In 2021, an Oregon farmer turned 70 acres of his barley farm into a wetland. Four years later it attracts thousands of birds and helps endangered fish survive

When Karl Wenner looked across his farm near Klamath Falls, Oregon, he saw something that many farmers would probably consider a problem: water.

His roughly 400-acre Lakeside Farms had long been used to grow barley, but part of the property regularly flooded. The farm also sat close to Upper Klamath Lake, an important wetland and waterbird habitat that has struggled with water-quality problems.

So in 2021, Wenner and his partners tried something unusual.


Instead of continuing to farm the most flood-prone 70 acres, they transformed the land into a managed wetland.

Four years later, the experiment had produced a surprising result. The former farmland had become a refuge for tens of thousands of ducks, geese and swans, while at least 140 bird species had been recorded on the property.

And the wetland was doing something even more important: providing habitat for two federally endangered fish species.

Why an Oregon farmer gave up 70 acres of barley fields

Wenner became a co-owner of Lakeside Farms in 2017. The approximately 400-acre property lies near Upper Klamath Lake, where abundant water had already made the farm attractive to ducks and other wildlife.

But the same water that brought birds also raised a bigger concern.

Tests showed that water leaving the agricultural land contained high concentrations of phosphorus. Excess nutrients such as phosphorus can contribute to harmful algal blooms and other water-quality problems in lakes.

That created an unusual opportunity.

Rather than allowing water from the flood-prone farmland to move directly toward Upper Klamath Lake, Wenner and his partners explored whether the land could be turned into a natural filtration system.

The result was the 70-acre wetland project that began taking shape in 2021.

The restored area was designed with shallow-water zones, channels, dikes and islands. Instead of rushing directly toward the lake, water could move more slowly through the wetland.

Plants and sediments could then capture some of the nutrients and suspended material before the water continued downstream.

Importantly, Wenner did not abandon the entire farm.

The remaining acreage continued to be used for agriculture, making Lakeside Farms an experiment in whether farming and ecological restoration could coexist on the same property.

Then the birds arrived

Wildlife responded quickly.

US Fish and Wildlife Service records documented more than 20,000 ducks using the property during October and November. Later observations showed that tens of thousands of ducks, geese and swans were using the restored wetland.

At least 140 bird species have been recorded at the farm.

The wetland also attracted mammals including otters, beavers and muskrats.

That transformation is particularly striking because the area had previously been used primarily for agricultural production.

A piece of working farmland had effectively become a new wetland habitat — and wildlife began using it.

Plant diversity doubled in two years

The changes weren't limited to birds and mammals.

Researchers also looked at the plants returning to the property, using an unusual source of information: bees.

By examining pollen collected by bees, scientists could determine which plants were present around the farm and track changes in plant diversity.

The analysis indicated that plant biodiversity doubled within two years of the wetland restoration.

The monitoring also helped researchers identify native plants as well as invasive species that could be targeted for removal.

In other words, the restored acreage wasn't simply becoming wetter. It was becoming biologically more diverse.

The wetland became a refuge for endangered fish

Perhaps the most important part of the experiment involved two fish species native to the Klamath Basin: the Lost River sucker and shortnose sucker.

Both are federally listed as endangered, and both are culturally important to the Klamath Tribes.

Their populations have declined dramatically over time. One of the major challenges facing their recovery is what scientists call a recruitment problem: too few young fish survive long enough to become adults.

That means creating suitable habitat for juvenile fish can be critical.

Parts of Lakeside Farms were therefore modified to provide shallow-water habitat where young suckers could grow in conditions resembling some of the habitats that historically existed around Upper Klamath Lake.

Thousands of young suckers were released

As part of the conservation effort, young suckers were introduced into ponds on the property.

The broader project involved several thousand juvenile fish, including endangered Lost River and shortnose suckers as well as native Klamath largescale suckers.

The goal was not simply to keep endangered fish alive in captivity.

Researchers wanted to know whether restored wetland habitat could actually function as a nursery, allowing young fish to survive and grow before potentially joining the wider lake population.

Then came a potentially important discovery.

Researchers found 50 adult-sized suckers in 2025

In May 2025, researchers partially drained the wetland so they could assess the fish that had been stocked there.

They found 50 adult-sized suckers, with some measuring approximately 16 inches long.

The fish appeared healthy and had reached a size comparable to mature fish.

Researchers were careful not to overstate what the discovery meant. The sampling may not have captured every fish living in the wetland, and genetic testing was still needed to establish the precise species composition of the recovered fish.

But the finding offered an encouraging sign.

At least some of the young fish released into the restored habitat had survived and grown substantially.

For a species struggling with poor juvenile survival, that is significant.

The wetland is also helping clean farm water

The fish weren't the only reason for creating the wetland.

Water quality was one of the project's original goals.

Agricultural runoff can carry nutrients such as phosphorus into nearby waterways. In Upper Klamath Lake, excess nutrients can contribute to harmful algal blooms and create difficult conditions for aquatic life.

The restored wetland gives that water somewhere to slow down.

As water moves through the shallow channels, vegetation and sediments can retain or absorb some nutrients and suspended material.

Reports from the project indicate that phosphorus concentrations in water leaving the wetland were substantially reduced.

That means the same acreage can provide two environmental services at once: wildlife habitat and natural water treatment.

Could farmers use wetlands without giving up farming?

That may be the most interesting question raised by Lakeside Farms.

Conservation doesn't always mean permanently taking agricultural land out of production.

Some fields can be managed as wetlands for periods before potentially returning to crops. Flooding may also help suppress certain weeds and pests and could influence soil conditions.

For farmers, that creates a potentially more practical model: use the portions of a property that are least productive or most vulnerable to flooding for ecological purposes while continuing to farm the rest.

For conservationists, it creates additional habitat without requiring every restoration project to involve purchasing large areas of land.

The approach has attracted interest from other landowners in the Klamath Basin.

A collaboration in a region with a complicated water history

Wenner did not undertake the project alone.

Lakeside Farms worked with conservation organizations and agencies, including the US Fish and Wildlife Service and Klamath Watershed Partnership, which provided technical assistance, funding and support for the wetland's design and management.

The project also connected agricultural interests with conservation work involving the Klamath Tribes and endangered sucker recovery.

That collaboration matters because water has been a source of intense conflict in the Klamath Basin for decades, involving farmers, tribes, wildlife advocates and government agencies.

A project that allows agricultural land to contribute to habitat restoration and water-quality improvement offers a different way of approaching some of those competing needs.

Why 70 acres could matter far beyond one Oregon farm

The Klamath Basin once contained extensive wetlands that have been lost or altered over time. Agriculture, water diversions and other changes have reshaped how water moves through the landscape.

Upper Klamath Lake remains an important habitat for migratory birds while facing persistent water-quality challenges.

At the same time, Lost River and shortnose suckers remain endangered, with poor survival among young fish making population recovery difficult.

Against that backdrop, 70 acres is a relatively small piece of the landscape.

But the Lakeside Farms experiment shows what those acres can potentially do.

They can hold water.

They can filter agricultural runoff.

They can provide habitat for birds and mammals.

They can support diverse plant communities.

And, potentially, they can give endangered fish a place to grow.

What does this mean for the future of farming?

The Lakeside Farms experiment doesn't solve the Klamath Basin's water-quality or endangered-species problems. Finding 50 adult-sized fish also doesn't prove that a self-sustaining population has been established.

But it does offer a compelling example of something increasingly important in agriculture: restoration doesn't necessarily have to mean choosing between farming and nature.

A farmer can continue producing crops on most of his land while turning a flood-prone portion into habitat.

And in this case, that decision produced a result few people would have expected from a former barley field: tens of thousands of waterfowl, more than 140 bird species, greater plant diversity and endangered fish reaching adult size.

Sometimes, the most useful piece of farmland isn't the part that produces another crop.

It may be the part that simply gives water, wildlife and an endangered species somewhere to recover.