Salmon return to the Klamath’s Oregon waters, but the river’s headwaters are still blocked
… A lot of hope was pouring into the river along with those fish as the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Klamath Tribes entered the beginning stages of starting a new run of spring chinook salmon. … The country’s largest dam removal project took four dams off the Klamath River in Southern Oregon and Northern California over the past two years. A free-flowing river has reemerged where Copco 1 and 2, Iron Gate and J.C. Boyle dams used to be. For Indigenous tribes, including the Klamath, Shasta, Karuk, Hoopa Valley and Yurok, the project was a huge victory. Painful water conflicts have dragged on for decades in the Klamath Basin, with farmers, fish and tribes all suffering. Now four dams are out, bringing renewed hope for salmon restoration. But on the Klamath, it’s going to take a lot more to piece the basin together again.
Other Klamath River news:
- Oregon Public Broadcasting: Podcast: ‘OPB Politics Now’: Is the Pacific Northwest entering an era of dam removal?
- Legal Planet: Blog: Success! Removing the Klamath Dams
