This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Law enforcement raided the illegal cannabis operation in Shasta-Trinity National Forest months before, but rotting potatoes still sat on the growers’ makeshift kitchen worktop, waiting to be cooked. Ecologist Greta Wengert stared down the pockmarked hillside at a pile of pesticide sprayers left behind, long after […]
salmon
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Q & A: Amy Bowers Cordalis On Her Debut Memoir, “The Water Remembers”
This story originally appeared on Underscore Native News. Amy Bowers Cordalis, a proud citizen of the Yurok Tribe, has many different roles within her community. She is the executive director and co-founder of Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group, a lawyer for the Yurok Tribe and was instrumental in advocating for the Klamath Dam removal, in […]
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Students Watch History Unfold on the Klamath, Dam Removal Celebration Set for Dec. 7
On a recent field trip to the Klamath River, local school children were able to witness a momentous example of nature’s ability to rebound: salmon spawning in a creek upstream from the former Iron Gate dam after decades of absence. It’s one of many ecological milestones being reached following the largest dam removal project in […]
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Salmon Spotted in Klamath Basin for First Time in More Than a Century
On Wednesday, an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist spotted a first-in-a-century sight on a tributary to the Klamath River in the Klamath Basin: A fall-run Chinook salmon. Just weeks after the last remnants of the four hydroelectric dams that used to clog the lower Klamath River were hauled away, concluding what was the […]
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A New Beginning on the Klamath (With Slideshow)
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 […]
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Klamath Salmon Festival Turns 60, Celebrates Elders
Driving north in the rain from Arcata early Saturday morning, the prospects for the 60th annual Klamath Salmon Festival didn’t look good. But by the 9:30 a.m. start of the parade, the rain had stopped, the sun came out from behind the clouds and this year’s festival celebrating tribal elders (because the event was turning […]
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California Salmon Fishing Banned for Second Year in Row
In a devastating blow to California’s fishing industry, federal fishery managers unanimously voted to cancel all commercial and recreational salmon fishing off the coast of California for the second year in a row. The April 10 decision is designed to protect California’s dwindling salmon populations after drought and water diversions left river flows too warm […]
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The Klamath River Salmon Die-off Was Tragic. Was it Predictable?
A recent large die-off of young salmon released into the Klamath River shocked and dismayed state biologists, reinforcing that human efforts to restore nature and undo damage can be unpredictable and difficult to control. The tiny Chinook salmon turned up dead downriver just two days after they were released from the California Department of Fish […]
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Saving Salmon: Newsom Unveils Blueprint for Ending Decades-long Decline
With salmon populations throughout California declining for decades and facing the threat of extinction, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday unveiled a state strategy aimed at protecting and restoring the iconic species “amidst hotter and drier weather exacerbated by climate change.” The blueprint calls for tearing down dams and improving passages for migrating salmon, restoring flows […]
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First of Four Klamath Dams Has Been Removed
And then there were three. The nonprofit Klamath River Renewal Corporation recently announced that work to remove the first of four hydroelectric dams clogging the lower Klamath River is complete, bringing the largest dam removal project in the nation’s history one step closer to fruition. “Seeing the Klamath River flow through this canyon after being […]
Posted inArts + Scene
The Return of ‘30,000 Salmon’
In mid-September of 2002, tens of thousands of fish (mostly Chinook salmon) turned up dead on the Klamath River. Attributed in part to low water flow from the Iron Gate Dam, the devastating fish kill left an enormous impact on the local community, artist Becky Evans included. A self-described “land-based artist,” Evans tends to let […]
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With a ‘Heavy Heart,’ Yurok Tribe Says Klamath Salmon Festival Will Go On Without Its Namesake
The Yurok Tribe, with a “heavy heart,” has announced that the namesake of the annual Klamath Salmon Festival will not be served at this year’s Aug. 19 event due to record low runs that also led to the closure of the California fishery. Now in its 59th year, the festival will include cultural and basket-weaving […]