Opinion: The salmon are thriving. So are many of the people. Why would anyone shut this down?
Completion of the world’s largest dam removal project — which demolished four Klamath River hydroelectric dams on both sides of the California-Oregon border — has been celebrated as a monumental achievement, signaling the emerging political power of Native American tribes and the river-protection movement. True enough. It is fortunate that the project was approved in 2022 and completed last October, before the environmentally hostile Trump administration could interfere, and it is a reminder that committed, persistent campaigning for worthy environmental goals can sometimes overcome even the most formidable obstacles.
-Written by Jacques Leslie, author of “Deep Water: The Epic Struggle Over Dams, Displaced People, and the Environment.”