Annie Creek diversion dams

Restoring access to cold-water refuge

About the Project

Annie Creek runs 15 miles south from its headwaters in Crater Lake National Park to join the Wood River as it flows into Upper Klamath Lake. The forest and creek sustained Klamath Tribes for millennia. While the upstream portion of Annie Creek is pristine, the lower reach has been impacted by eight irrigation diversion dams that block fish passage and entrain juvenile fish. Removing the eight dams will give native, federally threatened bull trout access to nine miles of cold-water refuge, which the U.S. Forest Service assessed as being 90 percent likely to support bull trout in 2080 even under extreme climate change scenarios. Dam removal also benefits farmers by replacing dangerous and cumbersome irrigation structures with more efficient alternatives.

Trout Unlimited is partnering with private landowners, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Klamath Tribes, and Crater Lake National Park to develop and implement a comprehensive restoration plan for the lower portion of Annie Creek. With funding from the USFWS and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, the first phase of the project will remove four dams by 2021. The second phase of the project will remove the remaining four dams in 2022-2024.

FACTS AT A GLANCE
Owner: Private landowners
Size: Varied, up to 25 feet wide and 8 feet high
Project Cost: $1.3 million for two phases
ORF Investment: Project management, design, permitting, and construction
Miles Opened: 9 miles
Fish: Bull trout, Chinook salmon, steelhead, redband rainbow trout, lamprey, sculpin, and dace
Status: Two dams removed in 2018; two in 2021; four in 2022-2024


RESOURCES
OUTCOMES
  • Open 9 miles of Annie Creek to establish unimpeded fish passage from the Upper Klamath Lake through the Wood River to Crater Lake National Park headwaters
  • Reintroduce federally threatened bull trout to an area likely to provide cold-water refuge even under extreme climate warming scenarios
  • Improve access to spawning and rearing habitat for bull trout, redband rainbow trout, lamprey, sculpin and dace, and native Oregon spotted frog
  • Support Klamath Tribes treaty fishing rights
  • Restore fisheries that support tourism
  • Remove invasive brook trout from the creek and add a new screen to prevent their reentry
  • Reduce operations and maintenance costs to farmers and improve water delivery efficiency through new structures
  • Help irrigators prepare for future water rights adjudication expected on Annie Creek
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Project Partners

The Klamath Tribes

Trout Unlimited

Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

USFWS National Fish Passage Program

Crater Lake National Park

U.S. Forest Service

Private land and water owners