By the latter half of the 1900s, about 275,000 acres of land was included in the Klamath Project, most of it reclaimed from what was at the time regarded as useless marsh. Enter the Endangered Species Act, followed by government review of the project's environmental impacts. Throw in a record-setting drought. The perfect storm is created. The results have been well-documented.
Water is required to be released into the Klamath River to protect endangered salmon runs.
Water is required to be held in lakes to protect the endangered shortnosed sucker. Water is required to be supplied to the wildlife refuges to ensure feed for the birds and prey for the eagles. The 1,500 farm families on the Klamath Project are left with what looks like a broken promise. For some, their grandparents or great-grandparents were among the first homesteaders, people who settled, planted crops and planted roots in the communities of Klamath County. Their financial future is uncertain, as is their way of life.