Wednesday December 21, 2022
KLCC —
According to a draft proposal released by Reclamation on Dec. 9, the Klamath Basin remains in “severe to extreme drought status” and dry weather is expected to continue for a fourth consecutive year. In response, the federal water management agency proposed reducing flows by up to 40% until April. Water is released from Upper Klamath Lake past a series of dams on its way to the Pacific Ocean.
The Klamath River will soon be the site of the nation’s largest dam removal and river restoration project. One of its key pillars involves restoring habitat for endangered coho salmon.
News of proposed reductions to the river’s flow was met with frustration by members of the Yurok Tribe, who just hours earlier had been joined by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and the governors of Oregon and California at a celebration about the dam removal project. Reduced flows could further stress downriver coho and Chinook salmon populations.