Five alternative designs could reconnect the Klamath River and Lower Klamath refuge, restoring water flows and improving habitat for birds and fish. A project to reconnect the Klamath River to the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge has completed its first design phase. The partners presented the concept at a public meeting at Oregon Tech on Tuesday night. “There’s been enough engineering, modeling, and ingenuity to help us understand that this is a possibility, and we can move forward,” said DJ Bandrowski, civil engineer and program manager at the Yurok Tribe. The Lower Klamath Lake Reconnection Project would allow water to ebb and flow between the river and the refuge, emulating how the ecosystem functioned before it was altered for agriculture. Partners say restoring the connection would provide reliable habitat for thousands of migratory birds.

Other Klamath River Basin news:

• KDRV (Medford, Ore.): BLM to fix eroding riverbank at Klamath Falls wetlands