Thursday December 18, 2025
USGS —
For thousands of years, the Klamath, Modoc, and Yahooksin-Pauite people waited through deadly, food-scarce winters in Southern Oregon for a sure sign of spring returning. When the c’waam and koptu, fish also called Lost River Suckers (Deltistes luxatus) and Shortnose Suckers (Chasmistes brevirostris), came back to spawn on the banks of the Sprague River, the tribes knew warmer weather was coming and the hunger would end. The survival of the Klamath Tribes was so intertwined with suckers that their creator, Gmok’amp’c, proclaimed that as long as the c’waam and koptu remained, their people would continue to exist.
These sacred fish were a vital food source for the Klamath Tribes and later European settlers for generations. Yet today, suckers are at risk for extinction. In 1988, the Lost River and Shortnose suckers were listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). So few suckers exist that members of the Klamath Tribes often struggle to find them to celebrate the arrival of spring.