About IFRMP

The Klamath Basin Integrated Fisheries Restoration and Monitoring Plan (IFRMP or plan) was completed in partnership with the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission and ESSA with extensive input from over 50 partners between 2016 and 2023.

“Impacts to native fish have been deeply felt by many who live, work, and fish across the Klamath Basin,” said Service Regional Director Paul Souza. “The IFRMP provides a unifying framework for coordinated restoration and recovery of native fish species from the headwaters to the Pacific Ocean, while improving flows, water quality, habitat and ecosystem processes for the benefit of local communities.”

After seven years in the making and hundreds of hours of collaborative discussions with tribal, state, federal, and conservation partners, the IFRMP is ready for implementation.

The Klamath Basin Integrated Fisheries Restoration and Monitoring Plan (IFRMP) is a comprehensive, science-based blueprint developed to coordinate restoration efforts across the entire Klamath River watershed. The plan addresses one fundamental question: “Given all that we know, which watershed restoration actions will provide the broadest possible benefits to functional watershed processes and native focal fish species, both within each sub-basin and throughout the Basin?”

  • Purpose: Identify basin-wide restoration goals, objectives and indicators of success  
  • Approach: Process-based restoration approach addressing root causes, not just symptoms 
  • Collaborators: Over 100 experts from federal agencies, tribes, states, and local organizations 
  • Development Process: Collaboratively planned over 7 years (2016-2023) and consists of 5 components:
  1. Goals & Objectives – Drawn from watershed concerns affecting fish in the Klamath basin
  2. Core Performance Indicators – Measures of watershed health and fish recovery
  3. Restoration Priorities – Scientifically prioritized restoration actions
  4. Monitoring Needs & Approaches – Coordinated management of restoration actions
  5. Implementation – Adaptive management of the IFRMP
  6.  
Map of the Klamath River Basin, sub-basins, municipalities, and past and present dam infrastructure. Link River and Keno dam are the only remaining mainstem barriers following the decommissioning of Iron Gate, Copco 1, Copco 2, and J.C. Boyle dams in 2023 and 2024. The Butte sub-basin is not labeled or profiled in the IFRMP because it is primarily a closed sub-basin with no natural surface water connection to the Klamath River and no significant populations of focal fish species.

Goals & Objectives

Hierarchical framework of restoration goals and measurable objectives

Development Process

Timeline and phases of collaborative plan development

Core Performance Indicators

Metrics for assessing basin health and restoration progress

Restoration Priorities

Prioritization tool and criteria for ranking restoration projects

Monitoring Needs & Approaches

Strategies and methods for tracking restoration progress

Implementation

Framework for executing priorities and coordinating partners

Primary Outputs

Products from IFRMP planning