On Wednesday, workers successfully breached the final barriers on an important stretch of the Klamath River. This milestone allows salmon to migrate freely through a major watershed near the California-Oregon border for the first time in over a century. This event is a key part of the largest dam removal project in U.S. history, which is nearing its completion.
Crews used excavators to dismantle rock structures that had been blocking water upstream of two existing dams, Iron Gate and Copco No. 1, which were already nearly completely taken down. With every scoop of dirt removed, more water from the river was able to flow back into its natural course. This restoration of the river’s flow has opened up important habitats for salmon just in time for the fall spawning season of Chinook, or king salmon.
As Amy Bowers Cordalis, a member of the Yurok Tribe and an attorney for the tribe, stood at Iron Gate on Wednesday morning, she couldn’t help but tear up as she watched water pour over the former dam, rejoining the river.
Bowers Cordalis has been an advocate for removing the Klamath dams since 2002, driven by the distressing sight of tens of thousands of salmon dying in the river due to a bacterial outbreak fueled by low water levels and high temperatures. To her, watching the river return to its natural state felt like witnessing a rebirth.
“It was surreal. So emotional. I felt hopeful and fulfilled to see this river being restored,” she expressed. “Looking at it, it was as if the river was crying out, ‘I am free, I am free.’”
This demolition marks a significant step as the removal of four massive dams on the Klamath River is set to be completed next month. This initiative is part of a broader effort across the nation to restore rivers to their natural flow and to revitalize ecosystems for fish and wildlife.
According to the advocacy group American Rivers, over 2,000 dams have been removed in the U.S. since February 2023, with the majority of removals occurring in the last quarter-century. Notable examples include the Elwha River dams in Washington state and the Condit Dam on the White Salmon River, a tributary of the Columbia River.
“I am thrilled to move into the restoration phase of the Klamath River,” remarked Russell ‘Buster’ Attebery, chairman of the Karuk Tribe. “By restoring hundreds of miles of spawning grounds and enhancing water quality, we can support the return of salmon, which are a crucial and sustainable food source for many Tribal Nations.”
Salmon play a vital cultural and spiritual role for this tribe and others in the region.
Historically, the Klamath River was known as the third-largest salmon-producing river on the West Coast. However, after PacifiCorp, a power company, constructed the dams to generate electricity between 1918 and 1962, the natural flow of the river was interrupted. This disruption severely impacted the lifecycle of salmon, which migrate from the Pacific Ocean to their natal rivers to spawn, leading to a dramatic decline in their populations. This situation sparked decades of advocacy from tribal groups and environmentalists, culminating in 2022 when federal regulators approved a plan for the dam removals.
Since then, the smallest of the four dams, Copco No. 2, has been taken out, and crews have drained the reservoirs of the remaining three dams, starting their removal in March.
The removal of these dams is not expected to significantly impact energy supply; at full capacity, they accounted for less than 2% of PacifiCorp’s energy production, enough to supply about 70,000 homes. Although hydroelectric power from dams is viewed as a clean and renewable energy source, many larger dams in the U.S. West are under scrutiny from environmentalists and tribal groups due to their damaging effects on fish populations and river ecosystems.
The estimated cost of the project is around $500 million, funded by taxpayers and PacifiCorp customers.
However, Oregon state Sen. Dennis Linthicum, a Republican, has opposed the dam removal project, arguing that it eliminates vital sites for water storage, flood control, and fire prevention efforts.
“We have fisheries and hatcheries that have been established for years, and it seems that’s ‘not good enough,’” he stated. “Salmon need to continue upstream, past the dam and J.C. Boyle, to make their history,” referring to a dam located further upstream.
It remains uncertain how quickly salmon will return to their traditional habitats or how soon the river will fully heal. There have been reports of salmon already reaching the river’s mouth as they begin their journey upstream. Michael Belchik, a senior water policy analyst for the Yurok Tribe, is optimistic that salmon will pass the Iron Gate dam soon.
“I believe we will see some early successes,” he remarked. “I am quite confident that we will see fish passing above the dam. If not this year, then definitely next year.”
There are still two smaller Klamath dams further upstream that allow salmon to navigate past them using fish ladders, which are a series of pools that facilitate the fish’s ascent.
Mark Bransom, CEO of the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, the nonprofit organization overseeing the project, mentioned that the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe took approximately a decade to resume fishing after the Elwha dam removals.
“I’m not sure anyone can predict with certainty what the timeline for restoring fish populations will look like,” he said. “It will require time. You cannot reverse a century of damage to a river system overnight.”
