This linked 5-minute video tells a very big story -- so big that there has never been such a restoration of a river system and its salmon undertaken before this. With the removal of all dams on the Klamath River, there is hope that one of the historically great anadromous fisheries will recover, and consequently renew the livelihoods and cultural identity of Native Americans whose homeland the Klamath flows through.
Dam removal in the U.S. lags far behind ongoing efforts in Europe where 500 barriers were removed in 2023 alone. Many dams have become hazards as a result of increasingly unpredictable rainfall and flooding. Others, like those on the Klamath, produce diminishing electrical power. But nature restoration is a side benefit, if not the principal reason, for reclaiming free-flowing streams.
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