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‘Nobody’s winning’ as drought upends life in US West basin

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Posted at 5:47 AM, Jul 02, 2021
and last updated 2021-07-02 05:47:16-04

Extreme drought is tearing apart communities in a massive river basin that spans the Oregon-California border.

The U.S. government stopped irrigation to hundreds of farmers for the first time in history.

And Native American tribes along the 257-mile Klamath River are watching fish species hover closer to extinction.

Dried-up wildlife refuges are also symptoms of an unraveling ecosystem.

The situation is attracting anti-government activists trying to politicize a water crisis generations in the making.

But irrigators in need of federal assistance fear any ties to far-right activism could taint their image.