Tribes await renewed salmon runs as massive dam removal project takes shape in California

The biggest dam removal project in U.S. history is underway in Northern California, auguring the restoration of one of the state’s largest rivers and a revival of salmon runs long called for by Native American tribes and environmentalists.

The $500 million project, expected to resurrect the lower half of the Klamath River historically fished by tribal communities and populated by salmon and migratory birds, has been championed by tribal leaders, U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown.

“It’s probably the biggest planned dam removal outside of wartime,” said Craig Tucker, policy consultant for the Karuk Tribe, one of five tribes that have historically made their home along the 257-mile-long Klamath River. “And it’ll be the biggest salmon restoration in world history, as far as we can tell.”

The project, originally slated to start in 2020, involves demolition of four dams once utilized by California power companies for energy production, situated along a canyon area just south of the Oregon state line in California’s Siskiyou County. The Klamath, one of the state’s largest rivers, stretches from Oregon’s Cascade Mountains down into Northern California, emptying into the Pacific Ocean south of Crescent City.

Project follows decades of advocacy

Crews began razing the first of the dams this week, with the project expected to conclude next year. The restoration is expected to revive salmon runs through the region, a significant cultural symbol and dietary source for tribes who have long inhabited the areas along the river.

Those tribes — including the Karuk, Yurok, Shasta and Klamath — have been calling for restoration of the river for decades, and more recently so have commercial fishermen. The dams, which were turned over to the state in a deal struck after the energy company operating them had deemed necessary upgrades not worth the expense, have cut into salmon runs by raising water temperatures and cutting off access to salmon spawning habitats, Tucker said.

“That has really affected commercial salmon fishing, which has been a big part of the economy here for a lot of years,” he said. “One wild-line-caught salmon is more valuable than a barrel of oil.”

Tucker credited the tribes’ river restoration advocacy efforts for making the $500 million project a reality.

Looking to ensure cultural preservation

The smallest of the four dams is nearly dismantled, Tucker said, and crews are already laying the groundwork for removal of the other three starting early next year, taking apart the old powerhouses and boring tunnels in the canyon sides to divert water from reservoirs created when the dams were built.

Cultural tribal monitors are onsite, Tucker said, to ensure that any uncovered tribal history is protected as trenches are dug and roads are built. The area where the work is taking place is situated on the former homelands of the Shasta Indian Nation.

“There’s village sites, cemeteries and sacred areas,” he said. “So there’s a plan to protect any relics or remains that might be found.”