Media and Press

Water settlement comes into question Tribes remain hopeful that Congress will approve legislation By LACEY JARRELL Herald & News March 5, 2015 Three Basin tribes have begun a mediation process that could end in termination of the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA). “Our concern is that legislation has not passed. We are unable to obtain […]

Government Whistleblowers Say Klamath Irrigators Misusing Federal Funds by Jes Burns OPB February 18, 2015 The Klamath Basin has seen many water shortages over the years. Photo by Devan Schwartz / EarthFix Two government biologists say millions of dollars in federal funds intended to secure water for fish in the Klamath Basin were instead used

ODFW commission picks Curt Melcher to run agency By Kelly House The Oregonian/OregonLive February 13, 2015 Curt Melcher, a longtime Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife employee who has led the agency on a temporary basis for the past five months, will be its next director. Melcher, 51, has spent all of his 28-year career

After the Flood Dams across the United States are being decommissioned and rivers restored to their natural flow. As scientists are learning, tearing down the barriers is just the first step in returning a river to health. BY JULIET GRABLE Earth Island Journal Winter 2014 One hundred and twenty-six miles from the Pacific Ocean, in

Central Oregon LandWatch mulls an appeal By Tyler Leeds The Bulletin December 8, 2014 A federal judge on Friday dismissed objections to a city of Bend water project west of town, but the plaintiffs are still considering whether to appeal to the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Central Oregon LandWatch and WaterWatch

Judge rules Bend water project can proceed Lawsuit is over $24 million Bridge Creek pipe replacement By Tyler Leeds The Bulletin December 6, 2014 A federal judge on Friday allowed the city of Bend’s $24 million Bridge Creek pipeline project to proceed. Central Oregon LandWatch and WaterWatch of Oregon sued last year over the pipe-replacement

Klamath Basin proposal is bad for taxpayers: Guest opinion By Jim McCarthy Oregonian December 6, 2014 The Klamath River Basin and its communities need a sustainable plan to address longstanding conflicts over water. Unfortunately, the controversial and expensive Klamath agreements – currently before Congress – will not resolve these conflicts. These co-joined agreements include hundreds

Klamath objections included in committee records Not all written submissions were included in shorter printed report of June 3 hearing By Andrew Clevenger The Bulletin December 4, 2014 WASHINGTON — The Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee’s “Official Committee Record” of a June hearing on the Klamath Basin water-sharing deal includes objections raised by environmental

Questions persist despite Klamath agreements by Jim McCarthy Salem Statesman Journal Op-Ed November 29, 2014 Contrary to the Statesman Journal’s Nov. 16 editorial, the Klamath Basin water agreements contain no assurances whatsoever of increased flows for Klamath River salmon. Moreover, claims that the agreements proposed in pending federal legislation will resolve the region’s water wars

Objections to Klamath deal omitted? WaterWatch of Oregon, others want objections included in formal record By Andrew Clevenger The Bulletin November 27, 2014 WASHINGTON — Several Oregon groups that oppose the Klamath Basin deal pending in Congress are concerned their objections weren’t considered when members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved the

OSU researchers find Rogue, Calapooia river ecosystems recovered quickly after dams removed By The Associated Press October 8, 2014 Rafters in 2009 approach the remains of the Savage Rapids Dam through 88 years of sediment build-up on the Rogue River. Scientists at Oregon State University have found that insect life quickly recovered after this dam

Oregon biologists poised to rescue Deschutes River fish as flow drops in October near Bend By The Oregonian October 7, 2014 A 2013 water draw down killed hundreds of fish stranded in a side channel of the Deschutes River south of Bend. An operation to rescue and relocate fish on the upper Deschutes River at

Low water exposes Emigrant Lake’s past By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune October 6, 2014 ASHLAND — As Jeff LaLande picks through the old spark plugs, brakes and other debris where Klamath Junction used to be, he thinks about those who worked at this highway service station inundated 54 years ago by Emigrant Lake. Travelers stopping

Watershed moment The U.S. and Canada prepare to renegotiate the 50-year-old Columbia River Treaty. By Marshall Swearingen High Country News October 6, 2014 Salmon have not been able to pass into the upper half of the Columbia River basin since Grand Coulee Dam, above, was constructed in the 1930’s. Restoring salmon to the upper basin

Judge: Water for Klamath salmon legal — this time Tribes split on reaction to federal ruling By Juniper Rose and Jeff Barnard Times-Standard and Associated Press October 1, 2014 A federal judge ruled Wednesday that a federal water agency did not violate the law when it made special reservoir releases last year to help salmon

Feds release emergency water to Trinity, lower Klamath rivers after deadly parasite found in fish The Times-Standard September 16, 2014 After several fish on the Lower Klamath River were confirmed on Monday to have contracted the deadly ich parasite that previously caused the massive fish die-off in 2002, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation released emergency

Klamath bull trout in need of the most help Saving the species in Klamath watersheds will require several mitigation actions By LACEY JARRELL Herald & News September 13, 2014 Comment deadline Dec. 3 The public has 90 days to comment on the revised bull trout recovery draft, and then another draft will be issued. The

Court petition halts district water shutoff Irrigator group appeals; continues pumping water by Lacey Jarrell Herald & News September 6, 2014 Owners of a Klamath Project diversion canal, who were ordered to cease water deliveries, have filed a petition against the state and are still drawing irrigation water off the Klamath River. The Klamath Drainage

Rescue in the refuge 100 birds a day found ill or dead By LACEY JARRELL Herald & News September 2, 2014 Tracy Albro, a Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge biological technician, lifts dead ducks out of the water in Sump 1B, where the botulism outbreak first surfaced. (Photo by Lacey Jarrell) TULE LAKE — Waterfowl

Gold Hill Irrigation District Pipeline Project Underway KTVL-TV August 25, 2014 GOLD HILL, Ore. – Construction on improvements to the Gold Hill irrigation District’s Diversion Dam are underway. Crews are working to place a pipeline underground to replace nearly a century old technology. Water Watch, a non-profit organization, teamed up with the irrigation district to

Those without senior water rights left high and dry Landowners along small streams like Evans Creek are getting their irrigation water shut off based on Oregon’s water-rights law  By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune August 17, 2014 WIMER — For nearly four decades, Ed and Claudia Wagner have tended to their family orchard of about two

Basin water allocation tightens Reservoirs drawn down to their limits by Lacey Jarrell Herald & News August 6, 2014 The intense, but brief, rain events during recent thunderstorms have done little to improve the Basin’s water outlook. Marc Spilde, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Medford, said Monday night’s showers registered .12 inches

Diseased fish found in Klamath River By LACEY JARRELL Herald & News August 5, 2014 More than three-quarters of juvenile chinook salmon recently surveyed in the Klamath River are diseased, according to a report by the California-Nevada Fish Health Center. The center has examined juvenile salmon from four reaches of the Klamath River since March.

Sen. Ron Wyden tries new legislative route for stalled Oregon timber, Klamath Basin bills by Jeff Mapes The Oregonian July 31, 2014 Sen. Ron Wyden announced a new legislative gambit Thursday aimed at unsticking two key Oregon bills — dealing with timber levels in western Oregon and water issues in the Klamath Basin — that

Proposed water rule targets Klamath County by Lyle Ahrens KOBI-TV July 31, 2014 A rule proposed by the state could place big limitations on the use of water wells serving Klamath Falls during a drought, and the rule would only apply to Klamath County. Klamath Falls City Manager Nathan Cherpeski believes a proposed ruling by

Salmon get more water only if die-off starts Though a biologist says that will be too late for those in the Trinity and Klamath rivers By Jeff Barnard The Associated Press July 31, 2014 GRANTS PASS — A federal agency said Wednesday it will release extra water into Northern California’s Klamath and Trinity rivers once

Drought Takes A Toll On Salmon by Lacey Jarrell Herald & News July 30, 2014 The effects of drought are trickling down to Klamath Basin fisheries. A recent survey of 90 miles of the Salmon River found 55 dead adult salmon and about 300 dead juveniles, according to Sara Borok, an environmental scientist for the

Klamath River salmon to get fresh water after tribes pressure Bureau of Reclamation By The Associated Press August 22, 2014 The Trinity River flowing below the Lewiston Dam outside Lewiston, Calif. (Photo by Jeff Barnard) A federal agency has decided to boost releases of cool clean water into Northern California’s Klamath River to prevent a

Mining foes speak Public has 2 weeks to weigh in on strip mining in watershed by Adam Spencer The Triplicate June 30, 2014 The Oregon Water Resources Department is accepting public comment until July 8 on an application to use surface water for exploratory drilling in the North Fork Smith River watershed with the intent of operating

Not Much Refuge In Klamath Basin For Migratory Birds By Devan Schwartz OPB June 10, 2014 Parched canal in the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge The nation’s original waterfowl refuge may be too dry this year to provide much hospitality for migratory birds arriving in the Klamath Basin. You could blame it on the region’s

A Thirst for Water: Salmon, steelhead struggle for life in Bear Creek Salmon, steelhead struggle for life in parts of drought-stricken Bear Creek By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune June 8, 2014 Juvenile salmon and steelhead attempt to jump up small waterfalls and riffles to escape a warm and oxygen-depleted Bear Creek in Medford. Mail Tribune

Stakeholders tout Klamath basin deal Comprehensive agreement shares burden of water shortage, repairing ecosystem By Andrew Clevenger The Bulletin June 4, 2014 WASHINGTON — The water-sharing deal for the Klamath River Basin under consideration by the U.S. Senate could be a model for other Western states facing water shortages, stakeholders said Tuesday. After decades of

Basin water bill goes before Senate Legislation introduced to make agreements reality By LACEY JARRELL Herald & News May 22, 2014 The much-anticipated Klamath Basin water bill aimed at resolving decades-old water disputes in the Basin was introduced in the U.S. Senate Wednesday. The proposed law was introduced Wednesday by Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and

Senators introduce Klamath Basin agreement bill Legislation formalizes stakeholder agreement on water usage By Andrew Clevenger The Bulletin May 22, 2014 WASHINGTON — Lawmakers from Oregon and California introduced legislation in the Senate on Wednesday that formalizes the Upper Klamath Basin Comprehensive Agreement struck last month. Under the deal, users above Upper Klamath Lake agree

Elk Creek lands will open as park Elk Creek lands will become park with swimming holes, seven miles of trails By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune May 14, 2014 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers natural resource specialist Justin Stegall walks across a newly constructed bridge into the Elk Creek project area Tuesday. About seven miles of

To prevent another Formosa disaster, block new nickel mines By Tim Palmer Medford Mail Tribune Guest Opinion May 13, 2014 Making the news, Rep. Peter DeFazio on April 17 toured the remains of the Formosa copper mine in the South Umpqua watershed near Riddle, south of Roseburg. The mine was operated by a Canadian company

Lack of bird refuges plan spurs lawsuit By LACEY JARRELL Klamath Falls Herald & News April 25, 2014 Three conservation groups filed a lawsuit Thursday against the federal wildlife agency tasked with developing new management tools for Klamath Basin wildlife refuges. According to a news release, the three groups — the Audubon Society of Portland,

Two groups weigh in against accord By LEE JUILLERAT Klamath Falls Herald & News April 19, 2014 Two groups expressed opposition to the Upper Klamath Basin Comprehensive Agreement signed Friday during ceremonies at Collier Memorial State Park. In a press release, Hoopa Indian Tribe leaders said they oppose the agreement because it is linked to