Klamath Basin

The klamath basin is a watery wildlife refuge area shared by California and Oregon, and drains the Kalmath River. It is located in Klamath, Lake, and Jackson Counties in Oregon and areas of DelNorte, Humbolt, Modoc, Sisiyou, and Trinity Counties in California.

The watershed of the Klamath Basin includes in Oregon the Sprague River, Williamson River, Sycan River, Link River, and Lost River, which is shared by both California and Oregon. It also includes Agency Lake and Upper Klamath Lake in Oregon. In California it includes the Shasta River, Scott River, Salmon River and Trinity River. California also holds Tule Lake, Lower Klamath Lake, and Butte Creek.

Much of the Klamath Basis is protected by the federal government. The Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges Complex is run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The refuge was started in 1908 as the first waterfowl refuge in America. Eventually, six wildlife refuges were established for both local and the millions of migrating birds on the Pacific Flyway that come every year. The six wildlife refuges were eventually united under the USFWS.

The ecology of the Klamath Basin Refuges varies widely over its area. It includes freshwater marshes, rock cliffs, grassy meadows, coniferous forests, juniper grasslands, hills, and other features. It supports many fish, bird, and predator species.

In a conflicting move, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation began the Klamath Reclamation Project in 1905. The goal was to drain areas of the Klamath Basin so that agricultural fields could be created. In other areas of the upper Klamath Basin, dams were created to provide water to farmers. Thousands of acres of sage land were converted into cropland. The success of the Bureau left only 25 percent of the historic wetlands in the Basin by the end of the 20th century.

The Klamath is a study in Western water politics. Conflict has existed for decades over fishing and the water needed to preserve the health of the fish, as well as the health of the wildlife of the area versus the demand for water farming makes.