Ducks Unlimited awarded $2.6M for pumping stations in Klamath Basin (refuges)

The refuge complex, on the border between Oregon and California, is supposed to be a key stop for migratory birds along the Pacific Flyway. Areas normally under several feet of water are now dry, reducing critical wetlands to a mud-cracked lake bed.

Jeff McCreary, western region director of Ducks Unlimited, said the refuges today are historically dry. He called it a "crisis situation."

The nonprofit recently secured a $2.6 million federal grant to install four new pumping stations that McCreary said will help make the most of limited water at the wildlife sanctuary, while also improving irrigation efficiency for over 20,000 acres of farmland.

Funding for the project comes from a larger pool of $26 million awarded to the Klamath Basin from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

"These pumps are not going to make more water," McCreary said, "but when water does become available, we'll be able to maximize the benefits." 

Water for the refuges is supplied by the Klamath Project, managed by the Bureau of Reclamation. Each year, the project receives an allocation from Upper Klamath Lake near Klamath Falls, Ore., delivered to farmers via 717 miles of irrigation canals, ditches and laterals. 

However, chronic drought means more of that water is being withheld from the system and either stored in Upper Klamath Lake to protect two species of critically endangered sucker fish, or sent down the Klamath River to boost streamflows for threatened coho salmon. 

The result is diminished habitat for waterfowl and upland birds at the refuge complex as less water comes in from irrigation return flows and drainage, McCreary said.

On Aug. 26, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service closed the Tule Lake and Lower Klamath refuges to all hunting for the fall and winter due to a lack of habitat, "including food, water and shelter" for species. 

The current and pending closures are just the latest examples of why proactive conservation efforts are more crucial than ever for wildlife and communities, McCreary said. 

Ducks Unlimited has proposed building four pumping stations — two per refuge — to help re-use and circulate water conveyed by the Klamath Drainage District and Tulelake Irrigation District. 

McCreary said the stations will increase water reliability for 20,000 acres of wetland habitat on both refuges.

"It will allow for the refuges to use more water that they wouldn't have been able to utilize before," he said, while the two irrigation districts will simultaneously benefit by becoming more efficient and reducing their operational costs.

McCreary said they hope to have the project done in 18 months, weather permitting.

In a statement, Greg Austin, refuge manager for the USFWS, said the project's funding comes at a critical moment for the Klamath Basin.