Medford - A coalition of conservation groups today
released a new report detailing the chronic degradation that threatens
the six National Wildlife Refuges of the Klamath Basin, and examines
how refuge restoration could play a key role in solving the Klamath
water crisis. Conservationists also announced the availability of
guided tours of the Klamath refuges for members of the news media and
decision-makers.
"The Klamath Basin wildlife refuges are some of the most precious
public lands in America, but they are in serious trouble" said Bob
Hunter, a staff attorney with WaterWatch. "In Oregon and throughout
the nation few people are aware of the fact that these spectacular
refuges are literally dying for water."
The report, titled "Refuges in Peril: Fish, Wildlife, and the
Klamath Water Crisis", was prepared jointly by WaterWatch, the Oregon
Natural Resources Council, Earthjustice, and The Wilderness Society.
It documents the history of the Klamath refuges, and the values they
were intended to protect. Through maps and full color photographs it
highlights what has been lost as the Bureau of Reclamation's massive
Klamath Irrigation Project has replaced the basin's once-vast network
of lakes and marshes with high desert agriculture. The report also
explores the amazing natural beauty of these precious public lands,
including the dramatic waterfowl migrations that have led some to call
the Klamath marshes "the Everglades of the West."
The Untold Story of the Klamath Water Crisis
The ongoing water crisis in the Klamath Basin has been a hotbed of
controversy in recent years. But while public attention has been drawn
by anti-government protests by irrigation interests and the tragic
2002 salmon kill on the Klamath River, the plight of the basin's
National Wildlife Refuges has largely been ignored. "Refuges in Peril"
aims to increase public awareness of the problems facing the refuges,
and generate public demand for solutions.
During the water crisis of 2001 conservation groups were forced to
go to court in order to compel the Bush administration to provide
water for threatened bald eagles on the refuges. In 2002 refuge
wetlands again went dry while adjacent fields of potatoes and alfalfa
within the Klamath Irrigation Project were irrigated normally. And in
2003 the refuges received approximately half of the water they needed
to support the fall migration of waterfowl through the region.
The ongoing water shortages have been compounded by the presence of
commercial agricultural operations on refuge lands. Tule Lake and
Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuges, located on the
Oregon/California border, lease approximately 22,000 acres of land
within their boundaries for commercial agricultural operations. Land
that was set aside for eagles and geese is instead managed for
potatoes and onions, requiring the use of toxic pesticides,
fertilizers, and an enormous quantity of water. The lease-land program
consumes a staggering 16 billion gallons of water each year-and the
commercial farms always have a higher priority for water than do the
critical refuge wetlands.
"When Teddy Roosevelt created Lower Klamath National Wildlife
Refuge he intended for it to be a haven for birds, not tractors,"
observed Jim McCarthy, policy analyst with the Oregon Natural
Resources Council. "Are these wildlife refuges or potato refuges?"
2004: Another Tough Year for Klamath Wildlife
The recently released Bureau of Reclamation 2004 operations plan for
the Klamath Irrigation Project contains disturbing news for wildlife.
While irrigators will face only modest water use restrictions this
summer, water deliveries to the National Wildlife Refuges will once
again fail to meet full fish and wildlife needs. The plan calls for
Lower Klamath and Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuges to receive a
total of just 25,000 acre-feet of water. While this is an improvement
over the 2003 plan, it falls far below the approximately 70,000 acre
feet needed for Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge alone. It is
also falls short of the 32,500 acre feet that refuge managers
concluded in 2001 was the bare minimum needed to sustain the refuges'
threatened bald eagles.
But even the meager amount of water provided under the plan is not
certain. Page 8 of the Bureau's 2004 operation plan states that:
"Should additional requirements for Project water develop then Project
water deliveries to refuges could be further reduced. If additional
hydrological shortages occur, refuge deliveries could be completely
curtailed."
Finding Real Solutions to the Klamath Water Crisis
While much of the report focuses on the problems these public lands
face, "Refuges in Peril" also points the way towards a better future
by suggesting actions that can be taken today to restore and protect
the natural resources of the Klamath Basin.
The report argues that no effort to solve the Klamath water crisis
can succeed unless it addresses the fact that state and federal
officials have promised too much water to too many different interests
in the basin. Ending the lease land farming program and restoring
refuge marshes could play an important role in solving the crisis.
Doing so would reduce summertime demand for water within the Klamath
Project by 10%, and allow marshes to be managed as a natural water
storage system for the Klamath River.
"We have simply promised too much water to too many different
interests in the Klamath Basin," said Bob Hunter. "There won't be
enough water for the salmon, for the refuges, and for fish in Upper
Klamath Lake until we can bring the demand for this precious resource
back into balance with supply."
For more information on the report, or to arrange a guided tour of
Lower Klamath and Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuges, contact Bob
Hunter at (541) 772-6116.