Monday November 17, 2025
Herald and News —
Demands for fish screens by Klamath Basin groups impacted by the return of salmon on the Klamath River are being acknowledged by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, but it appears unlikely the devices will be installed quickly.
Installing fish screens individually designed to prevent fish mortality and injuries at water diversions while allowing water to be delivered for irrigation and other uses is a complicated, expensive process, according to Philip Milburn, district manager for the Klamath and Malheur watersheds.
“The irrigators rightfully so are pressuring for immediate action,” Milburn said of demands by officials with the Klamath Drainage District, Klamath Water Users Association, and the Klamath Tribes for fish screens to protect salmon and other fish returning to the Upper Klamath Basin following the removal of four Klamath River dams.
Leaders of various groups impacted by the return of the salmon have cited the 2016 Klamath Power and Facilities Agreement (PFA), which was intended to protect landowners and take measures preventing negative regulatory impacts. The PFA, made among Oregon, California, federal and other Klamath Basin stakeholders, set a goal to limit new regulatory burdens on irrigators from the reintroduction of fish species, like salmon. Part of the agreement was to support “entrainment reduction facilities” — or fish screens.
In acknowledging the concerns, Milburn noted the demand for fish screens is a statewide issue that has created a backlog. Providing fish screens is further complicated because most must be specifically designed for the particular canal, ditch and other water diversions.
“We’re picking up the rate for what we’re doing in the Klamath Basin,” Milburn said. “There’s a lot of engineering that goes into that.”
He noted the screens must be specifically designed, for example, to be large enough to pass water and have mechanisms that allow the screen to clean itself.
“The idea that we can all of a sudden provide fish screens for the Klamath Basin is unrealistic … It’s a decades long process,” he added, noting ODFW is working cooperatively with other state and federal agencies, such as the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service.
He also said ODFW and other agencies must work collaboratively with individual landowners because there are no laws requiring fish screens on privately owned lands.
Milburn said the cost for fish screens varies significantly, with some basic models costing about $1,000 and others much more expensive, in some cases upwards of $1 million depending on such factors as the size of the diversion, distance from the river and type of cleaning system.
The demand and need for fish screens is not new.
According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife website on fish screens, “For as long as people have diverted water — for crops, livestock, industrial, domestic, and other uses — fish living in streams have been diverted with the water into fields, ditches and machinery with no chance to escape. Fish screens prevent fish mortality and injury at water diversions while still allowing the water to be delivered to its place of use. With over 81,000 surface water diversions in Oregon, a large percentage of fish will encounter a diversion at some point during their lifecycle.”
In an earlier statement, ODFW said it “and partners are leading long-term efforts to expand fish screening across the Klamath Basin. Decades of work have gone into fish screening projects, but much work remains to be done.”
The statement also said fish screens must be designed for each site’s unique flow and sediment level, noting, “Klamath River conditions rule out simple, off-the-shelf designs,” and that the demands for fish screens from landowners has outpaced supply.