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Water in the solution
Published June 25, 2003
Management strategy for wildlife refuge has many benefits
Local agencies and growers continue to pursue a land-use plan for the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge that could make everyone happy.
Conservation and environmental groups, farmers and land management officials.
Proposal advocates say it would be good for waterfowl and farmers, who must co-exist, enhance water quality and boost the economy in the Tulelake Basin.
It's the "Integrated Land Management on Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge," a management strategy documented in October 2000 by the Integrated Land Management Working Group.
The plan involves sump rotation, that is, moving refuge water to farmlands in the refuge, and then farming the once-inundated land. After several years, the water is again rotated to another tract - all within the Tule Lake refuge.
The refuge has about 13,000 acres underwater and another 17,000 acres that are used by area farmers to grow potatoes, wheat and barley.
Growers love the nutrient-rich soil that had been underwater, and the fact that there are no infestations of "nemotodes," a parasitic micro-organism that damages crops.
"It's an outstanding concept that has the potential of real benefits for wildlife, fish and agriculture and for water quality enhancement," said Harry Carlson, University of California Intermountain Research and Extension Center superintendent, in Tulelake. "The concept is very workable."
In pilot projects, involving the rotation of water onto as many as 1,000 acres, researchers found there were few, if any, nemotodes, which detract from crop quality and harvest quantity, said Bob Davis, chief of the natural resources division of the Klamath Falls Bureau of Reclamation office.
"We had this concept in the 1980s when we realized the sediment of the lake was accumulating," Davis said. A comparison of the lake in 1958 to its depth in 1986 showed that 14 inches of sediment had accumulated on the lake floor.
"The lake lost almost 13,000 acre-feet of storage capability," Davis said. "This reduced deep-water habitat for suckers and impacted the habitat for waterfowl."
As it stands now, the proposal suggests draining 5,000 acres of Tule Lake into another part of the refuge that is leased to farmers.
The hope is that change will provide long-term sustainability of wetland values and agriculture values.
It could help control of nemotodes (which feed on potato tubers, wheat and barley and reduce quality and quantity of the produce). "And it would reduce the use of fertilizer and pesticides," Davis said.
Such a plan would be a multi-year effort. If embraced, it would be something that would continue for the next 50 years, Davis said.
"We want to proceed, but it's a big, expensive project," said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuge biologist Dave Mauser, who added that the refuge is "a very important part of the Klamath Project."
Carlson said the proposal still "needs a lot more engineering and budgeting before it can be presented as a finished product."
The group is waiting for the results of a study of the "topography" of the lake bottom, said Mauser.
Then group officials would need to conduct public hearings about the proposal and determine how much it will cost and who will pay for it.
Another possible problem: The proposal would require Klamath Project water. Naturally, it is impossible to foresee if that water would be available.
But, what an idea.
"The idea is to thoroughly integrate our land use and land management practices," Carlson said. "We can create some real benefits for fish, wildlife, agriculture and water quality."
Management strategy for wildlife refuge has many benefits
Local agencies and growers continue to pursue a land-use plan for the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge that could make everyone happy.
Conservation and environmental groups, farmers and land management officials.
Proposal advocates say it would be good for waterfowl and farmers, who must co-exist, enhance water quality and boost the economy in the Tulelake Basin.
It's the "Integrated Land Management on Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge," a management strategy documented in October 2000 by the Integrated Land Management Working Group.
The plan involves sump rotation, that is, moving refuge water to farmlands in the refuge, and then farming the once-inundated land. After several years, the water is again rotated to another tract - all within the Tule Lake refuge.
The refuge has about 13,000 acres underwater and another 17,000 acres that are used by area farmers to grow potatoes, wheat and barley.
Growers love the nutrient-rich soil that had been underwater, and the fact that there are no infestations of "nemotodes," a parasitic micro-organism that damages crops.
"It's an outstanding concept that has the potential of real benefits for wildlife, fish and agriculture and for water quality enhancement," said Harry Carlson, University of California Intermountain Research and Extension Center superintendent, in Tulelake. "The concept is very workable."
In pilot projects, involving the rotation of water onto as many as 1,000 acres, researchers found there were few, if any, nemotodes, which detract from crop quality and harvest quantity, said Bob Davis, chief of the natural resources division of the Klamath Falls Bureau of Reclamation office.
"We had this concept in the 1980s when we realized the sediment of the lake was accumulating," Davis said. A comparison of the lake in 1958 to its depth in 1986 showed that 14 inches of sediment had accumulated on the lake floor.
"The lake lost almost 13,000 acre-feet of storage capability," Davis said. "This reduced deep-water habitat for suckers and impacted the habitat for waterfowl."
As it stands now, the proposal suggests draining 5,000 acres of Tule Lake into another part of the refuge that is leased to farmers.
The hope is that change will provide long-term sustainability of wetland values and agriculture values.
It could help control of nemotodes (which feed on potato tubers, wheat and barley and reduce quality and quantity of the produce). "And it would reduce the use of fertilizer and pesticides," Davis said.
Such a plan would be a multi-year effort. If embraced, it would be something that would continue for the next 50 years, Davis said.
"We want to proceed, but it's a big, expensive project," said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuge biologist Dave Mauser, who added that the refuge is "a very important part of the Klamath Project."
Carlson said the proposal still "needs a lot more engineering and budgeting before it can be presented as a finished product."
The group is waiting for the results of a study of the "topography" of the lake bottom, said Mauser.
Then group officials would need to conduct public hearings about the proposal and determine how much it will cost and who will pay for it.
Another possible problem: The proposal would require Klamath Project water. Naturally, it is impossible to foresee if that water would be available.
But, what an idea.
"The idea is to thoroughly integrate our land use and land management practices," Carlson said. "We can create some real benefits for fish, wildlife, agriculture and water quality."
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