Much is being written this week about the demise of the Klamath Basin Agreements — the collaborative effort between Indian tribes, ranchers, government agencies, the owner of the dams (PacifiCorp) and environmental groups that, if passed, would have been the largest restoration project in U.S. history.

The recent article in the Sacramento Bee by @RyanSabalow puts it into perspective,

The failure to amicably reshape water use on the rural Klamath River doesn’t bode well for other disputes on more complex watersheds in California, whose overstretched water supplies are a source of tension among fisheries advocates, cities and powerful farming interests. The divide among a few thousand family farmers, tribal members and anglers on the Klamath seems simple by comparison.”

Like many others who have been involved in these negotiations over the last decade, CalTrout is deeply disappointed that Congress failed to act.  We echo Klamath Basin rancher, Luther Horsley’s sentiment,

For more on the topic, CalTrout’s winter issue of The Current also looks at the history, challenges and heartbreak of the Agreements. Click here to read the issue.