An Update on Salmonid Habitat Restoration at an Agriculture/Fisheries Interface- Efforts and Progress in the Interior Klamath River Basin

The Klamath River watershed straddles the boundaries of southern Oregon and Northern California.   In interior tributaries such as the Scott and Shasta rivers and other streams, salmon and steelhead runs have diminished greatly due to a variety of detrimental land use practices and other activities since the early 1800s.  Coho salmon in the Klamath River are currently listed as threatened under both the Federal and State ESAs.   Over the past several decades a large number of aquatic habitat restoration projects have been completed in the interior Klamath tributaries and projects continue to be implemented.  These efforts have been funded by many entities, including CDFW’s Fisheries Restoration Grants Program and other agency and private sources.   Project types include riparian protection, fish passage, instream structure and off-channel habitats, sediment reduction, and water conservation and agricultural diversion improvements.  Despite the availability of restoration funding and potential for additional funding under the proposed Klamath Basin Restoration Act, continued progress is impeded by a lack of sufficient local capacity to implement restoration projects in some watersheds.  To achieve success in the long term we need to work more directly with ranchers and community groups to set common goals and foster fishery stewardship on private lands.