Klamath Basin, ORE– A parched Klamath Basin, with its dwindling fish populations, has been given a $72.7 million lifeline by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The much-needed funding will be utilized to modernize agricultural infrastructure and ecosystem restoration.
The cash injection comes after months of negotiations between the farming sector’s Klamath Water Users Association (KWUA) and the Klamath, Karuk, and Yurok tribes.
$39 million will repair local economies and restore the regional ecosystem while $25 million will fund collaborative conservation efforts in the basin.
$4 million will fund the 14,000-acre Upper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge while $2.9 million is for wetland restoration projects with $1.8 million is set aside for a feasibility analysis to modify water infrastructure and supply for the Klamath Drainage District.
