Abstract

1. A Summary of Environmental Issues that Plague the Upper Klamath Basin Prepared by: Trever Redding Endangered Species • In 1988 the Native Americans became upset when a few of the fish that they use as a food source are put on the endangered species list. • Also salmon fishing was closed earlier than expected because of the low numbers of fish that were traveling up into the Klamath Basin. • Water quality in the Klamath Basin • The reason that fish and wildlife are going on the endangered list is because of the water in the Klamath Basin. The chemical composition, algae, and water temperature are the main concerns. • The chemical composition is due to large part from the volcanic soil in the region which contributes to the high phosphorous and nitrogen in the water. • The green algae and diatoms that are in the Klamath Basin give rise to algal blooms in the late summer and these blooms will dissolve the oxygen and pH levels in the water. The fish need the oxygen and pH levels higher to survive. • The temperature has been increasing for several decades in because of loss of vegetation along streams and river channels. The loss of vegetation is caused by many factors such as logging along stream beds, livestock eating the vegetation, housing developments, and road construction • Largest Fish Kill Ever in the United States • During 2001 farmers were out raged because water was not given to a lot of farmers and the reason was that their was not enough water in the Upper Klamath Basin to keep water levels normal. • The farmers protested in Klamath Falls which became the largest cultural event in the history of Klamath Falls. • The government eventually gave in because of lawsuits by the farmers and the water was restored to the farmers which was a mistake. • In 2002 over 60,000 fish died making their way up to spawning grounds in order to lay eggs. • The reason the fish died was because a lot of water was used the previous year and with drought like conditions their was little water in the snow pack and reservoirs the water level was dangerously low and their were toxins in the water that killed the fish. • Another contributor was that dams were put on the rivers in the Klamath Basin in 1917, these dams were required to have fish passages for the fish to travel through the dam, however the dams did not have these fish passages installed and the fish cannot migrate up the river. • Abstract • Environmental problems have existed in the Klamath Basin since the late 1980s, when select fish species were listed as endangered species. Fisheries decline was exacerbated in 2002, when a large population of sixty thousand fish was killed trying to migrate to their spawning grounds. One of the reasons is that dams have been put on the rivers in the Klamath Basin, however no water ways were made for fish passages. Not only fish are being affected, but also the birds that use the local wildlife refuge are dying because there is not enough water to support their migration south • INTRODUCTION • Since the 1980’ there have been many problems in the Klamath Basin such as water rights, environmental issues, species going on the endangered list, also irrigation problems, and very importantly water quality. • Basic Overview of Water Rights • In 1864 the Native Americans made a deal with the United States government to 70,000 acres of land in order to secure water rights and also to be able to fish along the banks of the rivers in the basin. • Also the people that came out on the Oregon trail were promised land and all the water they needed to be able to grow crops. • Now the state not the government is giving farmers in Oregon permits to use the water, and there are more than 1000 farmers with these permits. • Last, the wild life refuge is also needing the water because many birds fly over and stop at the refuge to use the water. Figure 2. This is a figure of the number of sucker fish that were killed from 95-97. Figure 3. Levels of oxygen and pH in two different locations in the Klamath Basin. • Conclusions • Many of the problems could have been avoided, however now the government is now trying to fix this mistake before it has the chance to get worse. • Also because of the fish kill a lot of businesses along the Oregon coast have had 90% set backs in there fishing and crabbing. • Also the Government is looking to take some of the dams off of the rivers, however there are too many unknowns of what could happen if they were Figure 1. This figure correlates to the irrigation problem below. This is a map of all the major rivers and drainages in the Klamath Basin. • References Cited • “U.S. Fish and wildlife service”. “Klamath Basin Ecosystem Restoration Office Project 2000”. Science 2000. May 20, 2006. http://www.fws.gov/klamathfallsfwo/ero/eroePamela Baldwin • Law Division, Eugene H. Buck, and Betsy A. Cody. “Congressional Research Service,The Library of Congress”. Science September 22, 2005. http://www.nationalaglawcenter.org/assets/crs/ • Jacob Kann, G. Gary Scoppettone, David L. Perkins. “The Role of Poor Water Quality and Fish Kills in the Decline of Endangered Lost River and Shortnose Suckers in Upper Klamath Lake”. Science september 2000. http://www.usbr.gov/mp/kbao/esa/Fish_Kill.pdf • The Irrigation Problem • In 1905 an authorization was given to use another source of water rather using the snow pack the government started to use a different source of water. • In order for the land to be used for farming the government had to dike and I • irrigated the flood plain that would accumulate water every spring. • Another problem was that when the settlers came to farm the land had a desert setting and the government needed to change the setting, therefore the irrigation was necessary at that time.