The decline of several wild fish species precipitated a crisis over water use in the Klamath Basin. When the BOR cut off water to Klamath Project lands, irrigators and conservationists grew politically polarized even as some farmers and ranchers restored wetlands and practiced efficient irrigation methods.
Liquidation & Restoration:
An act of Congress re-established the Klamath Reservation in 1986, but only after decades of hard times and Indian protest.
A Forest Named Winema:
Occupying approximately one million acres, the Winema National Forest has become the cornerstone of the re-established Klamath Reservation.
The Controversial Sucker:
The decline of the Klamath Lake sucker—often considered a junk fish—has sparked further dispute over farmers’ rights and ecosystem health.
Divided Waters: The Tribes:
Throughout the twentieth century, federal reclamation and irrigation projects continued to disregard Indian water rights within their territories despite treaties and Supreme Court decisions.
Divided Waters: The Wildlife:
Water diversion projects, which most often aid farmers in irrigating their lands, can disrupt dependent ecosystems and endanger dependent wildlife populations.
Divided Waters: The Farmers:
In an ecosystem not meant to sustain so much and so diverse a population, ample water supplies spell the difference between survival and debt for most Klamath Basin farmers.
Organic Ranching:
Ranching methods that consider the ways in which economics and environment necessarily coexist may become part of the solution and not the on-going problem.
Economics, the Environment, and the Future:
However the residents of the Klamath Basin decide their future, cooperative solutions that include the needs of all and not competitive ones that drive the benefits of some over others will be necessary.
