PARTNER PROFILE
It’s no secret that the Klamath River Watershed is a basin riddled with conflict. From fish population protection to irrigation water delivery, the decades-old battles that span two states, multiple indigenous territories and thousands of agricultural acres continue to simmer, and at times boil over. I don’t think any natural resource professional working in the basin can say with a straight face that these cultural, economic and philosophical issues have an end in site. If you ask someone what the key to restoring the Klamath is, chances are you would hear about irrigation reduction, or increased fishing regulations, or dam removal. Every pro could be followed by a con, and the seemingly endless struggle to restore one of the West’s most important watersheds slowly moves forward, like a slug of sediment creeping down the river. It’s a difficult thing to witness and be involved in, but though the Klamath seems to be perpetually shrouded in conflict, there are a lot of positive efforts taking place throughout this diverse watershed that tend to get absorbed by the basin’s more polarizing topics.
One such area is the Scott River Basin, which is a 58-mile long tributary that rests in between the Shasta River to the east and the Salmon River to the west. Like other watersheds in Siskiyou County, the Scott Basin’s economy primarily consists of logging and agricultural production, with the former being largely suppressed. However, farming and ranching is another story. This industry is economically stable, if not thriving from time to time, but that doesn’t mean this local industry is free of conflict. The Scott is a bubble within a bubble, meaning it’s a microcosm of the greater Klamath River. If you’re searching for an area where natural resource issues are as hot as a branding iron, well, you’ve come to the right place.
Surrounded by the Marble Mountains, Russian Mountains, and Trinity Alps to the west, and the Mineral Range and low lying hills to the east, the Scott is truly a majestic landscape. As the river travels south from it’s southern headwaters, it runs through the 33,000-acre Scott River Valley, which is home to dozens of family-based alfalfa farms and cattle ranches. High mountain tributaries almost systematically feed the river as it flows through the countryside. Upon clearing the valley, the Scott enters an approximate 20-mile long canyon before flowing into the Klamath River.
So, where does the conflict lay? As mentioned there’s plenty to choose from, but perhaps the most pressing issue facing the watershed revolves around Coho Salmon. This species is state and federally listed as threatened in California, and the Scott is home to the largest population of Coho Salmon in the Klamath Basin and state. Coho Salmon’s life history strategy includes juvenile summer rearing before migrating to the ocean the following spring. Often times, as summer moves into fall, water availability diminishes which reduces rearing habitat for Coho. And therein lies much of the problem, limited water for fish versus the need for irrigation delivery—a widespread theme across the West.