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Wednesday, April 15, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
The uncertain future of Lake Abert
By helen schmidling
Correspondent
Oregon’s Lake Abert is
an internationally important
migratory bird habitat with
an uncertain future. Between
2012 and 2014, when all of the
lakes in south-central Oregon
were drier than normal, Abert
shrunk to a tenth of its normal
size. Because it’s remote, the
event was barely noticed, save
for a small group of private
citizens who collected docu-
mentary data.
Abert is — or was —
Oregon’s fifth-largest lake,
with a recent maximum sur-
face area of 64 square miles:
16 miles long by six miles
wide. Evaporation, drought,
and lack of water from the
Chewaucan River have
reduced the current surface
area to less than five square
miles, according to Dr. Ron
Larson, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
biologist emeritus.
Larson is one of a num-
ber of authorities coming to
the April 25 seminar at Black
Butte Ranch, to present the
facts and discuss the future of
Lake Abert. Larson hopes to
bring public attention to the
crisis and create ongoing dia-
log and workable solutions for
the many species of wildlife
dependent on the lake.
Reached at his home in
Klamath Falls this week,
Larson explained the delicate
ecological balance of Lake
Abert, and why it’s so impor-
tant to seek its restoration. The
lake bottom is rich in algae,
which nurtures both alkali
flies and brine shrimp (also
known as “sea monkeys.”)
The lake is both saline and
alkali (think of salt and baking
soda). The concentrations of
salt and soda are heavy at nor-
mal, but extreme in drought,
to the point that flies and brine
shrimp have disappeared. In
normal conditions, thousands
of migratory birds rest and
feed on these species on their
7,000-mile flight.
More than 80 species, such
as Wilson’s phalarope, travel
annually between the prov-
inces of Western Canada and
the Northwest states to Chile
and Argentina. At their peak in
2013, 300,000 Wilson’s phal-
aropes were counted at Lake
Abert. Last year, they were
barely noticed. The drop-off is
catastrophic.
Because no official effort
has been made to monitor the
migration, Larson does not
know where the birds have
chosen to rest and feed, but
due to the interruption, the
migratory pattern may or may
not be recoverable. Wilson’s
phalaropes often fly continu-
ously for two days, and they
need great energy reserves to
do that. Lake Abert was their
food superstore, but it’s dried
up to less than a corner mar-
ket. “If they don’t eat at the
lake, where do they go?” he
pondered. The next closest
saline lake is Mono Lake in
California, followed by Great
Salt Lake, both hundreds of
miles away.
“Mono Lake is in bad
shape, so if birds can’t use
Abert, using Mono as they
would normally do is not a
viable option anymore. The
birds are stranded,” accord-
ing to Susan M. Haig, Ph.D.,
senior scientist, USGS Forest
and Rangeland Ecosystem
Science Center, and professor
of wildlife ecology, Oregon
State University.
The Chewaucan River is
the main source of water for
Lake Abert in southeastern
Oregon. Rainfall averages
about 8.5 inches annually.
Water levels in the lake have
been falling since 2000, cul-
minating with near desicca-
tion in 2014.
In the 1990s, an earthen
dam was built on private prop-
erty with the best intentions, to
create a freshwater reservoir
for birds and a home for trout
and other freshwater fish, as
well as a resource for crops
and livestock. Unfortunately,
Larson said, remains of Native
American burial grounds
were unearthed in the process.
Once that happened, some of
the agencies backed away,
and oversight of the region
“slipped through the cracks,”
according to Larson. “The
lake, the wetlands, the wildlife
— it’s hard to see that they are
doing everything possible to
preserve the ecosystem.”
Lake Abert is one of five
closed-basin lakes in south-
central Oregon, between
Klamath Falls and Lakeview.
The others are Summer,
Harney, Bluejoint and Goose.
All are considered terminal
or closed-basin lakes because
they do not overflow. Records
indicate water levels in these
lakes were highest in the
1900s and 1950s, and lowest
in the ’20s, ’30s, and 2014.
Abert has the highest salinity,
far saltier than ocean water.
The April 25 seminar will
include representatives of
federal, state, and local agen-
cies that manage water and
wildlife resources; and private
individuals who have propri-
etary concerns with the lake’s
future. It is open to the public,
and tickets are $5. The semi-
nar starts at 9 a.m. in the con-
ference rooms of the Welcome
Center at the Ranch.
The organizer is Frank
P. Conte, PhD, of Camp
Sherman, Oregon State
University professor of zool-
ogy (emeritus) and presi-
dent of the High Lakes
Aquatic Alliance Foundation
(HLAAF). As an expert on salt
(in water, in your body, and in
the environment), Conte has
become one of Lake Abert’s
champions.
The HLAAF is dedicated
to sustaining the health and
nutritional values of Oregon’s
high lakes and their tributaries,
for the benefit of the organ-
isms that live there. The high
lakes are generally formed by
snow melt; however, the lack
of snowfall this year favors
rain rather than snow in much
of the Cascades and other
areas of the West. Rain does
not provide the slow dispersal
of water as snow does.
The seminar at Black Butte
Ranch will be preceded by a
one-day workshop on April 24
at Camp Sherman. Here, rep-
resentatives of various state
and federal agencies and pri-
vate organizations will gather
to discuss their current juris-
dictional responsibilities as
they affect a sustainable man-
agement plan for fresh-water
photo proviDeD
Lake Abert is critical — and fading — habitat.
inflow to Lake Abert. The
Oregon Water Resources
Department and its director,
Tom Byler, are coordinating
invitations. This meeting will
be at the HLAAF headquarters
in Camp Sherman.
For tickets and more
information on the semi-
nar or HLAAF, contact Dr.
Frank Conte at spfclrecon@
centurylink.net.
EDUCATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
OREGON’S SALINE LAKE
ECOSYSTEM – LAKE ABERT
Saturday, April 25, 2015 | 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM
Black Butte Ranch | Administration Conference Rooms
8:30 Opening Remarks: Dr. Frank P. Conte, Professor of Zo-
ology (emeritus), Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon
8:45 Th e Importance Of Great Basin Wetlands To Waterbird
Connectivity Th roughout Th e Annual Cycle: Dr. Lewis W.
Oring, Professor of Natural Resources (emeritus), University
of Nevada, Reno, Nevada.
9:30 Waterbird Responses To Great Basin Wetlands Altered
As A Result Of Changing Climates: Dr. Susan Haig, Senior
Scientist, U.S. Geological Survey, Forest and Rangeland
Ecosystem, Science Center, Corvallis, Oregon.
10:15 Coff ee Break
10:30 Comparative Biology Of Aquatic Grebes While
Living In Various Saline Lakes: Dr. Annette Henry, Biologist,
National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.
11:15 Comparative Biology Of Algal Species, Brine Shrimp,
Brine Flies And Th eir Lime Gland Organs: Dr. Greg Yanega,
Biologist, Salton Sea institute, University of California, Irvine.
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Lake Abert Origin, Basin Topography, Geology And
Morphology In Historical, Current And Future Scenarios:
Dr. Ronald Larson, Wildlife Biologist (emeritus), U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service.
1:45 Climatology Of Th e Lower Chewaucan Basin And Lake
Abert: Dr. Stephen Bieda, Meterologist, National Oceano-
graphic and Atmospheric Administration, Pendleton, Oregon.
2:30 Coff ee Break
2:45 Oregon’s Public Trust Doctrine: Public Rights In
Waters, Wildlife & Beaches. What Is Its Potential In Saving
Lake Abert? Dr. Michael Blumm, Jeff ery Bain Faculty
Scholar, Professor of Law, Lewis and Clark Law School,
Portland, Oregon.
3:30 Historical Populations Of Brine Shrimp And Financial
State Support And Loss Due To Climatic Drought:
Dr. Conte, Keith Kruez, Owner of Oregon Frozen Brine
Shrimp on Lake Abert.
4:00 Evidence for Prehistoric Human Use of Lake Abert and
its Ecosystem Implications: Dr. Richard Pettigrew, President
and Executive Director, Archaeological Legacy Institute.
4:30 Open Discussion for Public Questions and Speakers
Comments: Moderator of Discussion by Dr. Frank P. Conte
5:00 Adjourn
SPONSORS: High Lake Aquatic & Alliance Foundation,
Sisters School District, Lake Creek Resort/Lodge, Black
Butte Ranch, Salem Audubon Society, Metolius Culinary
Club, Ray’s Food Place., North American Lake Management
Society, Portland Audubon Society.