special supplement — klamath basin … lined bales of hay with an aging bale stacker. unconcerned...

From the top of a fault formed ridge

overlooking the expansive Upper Klamath

Lake, the rest of the world seems to fall away.

Unbroken blue skies and dry, thin air stretches

the horizon impossibly far. To the east, parched

buttes roll through deep, green farm-filled

valleys. To the west, only the rugged, snow-

capped Cascades can rein in the view. The

feeling of freedom that defines the American

West is alive in this place.

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT — KLAMATH BASIN GENERAL STREAM ADJUDICATION

Prepared by the Oregon Water Resources Department — October 1999

2 klamat h bas in gener al s tr eam ad jud icat ion

the stresses and pitfalls inherent in his way of life.Competition from Canada and other countries

keeps grain prices hovering at the break even point.To make matters worse, in mid-July evening tempera-tures dipped below freezing and damaged his graincrop. Flowers may end up selling it as hay or feedingit to his cows. The hay he and his son are harvestingnow has also suffered. An uncharacteristic thunder-storm hit shortly after it was cut, leaching out thehay’s nutrients and slashing its value in half.

He still hopes to break even this year. Withoutirrigation water from the Klamath River, even thesemodest hopes would be dashed.

During the droughts of 1992 and 1994 Flowerswent without irrigation and his crops burned beneaththe summer sun. Remarkably, he suffered the lossvoluntarily. The Bureau of Reclamation, which

The Klamath Basin defies the soggy

Northwest stereotype. The CascadeMountains steal the moisture from eastward

winds, transforming the damp, green Oregon knownto most of the country.

Away from the mountainsides, Lodge Pole andPonderosa Pines supplant the water-dependent firs.The moss-covered logs and thick tangles of plants ofthe western forests are gone. In their place, reddish-black volcanic rocks speckle hillsides adorned withdusty sage. Sandy pumice soils are exposed to thewind and sun by the sparse ground cover. Everythingseems to crack and crumble underfoot.

Despite these desert-like conditions, an oasis oflakes, rivers, and marshes teams with wildlife. Theremnants of a huge prehistoric lake once provided acache of resources that allowed the Basin’s earliesthuman inhabitants to thrive in an otherwise formi-dable environment. Much time has passed andcultures have changed, but the reliance on these sameresources has not. For more than 100 years, settlers,homesteaders, and their descendants have defied thedesert by transforming vast lakes and marshes intofarms and pasture–creating a heritage in the process.

About 15 miles south of Klamath Falls, tuckedin a winding valley lined with stunted juni-pers, Bob Flowers takes advantage of the last

light of day to load hay bales into a shed. From hisperch in the converted earth mover, he surveys thefields that make up his 275-acre ranch. Sun stretchesacross the yellow windrows. The air is thick with thesweet smell of fresh hay.

On a nearby field, his 16-year-old son collectsneatly lined bales of hay with an aging bale stacker.Unconcerned by the tractor, a small herd of deer helpthemselves to the alfalfa. It is obvious from theanimals’ disregard for the machine, that they considerthese fields to be their own. Flowers agrees. Closelytied to the land, he values the wildlife that make thisfarm into their home.

On this perfect August evening, it is easy to seewhy Flowers continued the family tradition. Hisranch wraps around a small butte dotted with juniper,sage, and volcanic rocks. Cattails line the smallirrigation ponds which double as refuge for ducks,cranes, and egrets. It is a piece of land he would nevertrade.

Flowers hopes his son will take over the ranchwhen he is ready to retire–just as he and his fatherboth did. While he knows the sense of satisfactionand pride his son would inherit, Flowers also knows

ov erv i e w summary 3

delivers irrigation water to more than 100,000 acresin Oregon, left the water instream in order to protectendangered fish in Oregon and California. Flowershas an independent right to Klamath River water, butwould not exercise it. He refused to profit while hisfriends and neighbors suffered. Although devastat-ing, the droughts were temporary. Without a reliablewater supply, farming would not be possible and thevalue of Flowers’ land will wither to twenty-five centson the dollar. If this happens, he suspects someonewill purchase the property and build a house on it.Other farms in the area have met the same fate.

Despite the threat, Flowers remains optimistic thatfuture water shortages can be avoided. He believesthat if people work together, there will be enoughwater for everyone.

Bringing in the Hay

Deer graze from a comfortable distance underthe last remnants of sun while farmer BobFlowers scrambles to salvage a second cuttingof hay. Working with fading light and agingequipment, Flowers still hopes to break eventhis year, despite an unexpected thunderstormthat leached the hay’s nutrients, lessening itsmarket value.


Thirty miles north of where Bob Flowers isworking to salvage his crops, Elwood Millerworks to salvage the endangered shortnose

and Lost River suckers. He adjusts his baseball hat–embroidered with the word “klamath”–and surveysthe most recent work along the Wood River Ranchwetland restoration project. Previously diverted andchannelized to irrigate almost 3,000 acres of pasture,the Wood River is being returned to its original,deeper channel. Plants from a neighboring wetlandare also being transplanted by several young men thatMiller has recruited. Despite all the commotion, birdsand other wildlife are busy taking advantage of therestored habitat.

As his hat proclaims, Miller is a Klamath Indianand for thousands of years, the history of his peoplehave been tied to this land. To members of theKlamath Tribes, the Basin is more than just theirhome. It is the place where they were created–theplace chosen for them by God, Blaydalknii, “the onefrom above.” Despite losing the tribal land in 1954,after the Klamath Reservation was terminated, Millersees the Tribes as stewards of the land. Although titleto the land was lost, the Tribes never gave up theirreserved rights to hunt and fish.

The suckers the Tribes seek to revive have a special

significance. They are part of what Miller calls theTribes’ “traditional economy.” Great runs of the fishprovided the Klamaths with enough food to survivethe Basin’s long, cold winters. Not so long ago, thesuckers were still so abundant that farmers wouldsnag them from the rivers to use as fertilizer for theirfields. In 1988 both species were placed on theEndangered Species List by the U.S. Fish and Wild-life Service. The decline of the sucker populationsmirrors the decline in abundance and size of other

REBUILDING A WETLAND—A cooperative effort among environmental groups and the Tribes, the WoodRiver restoration project (above) is the largest of its kind in the country. The Tribes hope that by restoringthe filtering quality of the wetland, water quality problems (below) will no longer hamper fish survival.


species, explains Miller. He remembers a time whenmule deer weighed 240–300 pounds. Now, the deerthey hunt are less than 150 pounds. He sees thediminished wildlife as a direct threat to the Tribes.

A needs assessment conducted by the Tribes in1988 showed that more than 75 percent of its mem-bers were living in a state of poverty. Subsistencehunting and fishing helped them to survive. With somany in the Tribes already in poverty, there isn’tmuch room left to give–which is why Miller and theTribes have taken the initiative in restoring theBasin’s ecosystem. Central to this goal is improvingthe water quality and quantity of Upper KlamathLake. Without an abundant supply of clean water,Miller’s hopes for restoring the sucker populationsand bringing salmon back to the Basin and theKlamath people, will be lost. By returning the Basin’swaterways to a more natural, balanced state–throughefforts like the Wood River Ranch–he knows he cansucceed.

Caught between the interests of Elwood Millerand Bob Flowers is Karl Wirkus, the AreaManager for the Bureau of Reclamation’s

Klamath Project. Wirkus knows that if a watershortage occurs, irrigators and the Tribes will look tohim for water. It is a position he does not savor. Pastlitigation and other legal guidance have pre-deter-mined the choices he will make.

Wirkus believes that, as a federal agency, theBureau must honor its responsibility to protect Tribalreserved rights. This duty was described in SeminoleNation v. U.S. as requiring “moral obligations of thehighest responsibility and trust,” holding the Bureauto “the most exacting fiduciary standards.” TheBureau must also conduct its operations to protectthe endangered sucker species and further the goalsof the Endangered Species Act. The Bureau inter-prets this to mean that if shortages are severe enoughto affect water quality, Wirkus will need to satisfythese obligations first.

The Project, as it is known, was established in1905 to provide water for farming. Today, it provides

SWITCHES AND LEVERS—The Klamath Irrigation Project is an elaborate system of canals, diversions,pumping stations, and headgates. To improve management of the diversion gates, the Bureau has replacedmany of the switching stations with computer controls. Now an adjustment is simply a phone call away.


irrigation to about 200,000 acres of farmland andtwo National Wildlife refuges in Oregon and Califor-nia. While equally dependent upon the Bureau forwater, the wildlife refuges are subservient to agricul-ture because they were established after the Project.In addition to this hierarchy, distributions are furtherbroken down within the project depending on thecontract; some lands would be the first to go dry ifirrigation deliverieswere curtailed.

Fortunately, thisyear an above-averagerainfall has alleviatedthese concerns.However, relying onthis kind of abundancewill not solve theunderlying problem.A concerted effort willbe required if all needs are to be met.

It is under these tensions and concerns that theState of Oregon will adjudicate Klamath RiverBasin water rights for those with claims dating

prior to 1909. The process is necessary because, likemost western states, water use in Oregon follows aversion of the prior appropriation doctrine where“first in time, first in right” is the rule. The value ofthe “right” referred to is found not so much in theright to use water, as it is in the right to excludeothers from doing so. If a senior water user is notreceiving an adequate supply, the local watermastermay shut off a junior upstream user until the moresenior user is satisfied. This distribution system is notwithout its conflicts.

On February 24, 1909, the State of Oregoninterposed itself between disputing neighbors andtook on the responsibility of regulating surface waterdistribution. However, the permits required fordiversions were only enforced prospectively. As aresult, claims originating before 1909 were neverformally recognized by the State and have been left ina form of limbo where rights could neither be as-serted nor denied. By finally adjudicating the datesand quantities of each claim, proper enforcement ofthese valuable rights will at last be possible.

Along several tributaries of the Klamath River,successful adjudications have already been completed.Water users along the North and South Forks of theSprague River, Annie Creek, Cherry Creek, Four andSeven Mile Creeks, and the Wood River have hadtheir claims settled. This does not mean that these

water users are disinterested in the current adjudica-tion–just the opposite is true. Because theunadjudicated claims along the other waterways willhave a direct impact on the water available to theseusers, they will have a significant interest in ensuringthe validity of these pre-1909 claims.

Despite the age of the claims involved in thecurrent adjudication, the list of claimants is surpris-

ingly large. It includes:several federal agencies,irrigation districts, theKlamath, Modoc, andYahooskin Band ofSnake Indians (collec-tively referred to as theTribes), people whopurchased Tribal lands,and individuals whosefamilies have farmed and

ranched in the Basin for generations.The State commenced the process of settling the

priority date of the claims, the rate of diversion, andthe total amount of water that may be used for eachclaim in 1975. After receiving notice from prospec-tive claimants on their intent to apply for a waterright, several lawsuits drastically impeded the State’sefforts. The federal government unsuccessfullyfought to exempt itself from the State’s adjudicationauthority and the Tribes successfully fought to havestanding to claim a right to water. With the comple-tion of this litigation, progress has since resumed.

In the traditional adjudication process, the Direc-tor of the Oregon Water Resources Departmentsubmits a final determination to the Court forapproval. The Department has also initiated a secondprocess for rights settlement. This process, known asAlternative Dispute Resolution (adr), provides aforum for claimants to negotiate water use with eachother before submitting their agreements to theDirector for approval. Apprehension of both pro-cesses is high as many participants feel that their wayof life is at stake.

A diversity of claimants, each with a stake in theoutcome, and a complex web of environmental, legal,and cultural issues underlies every discussion of waterrights. To fully understand the Basin’s water reliance,and to realize the implications of these issues,demands a closer look at all aspects of the Basin–from its geography to its people, from its history toits economy.

Like most western states, water use inOregon follows a version of the priorappropriation doctrine where “first intime, first in right” is the rule.


Without question, water is the single mostvaluable resource of the Klamath Basin.As the Basin’s waterways exist today, they

are as diverse in characteristics as they are vital to theeconomy and culture of the people who live there.The shallow, turbid Upper Klamath Lake contrastssharply with the deep, clear Crater Lake. The Kla-math River boasts of world-class white water near theCalifornia border but is lazy and meandering justbelow Upper Klamath Lake. Regardless of theirphysical attributes, the waterways share the tremen-dous burden of supporting the local economy.

The Klamath Basin is one of the poorest areas ofthe state.1 Without its water resources, the per capitaincome of $13,5002 would undoubtedly be deci-mated. With so much pressure on a single resource,

each contributing river and stream is important.By geographic definition, the Klamath Basin is the

area drained by the Klamath River and its tributaries.As the Klamath is one of only three rivers that pierceboth the Cascades and the Coastal mountain rangebefore emptying into the Pacific Ocean, the entireBasin is an area encompassing portions of south-central Oregon and northern California – an arearoughly twice the size of Massachusetts. In Oregon,the Klamath Basin occupies more than 5,600 squaremiles and covers almost all of Klamath County andsmaller portions of Jackson and Lake Counties to thewest and east. Although the geography defines the


Basin’s true boundaries, for purposes of the Adjudi-cation, the Oregon-California border (in some casesthe Tule Lake Basin) effectively marks its southernlimit. At the border, the Klamath River Canyonmarks the Basin’s low point and at an elevation of2,755 feet, is its drain point. To reach this commonpoint, the waters of the Basin must travel from everycorner and through every type of environment.

On a map, the Williamson River resembles an oldcrooked cane. With its headwaters accumulating inthe north central part of the basin off of BoothRidge, it curves north and west and picks up Jacksonand Jack Creeks before flowing into the KlamathMarsh Refuge.3

There it breaks up into sloughs and channels whilefilling the marsh’s shallow ponds before buttes forcethe waters to resume southward. Joining theWilliamson as it makes its exit, is the appropriatelynamed Spring Creek. During summer months, thereis usually no discharge from the marsh and SpringCreek maintains the Williamson until it joins theSprague River near the town of Chiloquin.

The Sprague River starts its 90-mile journey onthe timbered slopes of Coleman Rim and 8,364 footGearhart Mountain in the east. Near the center of theBasin, the Sprague meets its major tributary, theSycan River. The Sycan collects the waters flowingoff Winter Ridge and drains the northeastern portionof the Basin while passing through the 25,000-acreSycan Marsh, 23,000 acres of which are now ownedby The Nature Conservancy. According to 1998water resources data from the U.S. GeologicalSurvey, the Sycan and Sprague collectively deliveran annual average of 424,200 acre feet to theWilliamson River. The confluence of the Spragueand Williamson is Upper Klamath Lake’s greatestwater source. At an average of 758,800 acre feet peryear (usgs, 1998), the Williamson contributes

almost half of the lake’s total annual water supply andcould fill it in a year.

Joining the Williamson in its effort to fill UpperKlamath Lake is the Wood River. Spring fed at first,the Wood River is bolstered by waters from theslopes of Mt. Mazama flowing through the channelsof Annie and Sun Creeks. The Wood delivers172,000 acre feet which must pass through AgencyLake before flowing into Upper Klamath Lake.

Upper Klamath Lake’s nutrient-rich watersfluctuate between elevations of 4,137 and4,143 feet.4 At an average depth of only

eight feet, these variations in the water level havedrastic effects on its surface area.5 Regardless of itsshortcomings, the lake is Oregon’s largest andremains the central feature of the Klamath Basin.Located mostly on its western shore,6 the 15,000 acreUpper Klamath Wildlife Refuge was established in1928 and preserved the final quarter of remainingWood River Valley wetlands. To the south, the LinkRiver begins at the Link River Dam and makes thevery brief journey into the remnants of LowerKlamath Lake. Lake Ewauna swells slightly before theKlamath River slowly wanders off into the state-runKlamath Wildlife Area. Courtesy of the Bureau ofReclamation, the Klamath has the Lost River as oneof its last tributaries before it leaves Oregon.

The Lost River is a naturally closed sub-basin. Itformally begins its journey at Clear Lake in Californiaand picks up water from Gerber Reservoir throughMiller Creek while wandering in a 90-mile arc back toCalifornia and into Tule Lake–only 9 miles from itsClear Lake source. Canals and diversion channelsconstructed near the town of Olene control the LostRiver’s downstream flow and prevent it from flood-ing reclaimed lands in Tule Lake. This water isrerouted into the six miles of Klamath River that liebetween Lake Ewauna and Keno Dam. Keno alsoacts to back the Klamath up so that the same chan-

The confluence of the Sprague andWilliamson is Upper KlamathLake’s greatest water source. At anaverage of 758,800 acre feet peryear, it contributes almost half ofthe lake’s total annual water supplyand could fill it in a year.

Relative Inflow contributions to Upper Klamath Lake, according to USGS “Water Budget on Upper Klamath Lake,” 1970.

49.1 / Williamson16.4 / Wood

8.6 / Central Canal, Fourmile,Sevenmile Creeks

1.8 / Misc. Creeks

3.8 / Ag. Drainage

13.6 / Springs

6.9 / Atmospheric

Acre feet per year / river system


nels and canals can be used to replace Lost Riversupplies with the Klamath. Below Keno, the Klamathencounters the J.C. Boyle Dam, its final obstructionin Oregon. The final eleven miles, though regulatedby the hydropower dam’s releases, descend rapidly inclass IV and V white-water rapids through the scenicKlamath River Canyon.7

This collection of lakes, marshes, and riversrepresents the Basin’s most significant free flowingwater features. While they have played an importantrole in the area’s development, they ultimately answerto a more subtle and powerful influence: the geo-graphical features of the landscape itself.

Of course the Basin’s landscape does far morethan simply funnel the surface water to a commonsource. It ultimately defines what resources areavailable and the limits at which they can be har-vested. By examining the entire landscape, thechoices and life-styles of the people who live here aremore easily understood.

For the past several hundred million years, whatis now Oregon was being scrapedoff the floor of the Pacific Ocean. When

North America separated from Europe and createdthe Atlantic Ocean, the North American tectonicplate began colliding with various plates in the PacificBasin. Because the Pacific plates are denser, theydive, or subduct. In the process the top layer ofsediment from the ocean floor is scraped off andfused to the North American plate. The more widelyknown side-effect of this process was the creation ofthe Cascade Mountain range.

The Cascade Mountains make up the westernboundary of the Klamath Basin and are geologicallydivisible into two separate regions–the WesternCascades and the High Cascades. The WesternCascades are older and were born while the Pacificocean still broke on the shores of the WillametteValley. The process of erosion has whittled the peaksto their current height, about half that of the 11,000-foot High Cascades. Only five million years ago, theWestern Cascades were tilted upward, creating asloping ramp on the west and a precipitous drop on

VIOLENT BEGINNINGS—Crater Lake may look placid now, but Oregon’s deepest lake began with a volcaniceruption 42 times greater than the noted eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington.


the east. It is actually this ramp of the WesternCascades, rather than the more prominent HighCascades, that casts the rain shadow affecting muchof the Klamath Basin.

While the peaks of the High Cascades provideOregon with much of its identity, their formation hasbeen considerably less spectacular than much of therest of the state. The volcanism associated with theHigh Cascades was only one-sixth that of theirwestern brothers.Despite the decreasedactivity, the more recentHigh Cascade volcanismcreated much ofOregon’s currenttopography. Perhapsthe most spectacularevidence of this isCrater Lake.

Mt. Mazama isestimated to have been10,000 to 12,000 feethigh. About 7,700 yearsago, the mountain erupted in what has been called“Oregon’s most cataclysmic geologic event.” Ashfrom the eruption has been found in eight states andthree Canadian provinces. When the mountain’scone finally collapsed, Mt. Mazama was diminishedto its current height of 8,151 feet. Over time, precipi-tation and springs gradually filled the six-mile-widecaldera. At its greatest depth of 1,932 feet, CraterLake is now the deepest lake in the United States andin 1902 became Oregon’s only National Park.8

To a lesser extent, the volcanic arc of thecascades crept into the Basin. The region’stimbered buttes are littered with volcanic

rocks describing the mountain’s formation. Whilethese low-lying hills provide the area with some of itsmountainous landscape, the majority of the KlamathBasin receives its features from the geologic provinceknown as basin and range. The Klamath Basinoccupies the northwest corner of this province whichstretches south as far as Mexico and east to Utah.The north–south running ranges that separate thebroad, flat basins are actually the fault lines betweentwo separate blocks where one has been pushed up,or horst, while the other has recessed, or graben.Extensive geological mapping of the Basin hasrevealed hundreds of these fault lines.9

The fault-formed grabens offered ideal areas forwater to collect. During the last ice age, mountain

runoff and heavier precipitation spawned many large,rainfall-dependant (pluvial) lakes. In Oregon, nonewas larger than Lake Modoc. By comparison, LakeModoc’s most prominent legacy, Upper KlamathLake, is only one tenth its ancestor’s estimated 1,100-square-mile expanse. It was in this lake that theBasin’s famed redband and bull trout developed.When the climate changed and became drier about11,000 years ago, runoff from the mountains and

seeping springs could nolonger compete with thedry, thirsty air and thedraining Klamath River.As the lake receded,many of the Basin’slakes, rivers, and valleyswere left behind.

Whether standing onStukel Mountain over-looking the Project ordriving through KlamathMarsh on Silver LakeRoad, evidence of Lake

Modoc lies everywhere. The lake acted as a naturallandfill for the eroded materials washed from itsshores or carried in by streams laden with glacial till.Contributing to the composition of the valley floorswas the single celled diatom. These microscopicplants fabricate a protective shell for themselves outof silica. As volcanic activity provided ample suppliesof this material, the lake was ideal for their abundantgrowth. When the plants died, their white shellssettled to the lake floor in thick layers of diatoma-ceous earth or chalk. Total deposits in the some ofthe region’s valleys measure in the hundreds of feet.It is not unheard of for a well driller’s log to reportsediment deposits of more than 1,000 feet.

Despite the porous quality of the soils, the expan-sive valleys were unwilling to surrender the water thattook more than a million years to collect. UpperKlamath Lake was connected to the 85,000-acreLower Klamath Lake and Tule Lake reached acrossthe California border. Lining these lakes were hugeexpanses of marsh, rivaled in size only by the wet-lands to the north and east. Winter runoff andsprings continued to fill the channels and pools leftby Modoc’s retreat, enabling these lakes to survivewhile many of eastern Oregon’s pluvial lakes evapo-rated. By the time white explorers first arrived, themarshy lakes still covered more than 375,000 acres.There were, however, people present who’s collectivehistory witnessed the complete transformation.

In an eruption 42 times greater thanMount St. Helens, an estimated sixcubic miles of magma poured from themountain and areas more than 70 milesaway were covered with volcanic debrissix inches deep.

The eruption of Mt. Mazama, 7,700 years ago.


For 11,000 years the Klamath, Modoc, andSnake Indians, all shared portionsof the Basin. At the time of contact with

white explorers, the Modocs had settled aroundTule Lake and the lava beds in California. TheYahooskin Band of Snake Indians preferred thearid conditions of the easternmost reaches of theBasin while the Klamaths made the central marshes,lakes, and rivers their home.10 Altogether the threeTribes controlled almost 22 million acres of Oregonand California. Because of the association forcedthrough the Treaty of 1864, the Tribes have lost theirindividual identity and are collectively referred to asthe Klamaths.

Although many of the Basin’s features bear theKlamath name, it was not one they gave themselves.In the 1860s, Captain Oliver Cromwell Applegaterecorded the phonetic spelling of the native name asOuse-kanee or Oux-kanee, meaning “people of thelake” or “people of the marsh.” Applegate hypoth-esized that the name Klamath most likely originatedfrom French trappers, as one of the first writtenrecordings of the name, Clammitte, was derived fromthe French Clair-Metis, meaning “light mist” or“cloud.” In all, eleven different spellings of the namehave been used, but Klamath has best withstood thetest of time.

Many of the hypothesis concerning the prehistoricculture and life-style of the Klamaths has been drawnfrom artifacts and the personal records and observa-tions of scientists and early explorers. From theseaccounts, Cressman concluded “[t]he KlamathIndians had built a culture that was integrated aroundthe resources of the rivers and the swamps of thearea, with lesser emphasis on theexploitation of the open lake.”From the name they gave them-selves to the clothes they wore,the Klamaths were as much apart of the Basin’s waters as thefish and waterfowl. The abun-dant, marsh-growing tule wasindispensable–providing theKlamaths with clothing,baskets, and building material.Arrows designed to skip acrossthe water when shot into aflock of birds and the marshshoe (similar to a snowshoe)further exhibit the Basin’sinfluences on Tribal life. The Basin’s marshes andwaterways changed the Klamath’s very way of life. Drying suckers at the Lost River.

Historical photos courtesy of Klamath County Museum.

A Klamath woman weaves a reed basket.

Ancient People of the Basin

“Their dress appears rather strange - theirleggins being made of reeds, also theirshoes of the same - well adapted for snowbut would not answer in the summerseason.”

Peter Skene Ogden, a trapper from the HudsonBay Company and one of the first whites to visitthe basin, 1826.


Plentiful waterfowl, salmon, suckers, and wocasseed all provided the food supplies that allowed theKlamaths to forsake the nomadic life of the “GreatBasin” Indians. Archaeological digs reveal that thepresence of animal bones (other than dog bones) isall but absent in the upper, more recent layers ofabandoned developments. Instead of traveling tofollow herds of mule deer, the Klamaths needed onlyrelocate to where the next seasonal supply of foodwould be found. In the winter, when such an infu-sion was not available, many of the individual bandswould return to a semi-permanent settlement nearthe present location of Chiloquin. The springs in thisarea prevented the Sprague and Williamson Riversfrom freezing–allowing fish and muscles to sustainthe Tribe.

While the Klamaths had no need to venturebeyond their traditional homeland, they were not anisolated group. Cressman believed that tribes alongthe coast and the Columbia River could access theKlamaths and impact their culture. By the timeEuropean Americans contacted the Klamaths, theTribe had already been influenced indirectly throughits dealings with neighboring tribes.

The first white man known to have exploredthe Basin was Finan McDonald. Employed bythe Hudson Bay Company, McDonald

trapped the Klamath Marsh for beaver through the

winter of 1825-26 without success. He abandonedsome of his traps and did not return the followingwinter when Peter Skeen Ogden led a Bay Companyparty into the Basin.

In September 1826 Ogden left The Dalles with43 men and 100 horses for the Upper Klamath Lakeregion. The journey would become incredibly brutal.Following weeks of poor hunting and harsh weather,Ogden wrote in his journal on Saturday, December 3:“Two horses killed for food; terrible storms of snowand sleet! What will become of us?”

Fortunately, trading with the “Clammite” Indians(as Ogden called them) gave the party some relief.The Klamaths kept such a large number of dogs thatOgden acquired 40 of them for food and named theUpper Klamath “Dog Lake.” Although Ogden’sencounters with the Klamaths were peaceful and hecommended their honesty for returning traps,beavers, and an ax left by Finan McDonald, his laterexperiences with the Modocs apparently changed hisopinion on how to deal with native people.

By the time the Bay Company party arrived at thePit River in California on February 10, 1827, aftertraveling through Modoc lands, only eight men out of43 men in Ogden’s party still survived. Bloodyconfrontations with the Modocs caused Ogden towrite: “Whenever an opportunity to offers of murderor theft, they allow it not to pass. I am of opinion ifon first discovery of a strange tribe a dozen of them

Creating and

Terminating a

Klamath Indian

Reservation

The tumultuous events surround-ing the Klamath Reservation, itstermination, and reinstatementcontinue to produce many points ofcontention. The Tribes feel that theirhistory has been mischaracterizedand that government manipulationand mismanagement caused theloss of their lands and degraded thequality of the environment. Irrigatorsdispute the Tribes’ claim to waterrights for lands they do not evenown. Although the renewed debateover water rights has reopenedmany old wounds, the currentcontroversy is just one in a longbattle for rights the Tribes havewaged since before the Reservation


was formed on October 14, 1864.In that treaty, 27 chiefs from the

Klamath, Modoc, and YahooskinBand of Snake Indians agreed togive up almost 20 million acres oftheir aboriginal lands. In exchange,the Tribes, historically adversaries,were reserved an area one-tenth thesize of their former lands and theexclusive right to hunt, fish, trap,and gather within the Reservationboundaries. The location of theseboundaries immediately sparkeddebate.

Four different boundaries havebeen extrapolated from the vaguelanguage of the Treaty of 1864.Ultimately, it was determined that asurvey conducted by the govern-ment in 1871 had erroneouslyexcluded 621,824 acres from thereservation. To compensate for theloss, the Tribes received 83 cents peracre. 68 years later, the Tribes

were shot, it would be the means of preserving manylives. . . . Why allow ourselves to be butchered andproperty stolen by such vile wretches who are notdeserving to be numbered among the living thesooner dead the better?”

The next documented exploration of the area byJohn Charles Fremont, also known as “The Path-finder,” came during the winter of 1843–44. Ap-prised of the potential for violence, Fremont actuallydragged a cannon across thefrozen marshes and at the firstsite of an Indian settlement,fired off a salvo. When hereturned to the area again in1846, after being ordered outof California by Mexicanauthorities, he was without hiscannon and the conflict hefeared in 1843 found him thesecond time around.

On the evening of May 8,1846, one of Fremont’s com-panions, the legendary Kit Carson, was awakened bythe sound of a hatchet striking the head of one manand arrows impaling another. Fending off the attackbut losing three men, Fremont and this party went ona rampage for revenge. Of the events that followedFremont wrote: “When the ‘Tlamaths’ tell the storyof the night attack where they were killed, there will

be no boasting. They will have to tell also of thedeath of their chief and of our swift retaliation; andhow the people at the fishery had to mourn for theloss of their men and the destruction of their village.It will be a story for them to hand down while thereare any ‘Tlamaths’ on their lake.”11

Such were the relationships between the nativetribes and explorers at the time when the Basin’ssettlement began. Assisting in the settlement was a

family who would have aprolonged and significantinvolvement in the region, theApplegates. In 1843 near TheDalles, the Applegates’ raftcapsized and brothers Lindsayand Jesse each lost a 10-year-old son. This, combined withthe fact that the English-owned Hudson Bay Companyowned every fort along theOregon Trail, prompted thebrothers and 15 other men to

create a southern route to Oregon in 1846.12

The Applegate Trail provided passage for many ofOregon’s earliest emigrants. However, stories ofModoc attacks abounded. A so-called “History ofCentral Oregon” relayed a rather fantastic account ofthe perils faced by settlers.

“The Modoc Indians. . . earned the character of

successfully petitioned the IndianClaims Commission for an additional$4.16 million, about $6.69 an acre.

In addition to this loss, the Tribes’land was further diminished afterconstruction of the Oregon CentralMilitary Road was authorizedthrough the middle of the Reserva-tion. To pay for the road, the con-struction company was granted titleto land along the right of way.Eventually title was passed to theCalifornia and Oregon Land Com-pany. In 1906 Congress exchangedthis strip of land for an 87,000 acretract near Yamsay Mountain andreduced the Reservation to 862,622acres. Initially, the Tribes were paid$1.25 an acre for the loss, butsuccessfully sued to receive anadditional $2.3 million.

In 1954 the Reservation wouldonce again be diminished. OnAugust 13, 1954, the Congress

“When the ‘Tlamaths’ tell thestory of the night attack wherethey were killed, there will be noboasting. They will have to tellalso of the death of their chief andof our swift retaliation.

Charles Fremont, May 1846

elected to remove itself fromKlamath affairs and passed theKlamath Termination Act.

Representatives of the Tribespoint out that contrary to popularopinion, they did not elect toterminate their relationship with thefederal government. Instead,termination was imposed on theTribes over their elected leader’sobjections and against the recom-mendations of the Bureau of IndianAffairs. With the governmentremoved from its managerial role,each Tribal member was given twooptions: they could give up theirindividual property interest for cashand opt out of the Tribe, or theycould elect to stay in the Tribe andhave their interests managed by athird party. There was no option forthe property to be parceled intoindividual allotments or for the entireReservation to be turned over to a


the most barbarous and blood-thirsty savages west ofthe Rocky Mountains. . . . Innocent and unoffendingimmigrants, accompanied by their families . . . wereattacked and butchered indiscriminately by thesepainted savages. . . . More than three hundredimmigrants are known to have been slain in thismanner by Modoc Indians (facts ascertained by actualcount of their bleaching skeletonsalong the road).”

Eyewitness accounts of confronta-tions are somewhat different. In 1852,a group of volunteers assembled toassist immigrants with the dangerouspassage. Lead by Ben Wright, they metwith a contingent of 60 Modoc Indiansand brokered a peace agreement. Afterlearning of an apparent trap set by theModocs from two captive Modocwomen, Wright determined “it wouldhave been criminal negligence for himnot to have his men attack first thing inthe morning.” Almost all of the Modocswere killed. Amidst such encounters, travelers beganto view the Basin as more than a place they passedthrough on the way to the Willamette Valley: itsundeveloped lands had become a place of opportunity.

During the 1850s, the Klamath Basin was tenta-tively used for pasturing cattle. Individuals such asWallace Baldwin, Judge F. Adams, and Wendolen

Nus all pastured herds at various times through thisdecade but made no attempts to permanently residethere. In order to add stability to the Basin, FortKlamath was established on September 5, 1863 byMajor Charles C. Drew of the First Oregon Volun-teer Cavalry. The Fort was supposed to provideprotection to the emigrants from attack but was

located too far from the Applegatetrail to properly perform this func-tion.13 The Treaty of 1864 created theKlamath Reservation and endedthese concerns.

Despite Fort Klamath’s presenceand the Treaty with the Tribes, itwould not be until 1866, whenWendolen Nus returned, before theBasin would have its first perma-nent white settler. Soon after, in1867 George Nurse established aone room store and ferry at thebase of Upper Klamath Lake and

Linkville was born.14 Nurse secured the land for hisstore and the rest of the town from the State andimmediately (although improperly) platted the entirearea. Nurse offered his land for free to anyone whowould build there and the town slowly began to takeshape. Five years after Linkville was established, thetown had only 40 residents but the 1872 Modoc War,a six-month skirmish in which U.S. troops were

tribal government. According to BudUlman, an attorney for the KlamathTribe, misinformation concerning thefate of those who elected to stayabounded. This might help explainwhy 80 percent of the Tribal mem-bers chose to abandon the Tribe.

In order to pay the withdrawingmembers, the Government con-demned all but 90,000 acres pur-chased by timber company Crown-Zellerbach. The remaining land wascombined with lands from the Rogueand Fremont National Forests tocreate the Winema NationalForest.

For the 474 Tribalmembers who decided toremain, their land washeld in trust by the U.S.National Bank of Oregon. In 1971,the remaining members elected toremove the trustee. Apparently, thebank interpreted this as a vote to

Ultimately, the Klamath people havereceived about $220 million for theirlands. Despite the amount of moneyreceived over time (withdrawingmembers only received $43,000each initially), to Tribal membersTermination was a disastrous event.

“Termination hit like a bigbomb,” said Elwood Miller of theKlamath Tribes. “Ever sincetermination, we’ve been scratch-ing and clawing to stay alive.”

Indeed, jealousy over theTribe’s “windfall” is a wasted

emotion. A drive throughChiloquin, the hub of the Tribes,reveals a more accurate state ofaffairs for the Klamath people.Chiloquin consistently earns therecognition of Oregon’s poorest

town – in 1996, Tribal membersexisted on a per capita income ofonly $5,672 and an unemploymentrate of 17.2 percent.

Klamath Indian Reservation, 1864-1954(Tribal Lands, 1954: 862,622 acres)

Yamsay Mountain Transfer(87,000 acres lost)

Upper Klamath Lake

terminate the trust itself and itliquidated the remaining lands. Onceagain, the United States acquired theproperty through condemnation.


Even with termination, theliquidation of their lands, andrevoked recognition as a Tribe, theTribal elders never disbanded theirgovernment says Miller. Under thesecircumstances, the Tribes sued for adeclaration of their remaining rightsin 1979. After more than four yearsof litigation, the Ninth Circuit Courtof Appeals in United States v. Adair,determined that the Tribes’ reservedrights to fish and hunt include thenecessary water to support thoserights. A 1995 memorandum fromthe Department of the Interior’sOffice of the Solicitor interpreted thisto mean that the Tribes have a rightto water quality conditions that willsupport all stages of fish life. It isalso the Department of the Interior’sposition that the Tribes’ water rightextends to waters necessary tosupport a fishery within the formerReservation—even waters outside

Tribes were able to open its Kla-Mo-Ya casino on part of the 500 acresacquired since the Termination Actwas passed.

To Elwood Miller, restaking theTribes’ rights and restoring theBasin’s waters is more than preserv-ing a piece of cultural heritage, it’sabout survival. “When 70 percent ofthe Tribe was living below thepoverty line, the Trust resources gotthem over.”

The hunting, fishing, and gather-ing also satisfy an aspect of theTribes’ spirituality, which to Miller, isfundamental to a person’s basic wellbeing.

“If you’re not healthy there(spiritually), you’re not healthynowhere,” he said.

Settling the Basin

Founding father of Klamath Falls, merchant“Uncle George” Nurse, facing page, opened astore and ferry at the base of Upper KlamathLake in 1867, above. He later platted the areaand offered land for free to entice settlers. Fiveyears later “Linkville” had 40 residents.

defeated repeatedly and a U.S officer waskilled, helped increase the towns notoriety.As written in The History of CentralOregon: “the name of Linkville was uponthe lips of everyone who read the bloodydeeds enacted in that short, fierce struggle.Linkville was advertised in blood; themost catchy advertising ink in the world.”

Although growth was boosted by thenotoriety, Linkville suffered a hugesetback in 1889 when a fire destroyed$50,000 worth of the town’s businesses.While rebounding from the destruction,residents decided that the nameLinkville did not keep with their ambi-tious vision of the town. On April 1,1892, the Linkville post office officiallybecame Klamath Falls. Seven days lateranother fire struck $20,000–$30,000damage to the Grand Central Block.After a third fire in 1894, a censusrecorded the Klamath Falls population to be 452people. By 1900, a federal census showed that thetown’s population had actually decreased to 447. Ifstability and prosperity were going to embrace theregion, some source of consistency was needed to tiepeople’s lives together. Remarkably, in an area ofbaked earth and soaked swamp, the stabilizing forcewould be agriculture.

“Termination hit like a bigbomb. Ever since termina-tion, we’ve been scratchingand clawing to stay alive.”

Elwood Miller,Klamath Tribes

the former Reservation’s boundaries.The priority date for this unquan-tified right was judicially held to be“time immemorial.”

The Adair decision, as the courtcase is known, is not the only stepthe Tribe has made in revitalizingitself. A year after the final decisionwas handed down, the KlamathRestoration Act of 1986 restored theTribes to a federally recognizedstatus. After this recognition, the


The Basin’s geographic features dealt the land awithering fate. The Cascade Mountains andthe Basin’s high elevation create formidable

obstacles for agriculture. After the moisture-laden airascends the Cascades and deposits 65 inches ofprecipitation, the amount it must descend on the eastdetermines how much rain will be available. Thefarther the air descends, the drier it becomes. Thetown of Chemult, located in the northern point ofthe Basin, at 4,760, can get 20–30 inches of precipita-tion annually. This is double the amount received inthe 4,100-foot-high town of Malin. Unfortunately,higher elevations result in cooler temperatures. The660-foot change in elevation between Malin andChemult is accompanied by only a five-degree averagetemperature difference during the growing season,

Defying Constraints:

Agriculture in the Basin

A bank of sprinklers works non-stop to keepthirsty crops green and to ward off theencroaching desert. The ever-present threat offrost, a naturally dry climate, and the basin’ssandy soils force farmers to rely heavily onirrigation to support crops.


but the effect on agriculture is severe.Steve Cheyne of the OSU Extension Service says

that the Basin has recorded frost in every month ofthe year. With this ever-present threat, the five-degreetemperature difference effectively prevents farmingfrom outside Project lands. The northern valleys arefilled from mountain base to mountain base withpasture land. Grasses are the only “crop” heartyenough to withstand the cold air that rolls down fromthe surrounding hills in the evening. Even withinOregon’s side of the Project, the short growingseason (only 110 frost-free days) and potential forplant-killing frosts dictate the agricultural practicesthat take place.

For row crops like sugar beets and potatoes,sprinkler irrigation can save a crop. During a freeze,

water applied to the plant will release heat as itchanges from a liquid to a solid, keeping the plantalive. Despite this preventative measure, most farmersprefer to stick with the cold-resistant grasses as a wayto battle the frost. Pastures cover almost 41,000 of128,000 acres of Project lands within Oregon andremains the single largest land use. Cattle grazing maybe the most common land use in the Project, but it isnot the most profitable. That distinction belongs topotatoes. In 1995, 7,350 acres of potatoes had a grossvalue of $23,149,000 while pasture land’s total grossvalue was only $3,683,000.

Gross Value of Crops grown

in the Klamath Basin

sdnaLnogerOtcejorPhtamalKni

DIyellaVllegnaLDIylfesroHdna

egaerca eulavssorg egaerca eulavssorg

yelraB 594,42 00.348,731,7$ 296 00946,102$

staO 680,2 00.666,025$ 458 00.951,312$

taehW 076,1 00.465,387$ 0 $0 00

eyR 040,1 00.079,552$ 0 000$

aflaflA 30233 00.285,227,91$ 076,8 00.089,941,5$

ssarG / yaH 663,41 00.244,686,2$ 996,5 00.317,560,1$

erutsaP 729,04 00.035,286,3$ 072,9 00.690.438$

steeBraguS 447,2 00932,163,2$ 0 000$

snoinO 0 000$ 0 000$

seotatoP 943,7 $ 00.053,941,32 004 00.000,062,1$

.csiM .geV 0 000$ 0 000$

latoT 088,721 $ 00.681,003,06 585,52 00.795,427,8$

Bureau Report, Klamath Project, Draft AnnualOperations Plan, Environmental Assessment. 1999.

Although agriculture in the Basin must adapt tothe constraints placed on it by the cold, such defer-ence is not shown to the arid sky. According toRodney Todd of the OSU Extension Service, irriga-tion is the reason why agriculture is successful.Without a reliable supply of water, agriculturalexperts agree that farming would be almost impos-sible and land values would plummet to only afraction of what they are presently worth. Theseobservations echo that of geologist James DwightDana who, in 1838 remarked:

“Although Oregon may rank as the best portionof Western America, still it appears that the landavailable for the support of man is small. . . . Themiddle section is in some parts a good grazing tract;the interior is good for little or nothing.”


If farming would be fruitless without irrigation,then the face of the Basin would be drasticallydifferent without the Bureau of Reclamation.

The Reclamation Act of 1902 laid the ground workfor transforming land that was once described as“sunbaked prairie and worthless swamps” into a“broad expanse of lush, green fields.”15 To do this,the Bureau appropriated all unclaimed waters in theBasin and on February 9, 1905, Congress officiallyauthorized the Project’s development.

through 1966, majorfacilities such as theLink River, Clear Lake,and Gerber Dam werecompleted before 1926.Even the “earliestreclamation plans” hadthe same canal divert-ing water in twodirections: to and from the Lost and Klamath Rivers.

To make use of the reclaimed lands, the federalgovernment opened portions of the Project tohomesteading. Starting in November 1908, andcontinuing until after World War II, the Projectprovided settlement opportunities to more than 600veterans of the World Wars. The homesteading wasaccomplished by lottery, with the successful entrantallotted a parcel, rather than the land rush associated

Engineered Oasis

A concrete testimony to the power ofengineering, the Klamath Project has turnedthe arid parts of the basin to a green oasiswhile “reclaiming” 125,000 acres of former lakeand marsh. The extensive project useshundreds of miles of canals and floats a riverin two directions.

Before the vision of bringing 235,000 acres underirrigation could be realized, the cooperation ofCalifornia and Oregon was needed. The LowerKlamath and Tule Lake shared 125,000 acres in bothStates–an area almost twice the size of the UpperKlamath.16 In 1905 each State government ceded the“good land [that] lay wasting beneath the surfaces” tothe United States for reclamation. By May 16, 1907,the first project lands were being irrigated.17

By 1957, 500,000 acre feet of water “whichformerly were entirely wasted,” according to theBureau’s 1957 report, was being successfully con-served.18 Making this possible is a labyrinth of 18main canals totaling 185 miles, 516 miles of lateralcanals, and 728 miles of drains. This list of Projectfeatures is made even more impressive when consider-ing that much of the Project was constructed morethan 75 years ago. Although construction continued


with the Midwest. Many of homesteaders came withpractically nothing and lived in tents or purchased thebarracks used to house Japanese-Americans justacross the California border during World War II.

“They broke their backs and put a lot of sweatequity into this land,” said Don Boyd, who owns afarm equipment dealership in Merrill, while speakingof the homesteaders. Boyd credits the veterans’ prideand patriotism with creating a sense of community

“A half century of progressive irrigation development has brought a balanced andprosperous economy to the Klamath area. . . . More than 1,600 farmers and theirfamilies and scores of independent merchants and tradesmen owe their preciousbusiness opportunities to this 200,000 acre reclamation project.”

Bureau report, “A Half Century of Progress on the Klamath Federal Reclamation Project”

and higher quality of life than other towns. “Thepeople here are good people,” he said, pointing to thethousands of dollars in farming equipment sitting infront of his business. “I never have to worry aboutcoming here and finding things missing.”


Homesteading is not the only creative use ofProject lands. With 80 percent of thePacific Flyway waterfowl passing through

the Basin to reach wintering grounds, the area haslong been recognized for its importance to migratingbirds. The Basin’s marshes attracted so many birds, infact, that an 1826 journal entry by Peter SkeneOgden reported that the Klamath Indians actuallymade blankets from the feathers. After settlementbegan, hunting was so pervasive that even profes-sional hunters called for a moratorium on shootingduring breeding season. In 1908 the Basin wasofficially recognized for its importance to waterfowlwhen President Theodore Roosevelt issued ExecutiveOrder 924 establishing the Lower Klamath NationalWildlife Refuge which straddles the Oregon–Califor-nia border. It was the first wildlife refuge establishedspecifically for waterfowl in the nation.

The Basin’s marshes attracted so manybirds, in fact, that an 1826 journal entryby Peter Skene Ogden reported that theKlamath Indians actually made blanketsfrom the feathers.

Today during fall migration, the Bureau of Recla-mation estimates that 2–4 million birds will use theLower Klamath Refuge. This concentration of birdsis not always healthy for the bird populations. Avianbotulism and cholera outbreaks in the Refuge claimanywhere from 20,000 to more than 50,000 birdseach year.

Of course these uses–homesteading, refuges,irrigation–were only incidental to the Project’s truepurpose. Providing water for farming was to be thefirst step in creating a thriving economy for theregion and wealth to the entire country. The intro-duction to a Bureau report, “A Half Century ofProgress on the Klamath Federal ReclamationProject,” says as much:

“Slowly, as the frontiers were pushed back, farm-ing and permanent commerce replaced the passingtrapper, the hapless prospector, and the transienttrader. A half century of progressive irrigationdevelopment has brought a balanced and prosperouseconomy to the Klamath area. . . . More than 1,600farmers and their families and scores of independentmerchants and tradesmen owe their precious businessopportunities to this 200,000 acre reclamation project.”

Still, farming and ranching under such adverseconditions extracts a hefty toll from the Basin’s watervolume. Exactly how much water is used for irriga-tion and the number of irrigated acres is not preciselyknown. The absence of finally adjudicated rights inthe Basin adds to the difficulty in determining theprecise quantities of water being used. Because pre-1909 water claims cannot be regulated under thelaw–water cannot be denied to these unadjudicatedclaimants–many irrigation delivery systems do nothave flow meters and diversion limits are seldomenforced. Within the Project, the absence of adjudi-cation means that individual farmers pay a fee basedon the number of acres they will irrigate rather thanthe amount of water they will use. Ultimately, thequantity of water used for irrigation can only be


Fowl and Flyways

Abundance in wildlife broughthunters to the Klamathmarshes seeking unlimitedbounty. While hunters oncebagged carloads of waterfowlin the Basin’s marshes andwetlands, the migrating birdsare now protected by afederal wildlife refuge.


approximated. Because irrigation accounts for morewater than all other uses combined, this uncertaintyof information is not to be taken lightly. Withoutprecise information, it is impossible to say which areais receiving the most water, what it is being used for,or if it is being applied in the most economically,environmentally, and agriculturally efficient manner.This leaves many facts concerning these issues incontention.

Statewide, irrigation accounts for 87.3 percent ofall water withdrawals. In Klamath County, which hasthe distinction of having the largest amount of watermanipulation and recycling in the state, this figurejumps to about 93 percent.19

Icon of Efficiency?

While environmental groups argue against theless-efficient “flood” irrigation, many farmerscontend that center pivots are equal culprits.The towered, mechanized water deliverysystems can be controlled by computer tomeasure out water exactly. But a hot wind cansend the water into the wrong place or, worseyet, evaporate it before reaching the ground.


While irrigated pasture used for cattle (and somesheep) accounts for almost half of all agriculturallands in the Basin, it is the method of irrigating theselands that is a source of controversy.

Unlike the sprinkler systems used for irrigatingrow crops and grain fields, ranchers prefer floodirrigation. While environmentalists like WaterWatch’s Bob Hunter and Oregon Trout’s RichMcIntyre point to instances of cows wading throughflooded fields as examples of waste, farmers andranchers defend the practice. Ron Hathaway of theOSU Extension Service notes that sprinkler irriga-tion systems are only better at applying water uni-formly and that as part of the hydrological cycle,

flood-irrigated waters are never truly wasted. He alsoemphasized that flood irrigation is vastly superiorwhen it comes to efficient use of energy, time, andmoney.

Farmers like Bob Flowers agree with Hathaway.Some farmers contend that sprinkler systems canactually waste water, arguing that on a hot windy day,water from center pivot sprinklers is blown hundredsof yards away and evaporates before it even reachesthe ground.

Statewide, irrigation accounts for 87.3percent of all water withdrawals. InKlamath County, which has the distinc-tion of having the largest amount of watermanipulation and recycling in the state,this figure jumps to about 93 percent.

Unfortunately, the debate over flood irrigationdoes not end with the amount of water diverted fromthe stream. With a decrease in water quantity comesconcerns of water quality. Exacerbating qualityconcerns related to low instream flows is the poorquality of the return flows from excess irrigation,damaged riparian areas, and the Basin’s hot summermonths.

Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality(deq) is required by Section 303(d) of the CleanWater Act to identify water bodies that do not meetstandards for conditions such as temperature, pH, ortoxics. The standards set by deq are designed toprotect beneficial water uses like drinking, agricul-tural use, recreation, industrial water supply, and coldwater fisheries. The Klamath Basin has portions of46 different rivers and lakes which, for one reason oranother, have failed to meet these standards. Whilethe area’s scorching summer temperatures account formany of the listings, water bodies such as the Kla-math and Lost River fail several different standards,some of which persist throughout the year.21

The poor health of the Basin’s waters is notdisputed. Once abundant fish populations havedisappeared and others are threatened with extinc-tion. The causes of these conditions and how theyshould be corrected, on the other hand, is fiercelydebated.22 Although some may argue the correlationsbetween certain farming or ranching practices, waterquality, and fish populations, few would dispute thatthe Basin’s fisheries are in decline. According to the


Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s FishManagement Plan, the Endangered Species Act hasbecome the driving force behind fisheries manage-ment in the Klamath Basin. But disappearing fishpopulations are not a recent phenomena.

Salmon and steelhead were once part of theKlamath Basin fisheries. According to a paperby R. D. Hume, in 1850 the Klamath River

was so choked by the “finny tribe” that settlers couldscarcely induce their horses to ford it. But by 1900,the spring run was reduced to the point of beingcharacterized as “of little importance.” Overfishing,placer mines, and irrigation withdrawals were blamedfor the drastically reduced numbers. In 1917, thecompletion of the CopcoDam permanentlybarred fish passage intothe basin. A studyconducted in 1913 at therequest of Copco (PacificPower and Light’s prede-cessor) found that thedam was not the cause ofthe salmon disappearance.State fish and wildlifeexperts along with Copcoofficials exonerated theelectric company and foundthat the actual barrier tofish migration was fish racksconstructed in 1910 by theU.S. Bureau of Fisheriesnear Klamathon. Althoughthe racks certainly curtailedfish migration, the absence offish ladders (neither required,nor built) at the Copco dammeant that the presence of salmon and steelhead inthe Klamath Basin would be limited to the pages ofold reports.

Evidence of diminished fisheries is not limited tothe loss of anadromous fish, however. Along many ofthe Basin’s waterways, residents relate stories of dayswhen fish were bigger and more abundant. Ivan Boldhas lived next to Lost River nearly his entire life andhas seen it change from a productive trout stream toone he no longer fishes. The Bold family moved toBonanza in 1910 and owned a general store until1989. Bonanza is a small farming town and is knownas the “Cloverleaf” because of the pattern that thePoe, Yonna, and Langell Valleys make as they stretch

out from this junction. According to Bold, the reasonfor the town’s location was not so much its proximityto prime agricultural lands, but rather the accessibil-ity of water provided by Big Spring.

Bold described the springs which feed into theLost River as pure as the driven snow. “Back in the1920s, people would just come down to the springsand scoop the water up with buckets and carry it backto their houses for drinking,” said Bold. He recalledwhen a father and son from Los Angeles witnessedsomeone drinking right from the spring. “The boyturned to his dad and said ‘look, they drink rightfrom the stream!’–they couldn’t believe it. That’show good the water here was.”

Fishing days

“We thought nothing of catching a five- or six-pound trout,” reminisces Basin resident IvanBold, remembering days of better fishing.Fishing guides are also noting decliningcatches as the Basin’s waterways struggle tosupport the demands placed on them.


Boom, Bust, Adapt

Economic Trends in the Basin

Although the droughts of 1992and 1994 were the first time irriga-tors had ever been denied Projectwater, it was not the first time theEndangered Species Act altered landuse policy in the Basin. More than 80percent of the Basin is forested, andbefore the 1980s logging and timberindustry were its greatest sources ofrevenues. Listing the Spotted Owlchanged that.

Trey Senn of the EconomicDevelopment Association noted thatthe County’s popula-tion decline caused bythe timber industry’slayoffs during the1980s was theCounty’s economiclow-water mark.According to RodneyTodd of the OSUExtension Service, $18an hour jobs availableto high school gradu-ates for unskilled jobsduring the 1970s—likesweeping up themill—disappeared astimber giants likeWeyerhaeuser all butpulled out of theBasin.

Bob Reitman, a silviculturist forthe Winema National Forest said thatthe 1,040,000 acre Winema iscurrently being logged at about 10percent of its former rate. In additionto the volume of logging, themethod has also changed: clear cutshave been replaced by selectivecutting. Reitman is quick to point outthat the change in practices has notnecessarily produced a universalbenefit. “Selective cutting is veryinvasive. You are always returning tothe same area. With a clear cut, youstay out of that section of woods fora number of years afterwards.” Healso points out that habitat createdby clear cuts can benefit certainspecies that do not do as well in theolder growth. Additionally, thereduced cut has raised new con-cerns for the Forest Service.

“What is the unharvested woodbecoming?” asked Reitman. “Foodfor insects, disease, and fire.” Of theultimate effect of the timber

number of female residents as a signthat the county is transitioning froma resource-based community to aregional trade center. This forecast isreflected in a compilation of majorBasin employers by the Chamber ofCommerce. It lists the Merle WestMedical Center as the single largestemployer with 1,039 employees.Additionally, new businesses such asSykes Communications, whichhandles technical support calls forseveral different companies, havepositioned the Basin for even moregrowth. Perhaps most importantly,tourism is playing an ever-increasing

role in the Basin’seconomy. Eco-tourismgenerated by thewildlife refuges, CraterLake, white-waterrafting, and world-class trout fishing havetraditionally been thebackbone of theBasin’s tourismindustry. New develop-ments like the $35million Running Yranch resort, whichfeatures an awardwinning golf coursedesigned by ArnoldPalmer, and theKlamath Tribe’s Kla-

Mo-Ya casino are expanding thescope of Basin tourism.

Even with this new found growth,the Basin’s economy still hasimprovements to make. Sennreports that unemployment is at9 percent, more than double thenational rate of 4.3 percent. Ruralareas don’t see much of the tourists’money. “I’m glad I’m retired,” saidIvan Bold, commenting on businessopportunities in Bonanza.

Residents like Ron Hathaway,Staff Chief for the OSU ExtensionService, caution that tourism alone isnot the answer to the Basin’seconomic development. “Every townin Oregon is saying ‘tourism is thegong to save us.’ How many peopleare going to come here wheneveryplace else is competing for thetourists’ dollar? Natural resourceshave to stay the focus. Agricultureprovides over $120 million a year. Ifyou figure a tourist spends $100 aday, you’d need 120,000 tourist daysto replace agriculture.”

40000

50000

60000

70000

80000

90000

100000

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

50021

53900

59117 57476 57702

64252

71501

79133

86357

94325

Population of Klamath County, 1970–projected 2015

Rank in Oregon (of 36 counties)

Population: 11Income per capita: 11

Rank in Oregon (of 36 counties)

Population: 15Income per capita: 34

“Every town in Oregon issaying ‘tourism is the gongto save us.’ How manypeople are going to comehere when everyplace elseis competing for thetourist’s dollar?

Ron Hathaway,OSU Extension Service

industry’s departure Reitman argues“We are exporting our environmen-tal damage. The price of wood hasn’tchanged much, labor and environ-mental costs have priced localtimber right out of the market.”

Despite this economic downturnalso suffered elsewhere in the state,the Klamath Basin is slowly beingrejuvenated. A report by the KlamathCounty Economic DevelopmentAssociation states that “[a] surginglocal economy has caused popula-tion growth to rebound significantlyin the 1990s.” The report citesincreases in the median age ofcounty residents from 28, in 1970, to35, in 1990, and cites the increasing

POPULATION TRENDS in KlamathCounty support an optimistic viewof the Basin’s economy. However,Klamath County still ranks low inper capita income and higher inunemployment than many partsof the state.



The purity of the ground water in Bonanza nolonger enjoys such a sparkling reputation. Since July1991, fecal coliform has been found in several of thetown’s domestic wells. Studies compiled by KlamathCounty hypothesize that consecutive drought yearsforced farmers and ranchers to irrigate more heavilywith ground water. The drawn down aquifer permit-ted infusions of Lost River water which carried in thecontaminants.

Mr. Bold also recalled fishing in the Lost River.“We thought nothing of catching a 5 or 6 poundtrout.” While standing next to the muddy Lost Riverwhere it collects the waters of the spring he com-mented. “The river’s no good for fishing now.”

The “Lost” River

Water quality in some sections of the LostRiver is notably poor. While fish and wildlifeapparently survive the conditions of thedegraded river, their numbers are suffering.


Rich McIntyre of Oregon Trout agrees. “I call itthe Doomed River,” he said. McIntyre has more thanjust an emotional interest in the health of the Basin’swaters; he owns the Crystalwood Lodge, a fishingguide business which is frequented by people from allover the world. According to McIntyre, “the UpperKlamath is home to the largest native trout in theworld, period.”

McIntyre also says, that the Basin has the world’sgreatest diversity of rainbow trout races–differentgenetic versions of the same species. “The ColumbiaRiver, which drains the better half of four states, haseleven different races of rainbow trout. They havelooked at about half of the streams in the Klamath

Basin and have already found about 15 separate andnew races of fish,” said McIntyre.

He also believes that this number is in jeopardy.Records kept by his guides documenting the numberof fish caught reveal diminishing numbers. McIntyresays that the lack of fish screens on diversion chan-nels is one of the main contributors to this decline.“The fisheries have been harmed irreparably byunscreened diversions. Tens of thousands of fish diein the ditches,” he said. Another major contributorto the diminished fishery is the health of UpperKlamath Lake itself.

The poor health of the Basin’s waters isnot disputed. Once abundant fish popu-lations have disappeared and others arethreatened with extinction. The causes ofthese conditions and how they should becorrected, on the other hand, is fiercelydebated.

Upper Klamath Lake is the most significant fishnursery in the Basin and water quality problemswithin it have “profound effects on a significantportion of Klamath County’s fish resources.”23 Thelake is also dying from its own naturally eutrophiccondition–a problem that has persisted throughoutits documented history. An 1855 federal survey crewreport commented on the lake’s water. “The watertaken from the lake had a dark color and a disagree-able taste, occasioned apparently by decayed tule . . .the taste of the water was so disagreeable that severalvain attempts were made to discover a spring in thevicinity.”

Historically, the source of the lake’s nutrients wasthe Basin’s volcanic soils. Heavy spring runoffs wouldincrease sediment loads in the lake and wind blowingacross its broad surface exacerbated water qualityconcerns by constantly stirring up the sediments thathad settled to the bottom. Today, environmentalistsand Tribal members believe that the lake’s demise hasbeen accelerated by farming and ranching practices.Studies which examined return flows from pasturesalong the heavily ranched Wood River Valley revealedphosphorous levels seven to ten times higher than theriver’s water. Jake Kann, the aquatic ecologist for theKlamath Tribes who performed the study, explainedthat a cow will produce seven to ten times as much


phosphorous as a human. Kann concluded that withWood River Valley cattle populations somewherebetween 50,000 and 100,000, it is the equivalent ofhaving a town with 350,000 people without sewagetreatment living along the river.

The nutrient loading in the lake produces spec-tacular blue-green algae blooms. “In the summer, thealgae gets thick enough to plow,” said Van Landrum,a 72-year resident of Klamath Falls.

Although the lake’s algae provides companies likeCell-Tech, of Klamath Falls, with the source for itsdietary supplement product and about 540 peoplewith jobs, the lake simply produces far more than canbe harvested. When the algae dies, the decaying plantmatter decreases the lake’s dissolved oxygen andelevates pH levels to 10.0 in some areas.24 Both ofthese conditions are lethal to the Lost River andshortnose suckers which were placed on the federalEndangered Species List in 1988. To help ensure thesurvival of these species, the Bureau of Reclamationfollowed the recommendations of the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service and established minimum lakeelevations in 1992.25 That same year, a witheringdrought forced the Bureau to honor its responsibilityto the suckers as well as the endangered salmon in thelower Klamath River. Basin farmers were cut off fromProject water for the first time in history. Anotherblistering drought in 1994 again caused the Bureau tocurtail irrigation use as lake levels reached an all-timelow of 4,136 feet.

The Bureau’s decision to leave water instreamaffected the Basin’s irrigators beyond themonetary losses suffered. It was the an-

nouncement of a change in water distribution policy.Landrum, commented, “originally, agriculture wassecond in priority for receiving water behind domes-tic use. Now, its fourth or fifth.”

Don Boyd said that farmers feel betrayed by theBureau’s shift in policy. “The Project was set up foragriculture and the farmers feel like they have paidfor it.”

The years following the droughts of 1992 and1994 were not as dry, but the Bureau’s water manage-ment policies could not escape criticism from theirrigating community. Although the Bureau met itstargeted lake levels in 1995, 1996, and 1997, fish killsplagued the already endangered shortnose and LostRiver suckers. These fish kills actually increased localskepticism of claims that the Basin’s fish were introuble. The shear number of suckers that died inthese years raised questions over whether the fish

should be listed at all.26 Further, of all the suckersthat had been previously tagged for study, not onewas found among the dead.

Members of the Basin’s agricultural community,like Farm Bureau representatives Bob Flowers andJohn Bodner, feel that the Bureau’s decision tocurtail irrigation in favor of maintaining instreamflows for salmon and suckers is in error. Bodnerargues that before the Link River Dam was built, arock reef prevented the lake from dropping below4,140 feet and that there were times when the LinkRiver actually ran dry. Bodner believes that ifinstream flows would not have existed naturally,irrigators should not have to suffer in order to createan artificial environment. Flowers agrees and alsobelieves that the water released from Upper KlamathLake during drought situations may actually bedetrimental to the downstream salmon. If the re-leased lake water is too warm for the salmon tosurvive in, Flowers wonders how keeping it instreamwould be beneficial. For many sympathetic to theirrigating community, issues such as these arethought to be overlooked in favor of the more heavilyrepresented environmental positions.27

The Klamath Basin adds value to Oregon andthe rest of the country in ways that do notreadily show up on paper. Even the view from

a car window is enough to impart a sense of unique-ness. The juxtaposition of marsh and desert, theincredible diversity of wildlife, the awe inspiringexpanse of farmland. Learning more about the Basinenhances the appreciation: Crater Lake, Oregon’sonly national park is also the country’s deepest lake;Upper Klamath Lake, once part of a huge prehistoriclake, is Oregon’s largest–and home to the largestnative trout in the world; The wildlife refuges thatstraddle the Oregon–California border are consideredthe most important staging area for waterfowl on thePacific Flyway and see concentrations of Bald Eaglesgreater than anywhere else in the lower 48 states. Thefact that the Klamath Basin’s most noted features alsoshare its most coveted resource is not surprising. TheBasin’s water resources have always played the centralrole in its development.

Over time, changes in population and, moreimportantly, cultures, have altered the way the waterand land provide for its inhabitants. For the Tribes,an abundant water supply provided food in the formof ample fish runs, muscles, and waterfowl. Seedsfrom water lily or wocas, have been called the corn ofthe Klamaths. Even the clothing of the Klamath


Indians was derived from the marshes. Ultimately,the Basin’s waters and their bounty became com-pletely infused into the culture of this ancient people.

Today, dependence on the water still exists. Morethan 400,000 acres of pasture and farmland use theequivalent of the entire volume of Upper KlamathLake to fend off the arid summers. Desired by manyof the residents, this way of life is not without costs.Water diversions and return flows off irrigated landsare cited by environmentalists as aggravating waterquality problems that resulted in federal protectionfor the bull trout and two species of sucker. As aresult of its responsibilities to these species and theTribes of Oregon and California, the Bureau ofReclamation has adjusted its position on which useshave priority to the water it distributes.

Tourism, however, continues to provide anotherand slightly different take on the relationship be-tween water and economy. Rafting white-water in theKlamath River, catching trophy trout in UpperKlamath Lake, bird watching at the five wildlife

refuges, and sightseeing at Crater Lake all meanimportant sources of income for Klamath Falls’businesses that would otherwise not exist withoutabundant and high quality water sources.

Clearly, water and its distribution are critical to theresidents of the Basin. The Oregon Water ResourceDepartment’s adjudication of water rights within theKlamath River Basin will clarify relative rights tot heuse of the Basin’s water. By creating a record ofenforceable water rights for each water user, residentswill be able to use this information to ensure thatwater is being managed properly for the highest andbest use.

KLAMATH SUNSET—Every person in the Klamath Basin is linked in some way to Klamath waterways. Formany, it fuels a family business, watering enough crops to feed thousands. For others it is a cultural identity,providing sustenance both materially and spiritually. Still for others, it brings peace of mind, whetherthrough recreational pursuits or simply by looking upon it.


Primary sources

Cressman, L.S., Klamath Prehistory: The Prehistory of the KlamathLake Area, Oregon. Lancaster Press, Inc., Lancaster,Pennsylvania. 1956.

Fortune, J. D., et al., A Study to Determine the Feasibility ofEstablishing Salmon and Steelhead in the Upper KlamathBasin. April, 1966.

Forbes, Margaret G., and Darla Elswick. Report on the Conditionof Water Resources in Klamath County. June, 1995.

Gearhart, R.A., et al., Watershed Strategies for Improving WaterQuality in the Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon. Humbolt StateUniversity. Arcata, California. 1995.

Hall, Sarah. Restoring a Treasure: The Upper Klamath Basin.Video. 1995.

Howe, Carrol. Ancient Tribes of the Klamath Country. Binfordsand Mort, Bend, Oregon, 1968.

Linsy Sisemore, ed., History of Klamath County: Its Resources andits People. 1941.

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Klamath River Basin,Oregon: Fish Management Plan. August 22, 1997.

Oregon Water Resources Board, Klamath Basin. Report. June,1971.

Sherrod, D.R. and Pickthorn, L.G., Geologic Map of the WestHalf of the Klamath Falls 1° by 2° Quadrangle, South-Central Oregon: U.S. Geological Survey Misc. Investiga-tions Series, Map I-2182, scale 1:250,000. 1992.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. WinemaNational Forest, Land & Resource Management Plan. 1990.

U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation. DraftKlamath Project Annual Operations Plan EnvironmentalAssessment. 1999.

U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation. A HalfCentury of Progress on the Klamath Federal ReclamationProject. May, 1957.

Footnotes

p7 1For purposes of demographic and economic analysis,“Basin” figures are actually those of Klamath County.Klamath County’s per capita income is ranked 33 of 36Counties according to the Klamath County EconomicDevelopment Association.2In 1994, the per capita income for the state was $15,700.(Klamath County Economic Development Association,Klamath County Demographics. Undated.)

p8 3The Klamath Marsh Refuge was established in 1958 withonly 16,400 protected acres. Now with 40,646 acres, itencompasses virtually all of the of the marsh’s originalacreage.4The Bureau of Reclamation keeps the lake at a maximumelevation of 4,143.3 feet to protect against the possibility ofoverflow caused by a significant runoff event.5Gearheart et al. report that the lake’s surface area canfluctuate between 60,000–90,000 acres.6Hanks Marsh, which is located on the east side of KlamathLake, is also part of the Refuge but is insignificant in size bycomparison.

p9 7The eleven miles of the Klamath River that lie between theJ.C. Boyle Dam and the California border were designatedas Wild and Scenic on September 22, 1994. This stretch of

river was given the Bureau of Land Management’s highestscenic classification and is known for its class IV and Vwhite-water rapids. Discovery of 40 prehistoric sites in theriver’s canyon also make it eligible for the National Registerof Historic Places as an Archaeological District.

p10 8Closer to the base of the mountain, Sand, Sun, and AnnieCreeks continue to erode ash-gray canyons and leave behind“pinnacles” of debris. Although the sandy, pumice-ladensoils provide little value to agriculture, they are an effectivearchaeological tool. Each ash and pumice layer effectivelymarks the year for in-the-field dating.9This does not mean that such geologic forces are a thing ofthe past. The two earthquakes in 1993 acted as gentlereminders that more are to come. The two quakes measured5.9 and 6.0 and did $10 million in damage. Not everyonewas affected however. Van Landrum, who as an engineerdesigned several of the buildings in town reported that “notone of them lost a brick.”

Besides these gentle shifts in the earth’s crust, a moreprominent reminder of the Basin’s volcanic past can be seenon Main Street in Klamath Falls. Steam rising from stormgrates and manhole covers tell of the geothermal watersbeing used for heat. In fact, nowhere in the United Stateshas this resource been more widely used as a heat sourcethan in Klamath Falls. The geothermal waters are alsosurprisingly pure. Steve Cheyne, the agriculture irrigationspecialist for the OSU Extension Service used to raisetropical fish for pet stores in ponds that had the volcanicallyheated waters pumped directly into them. Although this isprobably the most creative use of the hot springs, theyremain mostly undeveloped. For example, the Geysers, ageothermal powerplant near San Francisco, producesroughly the same amount of electricity as the BonnevilleDam near Portland. Although citizen opposition effectivelyrestricted further development of this resource, theWinema National Forest has expressed interest in exploringgeothermal resources on the flanks of Mt. Mazama.

p11 10The Klamath Tribe was not one large gathering of people.Instead, the Tribe was a collection of individual groups,each with their own leader, spread throughout the centralBasin.

p13 11Fremont calls the attackers ‘Tlamaths,’ but accounts by theApplegate trail-blazing party, who arrived at the point ofattack only two months later, believed the Indians toactually be Modocs.12The Applegate Trail would eventually become the paththat Route 66 and Interstate 5 would follow throughKlamath Falls and Ashland on the way to Polk County.

p14 13For the most part, life at Fort Klamath consisted ofmanual labor, policing the countryside, and helping toarrest Indians once the Klamath Reservation was estab-lished in 1864. In 1867 federal troops finally replaced theOregon volunteers. Boredom, miserable food, and theoccasional “French leave” (as deserting was called at thetime) were the biggest adversities faced at the fort until1872, when a group of Modocs lead by Kientpoos (orCaptain Jack as he was also known) decided to leave theReservation. During the six-month 1872 Modoc War, U.S.troops were defeated repeatedly in their attempts todislodge the Modocs from their stronghold in the Califor-nia lava beds. The battle attracted national attention and,when General Canby was killed, marked the only time after


the Civil War that an officer was killed by a NativeAmerican. Finally, on June 1, 1872, Kientpoos wascaptured and the conflict ended. Four of the Modoc leaderswere tried under Military law for the murder of Canby andother white settlers and were executed.

After the Modoc War, soldiers at the fort resumedtheir duties, constructing a telegraph line from Fort Bidwellin California to Jacksonville, Oregon, and building a newhospital. By the time President Cleveland signed theexecutive order on May 4, 1886, closing the fort, it was theonly active federal army post in Oregon. Citizen outcryagainst this decision was so great that the Secretary of Warpostponed Fort Klamaths’s abandonment until August 9,1889, when the garrison flag was lowered for the last time.14“Uncle George” Nurse, as he was known, moved fromCalifornia to Oregon in 1863 and grew hay for the FortKlamath horses. In 1867, he moved to the mouth of theLink River and established the town of Linkville. Whilethere, Nurse opened a store and hotel, operated a ferryservice, and built the first bridge over the river. He wasgenerous to a fault. In 1883 he was forced to sell hisbusinesses to pay off debts he had co-signed. He died inYreka, California in 1895.

p18 15Bureau of Reclamation, A Half Century of Progress onthe Klamath Federal Reclamation Project, May 1957.16The Upper Klamath’s surface area can be between 60,000and 90,000 acres.17In 1882, the Van Brimmer brothers were the first to useirrigation in the Basin.18Jim Bryant, Bureau of Reclamation Chief of the Waterand Lands Division for the Bureau, estimates that theProject removes between 350,000 and 500,000 acre feet ofwater annually from the Basin. This represents only afraction of the amount of water actually diverted as returnflows are constantly being recycled, making the Project anextremely efficient water user according to Bryant.

p22 19This figure is made even more impressive when consider-ing that agriculture and pasture land account for only 12.6percent of the Basin’s land use. Municipal and industrialuses consume the remaining 7% of the total water usedwhile accounting for only 0.2% of the land use. Theremaining land in the Basin is either forested (80%), openwater (3.6%), or marsh (2.6%). (Gearhart, R.A., et al.,Watershed Strategies for Improving Water Quality in the UpperKlamath Lake, Oregon. Humbolt State University. Arcata,California. 1995.)

p23 20According to the Bureau and the OSU Extension Service,only 361,100 acres are being irrigated.21The Klamath River is listed for failing to meet standardsset for pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and toxics(ammonia). Its dissolved oxygen listing persists fromApril␣ 1 to November 30 and unacceptable ammoniaconcentrations persist in summer and winter. The LostRiver is listed for temperature, chlorophyll A, and pHduring the summer while unacceptable levels of dissolvedoxygen and bacteria occur all year. (Oregon Department ofEnvironmental Quality, Final 1998 Water Quality LimitedStreams–303(d) List. Web page. 1999.)22Previous management practices are now the focus ofconcern. Exotic species such as yellow perch, pumpkin-seeds, brook trout, and bull frogs were all “officially”introduced and continue to compete with indigenous

species. More recently, the unauthorized introduction of thefathead minnow has raised alarm as the species hasproliferated rapidly.

p27 23Forbes, Margaret G., and Darla Elswick. Report on theCondition of Water Resources in Klamath County. June, 1995.

p28 24Id. According to studies cited by Gearheart et al., evenwhen the plants are alive they create a lethal environmentfor fish. Dissolved oxygen levels of 115 to 125 percentcreate a supersaturated environment that can be deadly tofish. Dissolved oxygen levels in Upper Klamath Lake havebeen recorded as high as 247 percent during summermonths.25According to Karl Wirkus, the Project’s area manager,lake levels were not to go below 4,139 feet six out of tenyears, could not go below 4,137 feet four out of ten years,and could not go below 4,139 feet for two consecutive years.26In 1995, 450 dead suckers were collected. In 1996, 6,049dead suckers were collected. In 1997, 750 dead suckers werecollected. According to Andy Hamilton of the KlamathBasin Ecosystem Restoration office, a bacterial infection inthe fish’s gills caused the deaths.27Not all of the proposed water quality solutions come atthe expense of agriculture. Wetland restoration projects atthe Sycan Marsh, Tulana Farms, and the Wood RiverRanch are designed to improve water quality and wildlifehabitat and required nothing from the irrigating communityexcept a willing seller. Because these efforts are so recent,widespread benefits to the Basin have not been observed.

This publication:

This publication was prepared by staff of theWater Resources Department.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This publication is intended as a generalintroduction and overview of some of the water issuesaffecting the Klamath Basin. The assertions made herein donot constitute a determination by the Adjudicator of theWater Resources Department regarding any factual or legalissue to be addressed in the Klamath Basin Adjudication.

Martha O. Pagel, Water Resources Department DirectorDick Bailey, AdjudicatorWeston J. Becker, Editor and DesignerScott Perry, WriterPhotographs by Weston J. Becker unless otherwise noted.

Cover photograph by Scott PerryHistorical photographs provided courtesy of KlamathCounty Museum, p11,12,14,15,18,21,24Don Knauer, p9, p29

Printed on recycled paper.For more information, contact:

Water Rights and Adjudications DivisionWater Resources Department158 12th Street NESalem, OR 97310www.wrd.state.or.us1(800)624-3199 or (503)378-8455

special supplement — klamath basin … lined bales of hay with an aging bale stacker. unconcerned...

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