The largest dam removal project in the nation’s history was officially completed today, marking the end of an era and a new beginning for the Klamath River, now flowing wild for the first time in a century after being released from the chokeholds of the Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2, J.C. Boyle and Iron Gate dams.
The moment is the culmination of decades of efforts by tribal nations, including the Karuk and Yurok tribes on the lower Klamath, whose traditions and way of life have been intricately linked to the river and the salmon in its waters since time immemorial.
“The tribally led effort to dismantle the dams is an expression of our sacred duty to maintain balance in the world,” Yurok Tribal Chairman Joseph L. James said in an announcement from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office. “That is why we fought so hard for so long to tear down the dams and bring the salmon home.”
With the last vestiges of the four dams and their ancillary structures gone, sprawling networks of Klamath waterways once blocked off to salmon have been reopened.
“Our áama, ancestral companions, can now return to over 400 miles of unleashed spawning grounds, renewing a bond that has nourished our people since time immemorial,” Karuk Chair Russell “Buster” Attebery said. “The river is cleansing itself, and with time, its waters will grow purer. The scars left by the dams will fade and balance will be restored to the land. This is a reclamation of our cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, and sovereign rights. We are thankful to everyone who made this possible. Yôotva!”
Construction on the first of the dams began in 1918 and the others followed over the ensuing decades, cutting off the cooling waters from downstream, with the ensuing low flows and toxic algal blooms creating devastating conditions along the river.
In 2002, a catastrophic fish kill left more than 70,000 salmon dead on the banks of the Klamath, with the ecological disaster becoming a rallying cry for tribal members and environmental groups in the growing push for dam removal.
The road to bringing down the hydroelectric dams was fraught with twists and turns along the way, which, at times, appeared to have derailed the decades-long effort before the project eventually received the Federal Regulatory Commission’s green light to move forward in November of 2022. Demolition commenced in the summer of 2023.
But as one chapter closes on the mammoth undertaking, another is being written with the restoration of more than 2,000 acres of land once covered by the waters of the reservoirs, which are being replanted with native vegetation. Those efforts and monitoring of the work will continue for the next several years.
“As the reservoirs drained in January, native seed mix was applied to the reservoir footprints,” a release today from the nonprofit Klamath River Renewal Corporation, which oversaw the dam removal project, states.
“This initial round of seeding was intended to stabilize sediments and improve soil composition,” the release continues. “This fall, restoration crews will turn their attention to amending soil conditions and will then perform another round of seeding and planting. Restoration crews will be onsite until vegetation success meets predetermined performance metrics.”
(Find a detailed account of the removal process and the restoration effort in the Sept. 12 Journal cover story, “The River Runs Free,” here.)
In the announcement from his office, Newsom praised the project that was finished ahead of schedule and on budget as a “a monumental achievement — not just for the Klamath River but for our entire state, nation, and planet.”
“By taking down these outdated dams, we are giving salmon and other species a chance to thrive once again, while also restoring an essential lifeline for tribal communities who have long depended on the health of the river,” he said. “This is proof of what’s possible when we come together to prioritize our environment, our people, and future generations.”
This article appears in North Country Fair Turns 50.
The Klamath’s water quality impairments are mainly related to agricultural pollution, not the dams. As a result, dam removal will not solve the Klamath’s water quality impairments and the effect of those impairments on aquatic ecosystems and fish. This means that, while dam removal will help the salmon, it will not restore the salmon runs on which so many Klamath River folks depend.
Like many entities, the TS is overstating the positive impacts of dam removal. There remains much more to be done if we are to have a healthy Klamath River and overstating the positive impacts of dam removal will make these other needed measures – especially restoring flows – harder to achieve.
TS editors: Please stop overstating the positive impacts of dam removal.