Klamath River basin drought prompts resource fight

March 09, 2022

Lawmakers sparred yesterday over how best to address the persistent drought in the Klamath River Basin but suggested little compromise may be found in striking a balance between agricultural interests battered by irrigation cutoffs, fish populations and Native American water rights.

During the course of the hearing, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife discussion bounced from how a surge in federal infrastructure spending might boost water resources to the potential impacts of the nation’s largest dam removal project (Greenwire, March 1).

Disagreements fell largely along party lines. Republicans urged greater consideration to agricultural businesses in the region while Democrats pressed for addressing tribal needs and wildlife challenges.

"I often like to think about these watershed-wide efforts as marriages: They wax and wane. Sometimes there's tough times. Sometimes it's obvious there's a path forward and things are good," New Mexico Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D) said at the close of the session. "I think in some ways, the Klamath really embodies that."

Stansbury, who in fact worked on settlement agreements involving the Klamath River during her tenure as a staffer on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, added: "This drought is creating conditions that are obviously creating immense hardship."

Persistent drought in southern Oregon and Northern California has shrunk available water in the basin, prompting irrigation cutoffs for agriculture as well as challenges for fisheries in the region.

"Since last year, we have seen some of the worst drought conditions in the Klamath basin in decades," said subcommittee Chair Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), whose district includes the lower Klamath basin. "Unfortunately, breaking these kinds of records is starting to become a regular occurrence across the West due to climate change."

Fish and Wildlife Service Deputy Director for Program Management and Policy Steve Guertin echoed those remarks, telling lawmakers current conditions are compounded by several years of drought in the basin and others across the West.

"Although drought is not new to the Klamath basin, communities are facing conditions at scale and intensity we have never seen," Guertin said. "There is no community stakeholder or species that is not dramatically and adversely impacted."

But Guertin pointed to the $8.3 billion to be distributed by the Bureau of Reclamation, as part of the bipartisan infrastructure deal, as a potential salve to some of those problems.

He also touted an additional $162 million to be dispersed by FWS to restore ecosystems and build water resilience and infrastructure in the Klamath basin.

Ahead of yesterday's hearing, the Interior Department announced that it had begun soliciting proposals for those FWS funds from tribes, local and state agencies, and nongovernmental organizations.

"That will put $15 million on the ground this summer and fall, to start habitat restoration projects, connecting and building some infrastructure for the future as well," Guertin said.

Pushed by Arkansas Rep. Bruce Westerman, the full committee's top Republican, to address Interior's long-term vision for the region, Guertin later added that "the end game is a healthy, functioning, connected watershed."

He continued: "That would mean honoring tribal trust commitments. That would mean a healthy and flourishing agricultural segment for our farmers and ranchers. That would mean outdoor recreation, duck hunters, anglers and others. That would mean supporting communities in the basin and of our fishers who also make a living off of this watershed."


By:  Jennifer Yachnin
Source: E&E Daily