additional funding revived it. Thursday’s ruling will allow the utility that runs the dams, PacifiCorp, to transfer its hydroelectric license jointly to the nonprofit Klamath River Renewal Corporation, Oregon and California.

Regulators still must approve the actual surrender of the license. Dam removal could start in 2023.

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5 Things To Know About The Klamath Water Crisis

June 2, 2021/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Chelsea Campos /JPRby Erik Neumann

Tensions have been building in Klamath Falls in recent weeks over a drought that is devastating farmland, fish deemed sacred to native tribes, and wildlife. The Klamath Basin, along the Oregon-California border, has a complex history. Drought and fights over water aren’t new.

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Silent No More: Klamath Tribes Gather to Protect Fish, Homelands

May 19, 2021/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Chelsea Campos /Herald Newsby Alex Schwartz

A group of protesters gathered at Sugarman’s Corner in downtown Klamath Falls on Saturday, preparing to welcome a 25-car caravan of mostly Klamath Tribal members calling for solutions to the Klamath Basin’s water crisis.

A man walked by the demonstrators, eyeing their signs with statements like “Peace and Healing in the Klamath Basin,” “Water Justice is Social Justice” and “Undam the Klamath.”

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Klamath Basin Water Crisis: A Microcosm for Climate Change in the West

May 12, 2021/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Chelsea Campos /KGW8by Ashley Koch

A conflict over access to water in the Klamath Basin is signaling the way climate change could play out across the western United States. After a drier-than-normal spring, farmers and indigenous tribes in the Klamath Basin are at odds over water in Upper Klamath Lake.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the Klamath Basin is experiencing “extreme drought,” while the rest of Oregon is experiencing some level of drought or abnormal dryness.

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