Virtual Guidebook to Lassen Volcanic National Park and the Modoc Plateau
Tule Lake and Tulelake
Modoc County California

Tule Lake offers an intriguing study in resource management - specifically the over-allocation of a scarce resource.

Shallow Tule Lake was drained by the Bureau of Reclamation, sold to farmers who were provided with water from the Klamath River. But part of the valley consists of wildlife refuges, which need water also, and the river harbors endangered species of fish that the government is obligated to protect. Plus salmon in the river hundreds of miles downstream and out at sea need the same water - and Native Americans and commercial fisheries depend on them. In a dry year there isn't enough water to go around, resulting in conflict.