Klamath Project
Contact: Jeffrey McCracken, (916) 978-5100
The President's FY 2009 budget request for the Klamath Project is $25.0 million to continue to improve water supplies and water management for the benefit of fisheries and agricultural water users in the Basin. The Klamath Project is a Federal water supply project built in the early 1900's to drain lands to make them available for agriculture and to provide irrigation for land in south-central Oregon and parts of north-central California. The Project provides water to about 1,400 individual farms and ranches, totaling about 210,000 acres, and fuels a $300 million agriculture-dependent economy in the Upper Klamath Basin. The Project also provides water to about 55,000 acres of National Wildlife Refuges. In 2001, the combination of several years of drought and the legal requirements of two Endangered Species Act Biological Opinions resulted in a severe curtailment of water for agricultural use. This action caused many adverse economic consequences to the Upper Basin's agricultural communities and stimulated efforts to improve both water supply reliability and fishery conditions.
Under the current NOAA-Fisheries Biological Opinion for threatened Coho salmon, Reclamation must provide flows in the Klamath River downstream of Iron Gate Dam. Reclamation must sustain lake level elevations in Upper Klamath Lake to protect endangered Lost River and short nose suckers under the Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Opinion. Reclamation continues to work closely with other Federal agencies and all stakeholders to protect endangered and threatened fish while managing water for the needs of agriculture and wildlife refuges while addressing Tribal trust responsibilities. Beyond DOI, Department of Commerce, USDA, and other agencies continue to coordinate and prioritize Klamath Basin programs.