As the largest dam removal project in the U.S. progresses, we will take an in-depth look at how this historical effort will restore hope in salmon populations and indigenous communities alike. Here is everything you need to know about the monumental dam removal.
Photo: The mouth of the Klamath river where it meets the Pacific Ocean. Shane Anderson, SaltwaterFilms.
What is happening?
Located in the Klamath Basin, the four dams that reside here are in the process of being removed. The dams were developed from 1908 to 1962 by the California-Oregon Power Company. Throughout the years, these dams have caused concerning impacts to the surrounding environment and they don’t even provide any significant benefits. They don’t provide diversions for irrigation, flood control or drinking water diversions. The only miniscule benefit is that it provides a small amount of electricity–only providing less than 2% of PacifiCorp’s power portfolio.
Why is the Klamath river even important?
The Klamath river is a vital resource for salmon. Without salmon, there would be an imbalance in the ecosystem that will cause a harmful trophic cascade. Outside of the environmental scope, there is also a great economic impact that needs to be considered. The decline of salmon in this river has had a negative impact on all salmon fisheries throughout northern California to Southern Oregon. Seeing how the salmon industry brings in hundreds of millions of dollars to coastal communities, thousands of jobs that rely on this industry have been affected.
Photo: Mid-Klamath river. Shane Anderson, SaltwaterFilms.
How has the dam impacted the environment?
As salmon embark on their run from the ocean to the river, they encounter a barrier that is presented in the form of the Klamath dams. There is no fish ladder present on the lower dams, but fish ladders have mixed records of effectiveness anyways. These dams prevent salmon from the hundreds of miles of historical spawning habitats that are located beyond their reach.
The dams also have been known to promote toxic algal blooms that have had a significantly negative impact on fish health and promoting disease. Another issue these dams present is that they block sediments of rivers from flowing downstream. This disrupts the maintenance of the complex habitat and can lead to starved ecosystems located downstream.
Photo: Yoruk fisher Tasheena Natt, Yoruk Tribe.
How did all of this come about?
The massive fish kill in 2002 was a major catalyst towards the fight for the dams to be dismantled. Due to toxic algal blooms, an estimated 70,000 adult salmon died before they were able to spawn in the lower Klamath River. This was a traumatic event for the ecosystem and surrounding tribal communities since so much of their livelihoods depend on salmon. With the goal of conservation on the forefront of Native activists, they developed a grassroots campaign. Un-Dam the Klamath: Bring the Salmon Home campaign was developed to focus on removing the four lower dams. A settlement to remove the dams was finally reached in 2016 after years of lawsuits and protests that were inspired by Klamath Tribal communities and their allies. Removal of one of the dams has already taken place in 2023, and the remaining 3 dams are scheduled for removal during the summer of 2024.
To learn more about the impact of Indigenous leaders in the Klamath area and their fight towards restoring the Klamath River, click here for a short documentary.