Klamath Falls News - Locally owned news brand, reporting stories affecting citizens of the Klamath Basin.
KLAMATH BASIN - For several weeks now, as the morning cool turns to the heat of the day, vast swarms of voracious grasshoppers have been pouring out of the dry, largely barren Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge into the surrounding irrigated farm fields around Merrill and Tulelake. Concerns are growing that crop damage could extend into the millions of dollars.
Read MoreYREKA, Calif. - Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today expanded efforts to reduce wildfire risk across the western U.S., directly affecting national forests here in northern California and southern Oregon.
Read MoreKLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - Today, the Oregon legislature approved $20 million in funding for critical needs in Klamath County caused by water curtailments and wildfire. “This is welcome news,” said Klamath County Commissioner Kelley Minty Morris, who was on point for local interests pursuing the funding. “We are grateful for this action, and for Governor Brown’s support for this desperately needed funding package.”
Read MoreKLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - The Klamath Project Drought Response Agency (KPDRA) provided two Drought Relief Programs for Klamath Project Irrigators. The 2021 No-Irrigation Program funded by the US Bureau of Reclamation and the 2021 CARES Act Assistance Program funded by the US Department of Agriculture.
Read MoreKLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has programs to assist growers planting cover crops on land that will not be irrigated in 2020, according to Klamath Water Users Association.
Read MoreExpect to see more fresh produce and locally grown food in Klamath County School District cafeterias.
The school district, in partnership with Oregon State University-Klamath Basin Research & Extension Service, has been awarded a competitive $96,538 USDA implementation grant for its Farm-to-School program. The goal of the two-year project is to strengthen the supply chain with area farmers and producers so more students can experience locally grown foods in their school cafeterias.
Read MoreRep. Greg Walden (R-Hood River) today met with Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, and Acting Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen to discuss improving forest management to prevent catastrophic wildfires in Oregon. Walden also stressed the need to increase the speed of wildfire fighting to prevent them from spreading uncontrollably.
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