(U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Photo by Ed O'Neil)

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This view of the Klamath Marsh National Wildlife Refuge in southern Oregon shows Mount Scott in Crater Lake National Park as a scenic backdrop to "wocus plants" (the Native American name for Nuphar polysepalum, or western yellow pond lilly), a traditional staple and ceremonial food of the Klamath Indians. The refuge works to protect and enhance the marsh as a prime segment of the total wetland environment in the Upper Klamath Basin. The marsh forms the headwaters of the Klamath River, which flows to the Pacific Ocean through a 9.5 million-acre river basin and produces the third largest salmon run on the west coast. The ecosystem supports a tremendous diversity of species of special interest, including the bull trout, bald eagle, marbled murrelet, northern spotted owl, Aleutian Canada goose, snowy plover, endangered sucker fish, and a number of endangered coastal dune plants. The basin has been impacted by cattle grazing, timber harvest, hydropower development, irrigation diversions, urbanization, mining, and commercial fishing. Because of cooperative, consensus-based interest groups working together, the outlook for the basin's future is positive, with a realistic opportunity to provide a combination of economic prosperity, important habitat protection, and restoration of resources for Native American cultural, religious, and subsistence use.

This symbol of the United States of America is federally listed as threatened in Oregon, as it now is in California and the other lower 48 States. The birds migrate in large numbers during January and February every year to the Klamath basin to feed on wintering populations of waterfowl. As many as 1,000 eagles make this the largest wintering area for the species in the lower 48 states. Wintering waterfowl populations can be two million or more. The scavenging eagles primarily eat waterfowl that have succumbed to avian cholera, a disease that does not often affect the eagles. Eagles will occasionally also take live birds. A popular annual bald eagle conference sponsored by the Klamath Falls chapter of the Audubon Society draws 400 or more people from all over the country. The Klamath Basin also supports the largest nesting population of bald eagles in Oregon. ^

. . Shortnose Sucker (endangered)
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Even though shortnose suckers (Chasmistes brevirostris) can live as long as 33 years, attain a length of 20 inches, and were once so abundant that canneries were built to package them for human consumption, the species now is federally listed as endangered. The remaining shortnose suckers live in quiet lake waters most of the year and migrate up fast-moving streams in the spring to spawn. Once, 350,000 acres of wetlands and floodplains protected the quality and timing of water entering their ecosystem. Alterations of natural streamflows by humans have reduced the reproductive success of shortnose suckers by as much as 95 percent. Even though a shortnose sucker can disperse as many as 46,000 eggs while spawning, no significant recruitment of young into the population had occurred in the 18 years before the species was listed. ^

. . Lost River Sucker (endangered)
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Lost River suckers (Deltistes luxatus) can live to be 45 years old, and once were an abundant source of oil and dried fish for human use. Since 1988, however, the species has been federally listed as endangered. Like the shortnose sucker, this is a lake-dwelling fish that migrates into streams to spawn. Both species have suffered from a similar combination of overharvesting, pollution, and habitat loss which reduced their numbers, their reproductive success, and the area in which they can survive. Changes to sucker habitat include filled marshes, dammed streams, and diverted water supplies. Soils disturbed by human activities such as logging, farming, construction, or cattle grazing are swept into streams and lakes by rainfall. Vegetation removal from streamsides eliminates protection from the sun's heat and from predators. Also, chemicals from forestry and farming flow into waters occupied by this species. . ^

. . . Aleutian Canada Goose (threatened)
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Along with the western snowy plover and tidewater goby, the Aleutian Canada goose (Branta canadensis leucopareia) is representative of the coastal portion of the Klamath ecoregion. After wintering in California's fertile central valley, these geese stop in the Crescent City area for about a month to fuel up on lush green grass for their long migration across the Pacific to the Aleutian Islands. This stop is essential for the birds to have energy to fly the long route, and maintain reserves for egg laying when they arrive. They are a subspecies of Canada goose that nests on the Aleutian Islands, where the introduction of the arctic fox was a major factor in their endangered status. In the mid 1970s there were only about 800 of these beautiful birds left. Smaller than most subspecies of Canada goose, Aleutians are recognizable by their white neck ring. Representing one of the more impressive success stories of the Endangered Species Act, there are more than 20,000 today. . ^

Although no white-faced ibis lived on the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge before 1985, about 4,000 breeding pairs make their homes there now, thanks to restoration of their preferred nesting habitat. There is speculation that populations displaced by drought or high water years in other areas moved here during that time. The birds nest very successfully in the restored tall bulrush marshes, with a nesting success rate as high as 85 percent. They feed in the shallow fringes of marshes, mostly on aquatic invertebrates such as insect larvae and leeches. These birds were once thought to be in decline, but insufficient information existed to make a determination as to whether they should be listed as threatened or endangered. . ^