The U.S. Department of the Interior is investing nearly $46 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for ecosystem restoration in the Klamath Basin.

Funds will support 24 projects to address water-related challenges in Southern Oregon and Northern California.

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Moss Driscoll, Klamath Water Users Association director of water policy, said the projects will benefit local farmers and ranchers.

“We’re really working on restoration as a pathway to more durable and more reliable water supplies,” Driscoll said.

“This announcement wasn’t a surprise. We’re very familiar with these projects and very supportive of this work in general. It was good news and we’re glad to see the commitment,” he added.

Landmark agreement

In February, the Interior Department announced a landmark agreement between the Klamath Tribes, Yurok Tribe, Karuk Tribe and Klamath Water Users Association to advance collaborative efforts to restore the Klamath Basin ecosystem and improve water supply reliability for agriculture.

“With the help of our partners in the basin, our shared commitment to protecting this ecosystem will benefit the watersheds, agriculture, forests and abundant populations of species that call this landscape home,” said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in a news release.

“It’s inspiring to help advance our efforts to achieve a drought resilient and restored ecosystem in the region,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams.

“I am grateful for the work with the tribes and many partners to collectively choose partners focused on holistic solutions in the basin that will continue for many generations to come,” she added in the news release.

The Interior Department’s Fish and Wildlife Service is investing a total of $162 million over five years through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to restore the Klamath Basin.

Restoration work

The investments will secure reliable water for national wildlife refuges, advance the restoration of salmon post-dam removal, address water quality and conveyance issues, and support co-developed restoration projects with tribes, farmers and ranchers and conservation partners.

As part of the investments announced Oct. 30, $13 million will go toward complete restoration of the Agency-Barnes wetland units of Upper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge and provide fish habitat access in Fourmile and Sevenmile creeks.

Covering 14,356 acres, the restored wetland will create vital habitat for waterfowl, federally endangered Lost River and shortnose suckers and other species, making it one of the largest wetland restoration initiatives in the U.S.

Other projects will help develop and restore wetlands, shorelines and native habitats around Lake Ewana, Link River, Tule Lake, Scott River and upper Williamson River.

“Some of the specific projects that have been identified, we’ve been discussing for months,” Driscoll said.

He said the Tule Lake flow through infrastructure was particularly ambitious.

“That project involves a fundamental change in how water is managed throughout the basin,” Driscoll said.