The Klamath Basin is facing one of its most difficult water years in history. Thanks in part to leadership from the Trump Administration, an extraordinary coalition of public agencies, irrigation districts, Tribal Nations and conservation organizations have come together to support critically needed water deliveries to Tule Lake and Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuges.
These deliveries are the precursor of a process called Flow-Through, by which water will be delivered to the refuges using a creative, complex combination of water in Upper Klamath Lake, Klamath River flows, and agricultural water allocations. By flowing through both refuges then back to the river, this water will ultimately provide multiple benefits, including support for refuge habitats, aquifer recharge, and improved water quality, before returning to the Klamath River, where it will help support salmon populations.
Flow-Through will be made possible through the leadership of the Klamath Water Users Association and the Bureau of Reclamation, following input from Tribal Nations, irrigation districts, agencies, and conservation organizations such as Ducks Unlimited and California Waterfowl Association.
Nevertheless, current deliveries immediately help support one of the most important waterfowl landscapes in the Pacific Flyway. By acting during a period of extreme water scarcity, this diverse coalition helped avert catastrophic losses from avian botulism and reduced the danger to over a hundred thousand ducklings and flightless molting waterfowl.
This collaborative achievement is especially meaningful this year. It brought together people and organizations with different responsibilities, histories, and perspectives to overcome difficult challenges, all within a rigid legal framework and a narrow window of opportunity. Their willingness to listen, cooperate, and pursue a common purpose demonstrates what can be accomplished when the Klamath Basin acts as one community.
While this year the threat is alleviated, the work is not finished. Tule Lake and Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuges will require dependable water, functioning infrastructure, active wetland management, and continued cooperation if future wildlife emergencies are to be prevented. The collaboration demonstrated during this difficult year should become the foundation for a durable Basin-wide approach of sustainable and balanced water use that supports fish, farms, wildlife, Tribal communities, and rural economies together.
To everyone who rallied around Tule Lake and Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuges: thank you! Your support gave vulnerable birds a better chance to survive, protected an irreplaceable part of the Pacific Flyway, and showed that even in a year defined by scarcity, the Klamath Basin can find strength through cooperation.
We acknowledge and appreciate the leadership demonstrated by the farmers and ranchers of the Klamath Project, who, despite receiving just over half of their water supply, chose to make water available for Flow-Through to benefit the Basin.
We also thank the Basin’s Tribal Nations, which exercise their sovereignty and carry enduring responsibilities to protect Treaty resources, fisheries, wildlife, and the ecological health of their ancestral homelands. These commitments represent distinct and mutually important forms of stewardship.
Together, these efforts reflect the sacrifices, leadership, and shared dedication of Tribal and agricultural communities to sustain the lands, waters, people, and economies of the Klamath Basin for future generations.
Jeff McCreary
Director of Operations, Western Region
Ducks Unlimited
Jake Messerli
Chief Executive Officer
California Waterfowl
Media Contact
Molly Jarone
Regional Communications Coordinator
Western United States Region
Ducks Unlimited Inc. is the world's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving North America's continually disappearing wetlands, grasslands and other waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has restored or protected more than 20 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science, DU’s projects benefit waterfowl, wildlife and people in all 50 states. Learn more at www.ducks.org.
