California Waterfowl On Getting More Water To The Klamath Basin

Good report from California Waterfowl about the work being done to deliver more water to refuges in the Klamath River Basin. Here are some details:

In December, California Waterfowl shared an update on the urgent water crisis facing the Klamath Basin — one of the most important waterfowl landscapes in the Pacific Flyway. The Klamath refuges support millions of migrating and wintering birds each year, and when sufficient water doesn’t reach them, the consequences ripple far beyond the Basin itself, affecting waterfowl and hunters across California and the West.

At the start of the season, those refuges were facing severe water shortages that threatened to leave tens of thousands of acres dry during a critical period for migration and wintering birds. Recognizing the scale of the risk, CWA stepped in alongside key partners to help keep habitat wet when it mattered most. Working with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Tulelake Irrigation District, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Klamath Drainage District, CWA helped secure grant funding and covered pumping costs to move water onto refuge lands.

At the time of our December update, those efforts had delivered approximately 40,000 acre-feet of water to the Klamath refuges. Since then, continued pumping and coordination have increased that total to more than 60,000 acre-feet of water delivered since October.That water has supported the flooding of more than 37,000 acres of habitat, much of which would have remained dry without this coordinated response and the financial commitment required to make it happen. As a result, water helped produce ducks at a level not seen since the late 1980s and early 1990s, curb botulism, support fish and migratory birds and increase hunting opportunities.