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New Projec
Expanding a National Wildlife Refuge on a Famed Wild Trout Stream >> When the dams are removed from the
Klamath River in the coming decade, it will signal a rebirth for what was once one of the greatest salmon rivers on the continent. But even dam-free, the Klamath will need enough cold water and high-quality habitat to sustain its tremendous biodiversity. With this in mind, Western Rivers Conservancy has worked for more than a decade to preserve key rivers and streams in the Klamath system, including Blue Creek, the South Fork Scott and the South Fork Trinity—rivers that supply clean, cold water and superb habitat for fish and wildlife. Now, we are turning to the source of the Klamath: the Williamson River, a famed trout stream that feeds Upper Klamath Lake. Here, we are working to expand the Klamath Marsh National Wildlife Refuge and rejuvenate a haven for birds and a critical source of nutrient-rich water for the Klamath system’s fish and wildlife. Where the Williamson River enters the wildlife refuge, WRC purchased the 2,200acre Timmerman Ranch. A former cattle ranch, the property features lush waterfowl habitat and substantial water rights. When we conveyed the land and water rights to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in April 2020, we successfully expanded the 40,000-acre refuge and paved the way for improving the quantity and quality of water that enters the Klamath system. The agency can now recreate the river’s natural meanders along this reach and reconnect the Williamson’s consistent, spring-fed flows to the marsh. Klamath Marsh boasts some of the West’s finest waterfowl habitat, including roughly half of the West’s breeding population of rare yellow rail. The ranch itself receives
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Report from the Field
tens of thousands of birds each season, including sandhill crane, Foster’s tern, dowitchers, trumpeter swans, cinnamon teal and numerous others. Water flowing out of the marsh nourishes the Williamson’s scaletipping native redband and rainbow trout, as well as imperiled sucker fishes and lamprey. Mule deer, Rocky Mountain elk and the statesensitive American fisher all depend on the property. By improving water conditions in the upper Williamson and Klamath Marsh, our efforts will benefit the Klamath River system as a whole. Increased headwater flows and better water quality will bolster the efforts of all who depend on a healthy Klamath River: the Klamath Tribes, the agricultural community and recreationists alike. Most of all, our efforts will improve conditions for the fish and wildlife of this remarkable river system.
Northern shoveler (above) is one of more than 263 bird species that depend on the marshes and wetlands of the upper Klamath Basin, where WRC is improving flows into Klamath Marsh from the Williamson River (right).
WRC ac importa William Nationa marshe flows to