After the Bureau of Reclamation announced on April 11 that it would be releasing only 50,000 acre-feet (an acre-foot is equivalent to 325,851 gallons) of water for limited irrigation, the Klamath Tribes of Oregon immediately expressed their disappointment with the decision to release water.
“Despite the clear mandate of the Endangered Species Act to prioritize the needs of endangered species, Reclamation intends to send that water to irrigators in violation of Reclamation’s own water allocation formula,” the Tribes said in a news release, the species in reference being the Lost River sucker and shortnose sucker. “It is time for all involved to come to terms with the fact that this homeland ecosystem we all share and profess to love has limits.”
