 |
| gary.thesix |
The Klamath Basin has been such an conservation mess for so long,
US Person missed posting this story earlier and that was remiss of him. The lack of rain required officials managing the Klamath National Wildlife Refuge to drastically reduce the amount of water available in the wetlands for migrating waterfowl and wading birds this past winter. The largest die off in a decade resulted with up to 20,000 birds dying of avian cholera. The reason for the natural disaster is water is also reserved for irrigation and the preservation of fish habitat.
Overuse of a scarce resource has resulted in a systemic imbalance in the Basin that has exited for decades. The Refuge was the first established in 1908 by President Teddy Roosevelt, and it has lost 80% of its original wetlands; even so commercial farming is allowed by the USF&WS within the refuge boundaries without benefit to wildlife. Lack of rain and prior water rights on the Upper Klamath Lake left the wetlands dry during peak migration season. Volunteers and staff picked up 3,500 carcasses between February and April to prevent the disease from spreading further. About 2 million birds use the Klamath Basin during their migrations. Snow goose, American coot and widgeon, northern pintail and white fronted goose were the species most impacted by
mismanagement.
