Botulism outbreak threatens wild birds in Klamath Basin

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pretty well situated between other water bodies that birds can stop over and for origin but it also so historically had about 300,000 acres of wetlands in it so it you know from a species perspective they have that generational connection to the place so the basin is just a place the birds have stopped for generations and generations and so it's it's Some of what we see is that importance because it has always been important, and some of what we see is that it is often one of the only places with water between other stopover sites where birds can refuel. So there aren't a lot of other water options for the migrating birds. I get that. So what is happening there now that concerns you? Yeah, so the first thing to note is that botulism is naturally occurring in our Oregon soils and soils across most of the globe. And so the background level of botulism has always been something that might kill a few birds, but it doesn't produce large die-offs. 2020 was the first year we saw a large die-off happen in the climate basin, and that killed 60,000 birds, and then in 2024, we had another large die-off that, as you mentioned, that killed 140,000 or more birds. And so this year, two years later, we're seeing botulism, the refuge is picking up around 150 dead birds a day. which for this time of year is high. So when botulism outbreaks happen historically, they would start later in the year. Typically after this year's baby births have fledged or are able to move on. This year, it's starting pretty early. We still have baby grieves that are hatching and ducks on nests because the conditions have been good for an extended breeding season. we have this um it's almost a trifecta of low water conditions to encourage more breeding you know and birds find us starting to arrive to mold and the water levels are now dropping to where the botulism can start to um reproduce and start that botulism cycle. So the potential for a really large die-off is there. So if I'm hearing you correctly, if I'm hearing you correctly, the botulism happen is is there naturally, but water when there's when there's enough of it acts as kind of a protective layer between between the pathogen and the birds. Yeah, so the botulism tends to thrive most in shallow water, so like less than three inches and stagnant water. So it, it...

needs it needs it to be warm, stagnant, low oxygen, and then typically that means also not very deep. And so that's where the botulism, the bacterium can start to release spores. The spores are what get ingested by herbs or insects that then when they get botulism and other things eat them, it kind of creates that snowball cycle where the more things that are eating, species that have been impacted by botulism the more the botulism spreads okay so what needs to happen So last year was a pretty good example of how water can be used to keep botulism from exploding like it has the potential to right now. So there was some botulism here last year. Tully Lake Irrigation District was able to work with the refuges to keep water moving into the area of Tully Lake where the botulism was happening and they were able to keep that outbreak from expanding and becoming something really big. So this year, It's early enough in the botulism outbreak where there is potential to essentially re-flood those exposed mud-flat-type areas. So areas where the botulism can thrive, getting more water into them would help to essentially suppress the ability of the botulism to persist this year. Who is in charge who could make the decision to actually reflod those areas? That is a really complicated question. My answer is going to be maybe unsatisfying, but I think it needs to be a collaborative effort between, so Bureau Buckle Nation is the one that. essentially says how much water is going to be diverted from Upper Klanis Lake for irrigation for the ag community and then also for the refuges. This year they essentially lumped that together and just said this is how much water is coming from the lake. And so the situation right now is that it needs to be a joint effort between Bureau of Reclamation, water users, and the tribes to figure out where that water can come from. Do you get the sense that the current Bureau of Reclamation under this federal government is sensitive to the concerns that you're raising? I had a conversation with the director for Region 10 and he seemed... He seemed happy to have a conversation. I think he wants to be able to find a solution. So I think that people want there to be a solution. I think the solution is always hard to get to you because it requires a collaborative effort. But outside of that brief conversation, we haven't received any notification about whether or not water is coming. But yeah, I think people are amenable to having the conversation.

If you're just tuning in, we're talking about a botulism outbreak among migratory birds in southern Oregon in northern California. And Teresa Wicks is a biologist with the Bird Alliance of Oregon. Teresa, you touched on this, and that is that in this part of the world where water is a scarce resource, there are a lot of stakeholders, too. You mentioned the wildlife. You mentioned agriculture, but also tribes get their allocations too. And I'm wondering how you balance all these needs for water in this place. I mean, I think. So I think that right now what we're seeing is that the system is actually pretty out of balance. And that is why the botulism outbreaks have become such a problem. The sucker populations are not doing well in Upper Klamath Lake. But right now their prognosis is pretty bleak. And so I think... The water quality issues in the rivers and the lake and the issues for the sucker populations and the vodoulism outbreaks are all signs to me that actually the system isn't being balanced very well. And I think there are some really interesting collaborative ideas to try to essentially bring the system back into a better balance. They're being generated from within the community because I think people are starting to see that

fighting especially through courts and whatnot rather than working together isn't actually bringing the system into balance. It's not actually benefiting anybody. And I think there is a pretty There seems to be a pretty clear interest in the community to try to find some balance. You mentioned you're losing 150 birds a day, and the die-off could exceed the one in 2024 when 140,000 birds died. I have to imagine there are ripple effects from this. It's not just bad news for the birds. Can you talk about how a die-off like that can affect the greater ecosystem? Yeah, so we don't talk a lot. about other species that potentially are impacted. So the, in part because, so like, coyotes are a good example. Coyotes frequently scavenge the birds that die for botulism. It is, we don't know for sure how they are impacted by the botulism. There is a pretty high risk that they could be impacted by it. Even like the turkey vultures, you know, ravens, the other scavenger type birds whose job kind of is to help these natures clean up crew, they are impacted by botulism. So it expands out not just from the water birds, but out into other species that potentially are consuming them. And then from a flyway perspective, so.

water birds and waterfell in the Pacific flyway are declining throughout the flyway. And when we have these big outbreaks here, it... doesn't just impact birds that are here because the birds that are here, you know, molting here are birds that would have been nesting farther north and then potentially would have gone down to winter in the Central Valley or, you know, down in Southern California or Mexico. And so you start to see these impacts on bird communities. and avian ecology essentially throughout the entire flyway because of birds dying off here, if that makes sense. Yeah, it does. Thank you for making those connections for me. And thank you for joining us on the program. I really appreciate you coming on. Yeah, thanks for having me. Teresa Wicks is a biologist with the Bird Alliance of Oregon. If you tune in to think out loud because you love learning about what's happening in our region, you'll love listening to The Evergreen. This weekly podcast paints an audio portrait of the Pacific Northwest through the stories of the people who live here. Subscribe now, wherever you get your podcasts.