The Bureau of Indian Affairs and NOAA Fisheries recently invested $6 million in a tribally led initiative to implement the first-ever large-scale reintroduction of critically imperiled spring-run Chinook salmon within The Klamath Tribes’ ancestral territory.
The funds will enable the Klamath Tribes to establish up to 40 remote incubation sites in cold-water streams above upper Klamath Lake, as well as support the installation of four additional raceways and increase water efficiency at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Klamath Fish Hatchery near Chiloquin, Oregon.
Klamath Tribes Chairman William Ray Jr. believes these pass-through funds will serve not only the Klamath Tribes but the entire ecosystem. “We appreciate all of these partners coming together to bring the c’iyaal’s home to the Klamath Tribes in hopes that within the next generation we can re-establish a fishable population to feed our people, to heal our people,” he said. “It has been over a hundred years since the Klamath Tribes have had c’iyaal’s in our waters, we have gone without, and it has caused harm.”
While the c’iyaal’s (salmon) returned to the headwaters this last season, there are still many hurdles to successful reintroduction, which requires investments like those provided through this initiative.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to work with The Klamath Tribes and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to help bring spring salmon back,” said Joseph L. James, Chairman of the Yurok Tribe. “These funds will help us work with our upriver neighbors to restore spring-run Chinook salmon to everyone’s benefit.”
“This project highlights what can be accomplished when Tribes and the State work together with shared objectives. We sincerely appreciate the efforts of The Klamath Tribes and The Yurok Tribe in securing this grant,” said Debbie Colbert, ODFW Director.
Once built, the new raceways, concrete structures to rear salmon, at the Klamath Fish Hatchery will rear up to 600,000 fertilized salmon eggs and juvenile fish per year. The Klamath Tribes Ambodat Department will also provide personnel and expertise to raise thousands of the eggs in streamside incubation systems (RSI) spread across spring-fed tributaries above Upper Klamath Lake, including the Williams, Sprague and Wood rivers. The consistently cool water within these streams provides optimal conditions for baby salmon.
The streamside incubation system will be comprised of secure tanks, spawning gravel and plumbing equipment. The highly effective remote site incubation systems enable thousands of salmon embryos to grow in natural stream water through early development, which allows the tiny fish to imprint on the unique scent and composition of the creek. Exposing baby fish to stream water at such a young age also increases survival rates because the incubation units protect fish from predators, increase resilience and inhibit domestication. As adults, the fish will rely on the specific odor and other cues to find their way back to these streams to spawn.
Historically, the Klamath River sustained several hundred thousand spring-run Chinook salmon. In addition to being abundant, the football-shaped fish were distributed from the headwaters of Upper Klamath Lake to the Trinity River, the Klamath River’s biggest tributary.
In the past few years four dams were removed from the Klamath River, but the headwaters are still separated from the river by two dams. While fall run Chinook surprised many as they made it past the dams that remain, spring-run Chinook have not yet made it to the Klamath Tribes treaty-protected territory. However, with the successful natural hatching of wild fall-run Chinook, both Tribes are confident that there is a viable path to successfully restore these species.
Isolated populations of these fish persist in a handful of lower Klamath River tributaries, primarily the Salmon River, New River and the South Fork Trinity River. These culturally and ecologically invaluable fish have been functionally extirpated from most Klamath tributaries, like the Scott and Shasta Rivers.
Adult spring Chinook salmon enter the river in April and May, seeking summer thermal refuge in cold groundwater-dominated pools before spawning in early fall, surviving solely on ample fat stores for up to five months. There is minimal overlap with fall-run Chinook salmon, which spawn from late October to November.
The many tribes along the Klamath River have long considered “springers,” spring-run chinook, the best-tasting salmon. These fish are inextricably connected to the cultures and identities of Indigenous people throughout the watershed. Since time immemorial, these salmon have occupied a special place in Yurok culture and ceremonies. The Yurok people have always had a traditional responsibility to let the first spring salmon pass to ensure upriver tribes were able to harvest enough and to allow plenty of fish to spawn.
While the Klamath Tribes had their own unique ceremonies at the headwaters, 114 years without salmon have led to an erosion of culture. As the c’iyaal’s have returned so has a desire to resurrect ceremony from the memories and writings of elders. The Klamath Tribes Culture and Heritage Department is actively working towards this end.
Though encouraging, this represents only the beginning of a long path toward ecosystem restoration in the Klamath watershed. Native fish stocks are expected to increase slowly and unevenly over time due to factors that affect run size, including annual precipitation, diversion levels, ocean conditions, and prevailing weather patterns.
The Klamath River Hatchery expansion is scheduled to occur next year with the first fish raised in 2028. The first run of adult spring salmon may return to the hatchery and remote incubation sites as early as 2030.
The Klamath Tribes believe that with coordinated effort, restoration is not only possible but inevitable. Generations of ancestors have fought for this day, and now it is our responsibility to see it through.