The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service established Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in 1955 to protect migratory birds, pictured here in 2011. (Dan Severson/USFWS)
TOPEKA — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will not allocate water in 2026 to a Kansas wildlife refuge that serves as a key destination for hundreds of species of migrating birds.
Kansas Republican U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran in an Aug. 14 announcement applauded the service’s decision to take no action to honor water rights for the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, a more than 22,000-acre marsh and sand prairie in central Kansas.
Federal officials made the same decision in 2020 and again in 2023, despite a report from Kansas regulators that found the refuge received insufficient amounts of water in two out of every three years between 2008 and 2021.
“I met with FWS Administrator Brian Nesvik and emphasized the need for long-term solutions led by stakeholders at the local level, and I am pleased by the recognition of the progress that is being made,” Moran said in a news release.
Moran did not specify what progress entails, but he said the service acknowledged a Kansas Department of Agriculture group’s conservation efforts.
A 2016 analysis determined that irrigators upstream from Quivira were infringing on its state water rights, which entitle it to more than 14,000 acre-feet of water each year, equivalent to about 4.6 billion gallons. Irrigators reduce the groundwater in Rattlesnake Creek, which flows into the refuge. Conservationists say lower flows threaten endangered species.
In 2024, the refuge reportedly used none of its allocated water for the first time since 2017, according to state water rights data. In 2023, it used 45 acre-feet.
U.S. Rep. Ron Estes, a Republican representing Kansas’ 4th District, wrote a letter in February to U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, asking for assurance that the department wouldn’t call for water allocation for Quivira.
“Agriculture is the basin’s primary industry, generating millions of dollars in direct and indirect revenue,” Estes said. “Losing the ability to irrigate crops would reduce these revenues by tens of millions of dollars, forcing many of these already struggling family-run farms to exit the industry entirely.”
