Yakima River Basin (USA)
Major landowners in the valley include federal and state agencies and the Yakama Indian Nation. Private ownership accounts for 5,045.69 km2. The United States Forest Service manages 3,611.86 km2, and the indigenous Yakama Nation owns 3,600.84 km2 within the basin. Forested areas (5,700 km2) are used for recreation, wildlife habitat, timber harvest, grazing, and tribal cultural activities. Range lands comprise about 7,500 km2 and are used for military training, grazing, wildlife habitat, and tribal cultural activities.
Major Issues
The Yakima River and its tributaries have been heavily modified to support irrigated agriculture. Modifications include three dams and hundreds of kilometers of irrigation canals and runoff drains. Intensive irrigation in the basin can lead to periods of both severe river dewatering and elevated flows, compared to the historical streamflow regime. As a result, discharge statistics for the Yakima River are heavily affected by the irrigation system (https://nativefishsociety.org/watersheds/yakima).
More frequent and more intense droughts can negatively impact junior water rights holders in these agricultural areas. When streamflow is low, junior water rights are curtailed and some farmers lose crops because water for irrigation is not available.