As the KRRC prepares to meet these challenges head on, CalTrout is also ready to act. Dam removal will improve water quality and reduce fish disease throughout the mainstem Klamath River. With the lethal impact of these factors diminished, the Shasta and Scott tributaries can resume their historic role as key nurseries in the Klamath Basin for threatened coho and fall-run Chinook. As Dr. Peter Moyle noted, “This is one of the most productive river systems in the entire Klamath Basin, so if you improve conditions in the Shasta River for salmon and steelhead, you’re improving conditions for in the entire Klamath Basin.” Historically, the Shasta River produced more than 50% of all the returning adult Chinook in the entire Klamath Basin while the Scott River consistently generates one of the largest returns of wild northern California coast coho salmon in the state (NRC, 2004). When the Klamath Dams come down, the Shasta and Scott need to be ready.
Significant work remains, however, to prepare these basins for an influx of healthy returning adult salmon. Over the next three years, CalTrout is uniquely positioned to carry out large-scale restoration projects on private lands. Both the Shasta and the Scott Rivers suffer from water diversions to support agriculture, which degrades flow and water quality at critical times of the year for salmon. Diversion dams also restrict access to important spawning and rearing habitat. To directly address these issues, CalTrout engages water users—primarily multi-generational family farmers—by offering incentives for voluntary cooperation in restoring habitat for salmon. In 2017, CalTrout partnered with the Hart Ranch on the Little Shasta River to secure a multimillion dollar grant to completely retool the ranch’s irrigation infrastructure. By replacing leaky pipes and valves, improving water management, and being more efficient with agricultural operations, the Hart Ranch was then able to use California water code 1707 to dedicate meaningful water savings back to the stream for salmon. Not only did the Hart Ranch upgrade their infrastructure and improve their water efficiency but in doing so they drastically reduced their exposure to environmental litigation under the Endangered Species Act.
