F24AP00911

As established in the proposal source documents, the Sprague River watershed in the Upper Klamath Basin (UKB) once supported thriving aquatic riparian and floodplain ecosystems and abundant native fish populations in the arid high desert of the eastern Cascades.

Settlers who arrived in the basin in the 19th and 20th century changed the landscape, often under direction of the federal government, and the long-term implications to the natural ecosystem and the first peoples were rarely considered. Water systems were engineered to drain wetlands, control floods, and deliver water.

Trees were cleared, fire suppressed, and first peoples' management of lands, waters, fish, and wildlife was forced into margins and to nonexistence. Further, climate change and recent high severity wildfires have been adding additional pressure to this already fragile system.

In 2021, the Bootleg Fire burned over 410,000 acres of the Sprague Basin, exacerbating excessive sediment loading and lack of riparian habitat. Soils in the Klamath Basin are naturally high in phosphorus, so excessive sediment loading into the system fuels algae blooms and impaired water quality conditions in the Sprague River, Upper Klamath Lake, and downstream into the mainstem Klamath River.

Watershed health on the Sprague River is critical to the long-term recovery of ESA listed endangered C'waam (Lost River Sucker Deltistes luxatus), Koptu (Shortnose Sucker Chasmistes brevirostris), and threatened Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus), as well as anadromous salmonids following Klamath Dam removal. Recognizing this need, as well as the need to support engagement and economic resilience for landowners, our diverse group of partners has an ambitious proposal to restore this watershed.

Restoration and best management practices can increase property value, improve efficiencies, reduce regulatory risk, and simplify management, making farms and ranches more profitable and resilient. Yet it's also important to acknowledge that some projects can inadvertently burden landowners with slowed productivity, higher energy costs, loss of farmable surface area, or added time and wage requirements.

Fortunately, renewed community and partner engagement in the UKB have created the conditions to address these shortcomings. Through collaboration with partners and landowners, our team has the unique ability to address program priorities with technically sound, cost-effective solutions. Our proposal will develop a landowner incentive framework that encourages participation in watershed restoration while valuing the diverse needs of landowners in the watershed.

This Phase I proposal encompasses three goals to address the cultural and logistical barriers to ecological restoration while developing and maintaining economic drivers in the Klamath Basin. The approach outlined below would provide an expeditious and durable pathway to implement the recommendations identified in the DOI Landscape Resiliency Framework, Klamath Basin Integrated Fisheries Restoration and Monitoring Plan, Upper Klamath Basin Watershed Action Plan, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Partners for Fish and Wildlife Strategic Plan.

The Sprague River Collaborative Restoration Project emphasizes a commitment to voluntary incentive with federal, state, and local programs to help all landowners advance their conservation priorities.

Upper Klamath Basin Ag Collaborative

RESTORE PRIORITY STREAMS WITHIN THE KLAMATH BASIN WHILE PROMOTING RESILIENT COMMUNITIES.

15.664 - Fish and Wildlife Coordination and Assistance

FWS Headquarters (HQ) [DOI - FWS]

Fish and Wildlife Service Region 8: Pacific Southwest [DOI - FWS]

Jackson, Oregon United States

County-Wide

F-FWS-FAC-24-037