The naysayers said it couldn’t be done.
For many years, the very vocal opponents of dam removal said that the salmon couldn’t return to the Klamath River and its tributaries to spawn as they had done since time immemorial.
Some even claimed the salmon couldn't make it up the river because of “impassible” waterfalls on the river — and that Chinook salmon, coho salmon and steelhead had never historically spawned in the Upper Klamath, despite a plethora of photographs and historical accounts documenting the return of the salmon to the Upper Basin
Well, the salmon have proven the naysayers wrong. The salmon are currently spawning in the Upper Klamath Basin after over 100 years of absence since the four PacifiCorp dams were built.
As I write this, Klamath salmon are spawning in the Williamson River for the first time since the early 1900s. Salmon have been also observed in the Sprague River and tributaries on the west side of Upper Klamath Lake.
“Those who love the Klamath River know the significance of this milestone,” according to a statement from the Yurok Tribe. “This pivotal moment is a testament to decades of activism, rigorous scientific research and advocacy from the Klamath Basin’s Indigenous communities and allies.”
Located in southern Oregon, the Williamson is a cold spring-fed tributary near the headwaters of the Klamath River, according to the Tribe. Because of this, with salmon blocked by the dams, the Williamson has for over 100 years become known as a blue ribbon wild trout fishery. Now the fall-run Chinook salmon are once again spawning in their historical habitat.
“The removal of four dams last year allowed salmon to regain access to the large stream, which is more than 200 miles from the ocean,” the Tribe continued. “Multiple generations of Klamath River supporters dreamed of salmon repopulating the Williamson. How can one not feel immense gratitude in seeing this unfold?”
“We know there is good habitat in the Williamson River. Upper Klamath Lake is cold in the fall and winter. The lake remains cool in the spring when the offspring of these salmon start migrating out to sea. A series of projects are currently underway to begin improving water quality in lake year-round. The Klamath is proof that rivers can heal with a little help from humans via dam removal and restoration,” the Tribe concluded.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife also documented the return of salmon to the tributaries of the Klamath River above Klamath Lake. In addition to the Williamson River, tagged salmon have been observed in the Sprague River and Pelican Bay.
“A few weeks after a Chinook salmon was spotted passing Keno Dam on Sept. 24, another was seen on camera at the Link River fish ladder (Oct. 6). Soon after, a radio-tagged salmon was detected in the Williamson River (Oct. 10) along with multiple other salmon. This week, tagged fish were found in tributaries on the west side of Upper Klamath Lake (Pelican Bay, Oct. 14) and in the Sprague River (Oct. 14),” the ODFW reported.
“The milestones Klamath River salmon keep reaching have biologists scrambling to keep up. Tools like monitoring cameras and radio tags are helping track the salmon's journey,” the agency noted.
"The run so far this year has been incredibly exciting and we're expanding our monitoring program on an almost daily basis to keep adapting," said Mark Hereford, ODFW Klamath fisheries reintroduction project leader. "It is incredible to be a part of this historic return and see where these salmon go and what they do."
"What we're seeing now is incredibly encouraging and the result of strong collaboration among state and federal agencies, Tribes, and conservation partners who have all been working towards this moment for an incredibly long time," Hereford said.
Monitoring efforts are guided by an implementation plan developed by ODFW and The Klamath Tribes in 2021 in preparation for the 2024 dam removals.
In fall 2024, CalTrout and their partners installed a SONAR fish counting station at the entrance to newly reopened habitat on the Klamath River. “The SONAR recorded more than 9,600 fish crossing this historic threshold, marking the beginning of population reestablishment, and we estimate 7,700 of those fish were Chinook salmon,” reported CalTrout: caltrout.org/...
The return of salmon to the Klamath above the former dam sites is not the only good news on the Klamath River and its tributaries.
“Since the dams were removed, temperature, algae, and dissolved oxygen levels have all dramatically improved,” said Toz Soto, Senior Policy and Research Advisor for the Karuk Tribe’s Department of Natural Resources. “The process of removing the dams created temporary water quality impacts as sediments impounded by the dams were mobilized through the system. When we look back at the data over the last year, we see that those short-term impacts were worth it, and the immediate improvements to the system are clearly documented in the data collected by the Karuk Tribe and others.”
As the only journalist to cover the dam removal process from beginning to end, I am gratified that over two decades of hard work by the Klamath River Tribes, environmentalists and fishing groups have resulted in the return of salmon to the Upper Klamath Basin!
I’ll end this story with the latest Facebook post about the salmon returning to the Upper Klamath Basin by the Klamath Tribes of Oregon:
There is a rumble throughout the Klamath Watershed. The Salmon, not seen in these parts for over a century, are guided by ancestral knowledge and their natural instincts to the mouth of the Klamath and the tributaries, including the Williamson and Sprague. Waq'li'sii Salmon, welcome home!
Scientists and salmon advocates have thrown their hands in the air; these fish have surpassed all expectations and predictions. To put this in perspective, initial projections estimated that only a small population would return within the next decade, but the actual numbers have been extraordinary, marking an unexpected and hopeful resurgence. The Klamath Tribes' Ambodat department feels confident that there are at least 100 Fall Chinook Salmon in the Upper Klamath Lake at this time. Now we watch in awe and wonder, and dream about the day our children can know wild salmon.
There were fears that once they passed the Link and Keno dams, the toxic waters would end their journey and that they wouldn’t make it to the cleaner water in the tributaries. But, they did.
The Salmon are spawning and bringing back vital marine nutrients that have been missing from the system. This marks the beginning of a hopeful restoration. But to truly thrive, the juvenile salmon will need exactly what the c’waam and koptu, and other fish in the ecosystem, need: restored wetlands. By viewing these wetlands not just as resources but as a part of our interconnected ecosystem, we are called to nurture them with the care and respect they deserve. This relational approach deepens our moral obligation to restore these habitats, ensuring a balanced and thriving environment for current and future generations.
This is a reminder of all the fisheries that once existed in the Klamath Basin, including the c’waam and koptu, which remain critically endangered, and the Klamath Tribes and the Ambodat continue to research and work passionately and diligently to bring these fish back from the ever-nearing brink of extinction. Now it is our time to re-weave our reciprocal relationship and invest in an environment that supports them.
The Klamath Tribes are leading extensive wetlands restoration to revive the ecosystem and secure clean water for all our relations, our samaks. With one project known as Agency Barnes, the Klamath Tribes are currently working to restore over 14,000 acres of wetlands, and that is just a small piece within a much larger project, as the Klamath Tribes continue to innovate and collaborate for a future where we can all thrive.
The Klamath Tribes continue their efforts while awaiting the release of $3.17 million in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Funds for stream restoration, which have been stalled despite being awarded in November ‘24. This delay serves as a poignant reminder that, just as the salmon have made their return, now it is humanity's turn to act. The return of the salmon can be seen as a gift, and responding by releasing these funds would embody a reciprocal gesture of gratitude and shared honor. These funds are also essential to the United States government meeting its trust responsibilities under the Treaty of 1864.
As members of the community, we can take active steps to advocate for the release of these crucial funds. Consider reaching out to local and national government representatives to express the importance of stream restoration for the Klamath ecosystem. You can also consider donating to the Ambo Fund at: https://www.seedingjustice.org/the-ambo-fund-water-for.../ By uniting our voices, we empower each other and strengthen our collective effort for the sustainable future of our waterways.
We also mourn all those generations that fought to see this day come, and are not here with us to know this moment. They are here with us in spirit, and we honor their lifetimes of work. As we continue to ensure that one day there is a fishable population, let us recall the stories shared by our elders. These memories guide our commitment, inviting us into a living lineage of shared stewardship and hope.
By leaving the spawning salmon undisturbed, we nurture hope for future abundance in the Upper Klamath Watershed. This choice is not only about hope but also about securing long-term ecological benefits. Protecting these spawning grounds acts as insurance for future ecosystem services, ensuring cleaner water, increased groundwater recharge, and reduced algal blooms. This strategic conservation decision lays the groundwork for sustaining the environment for generations to come.
mo sepk'eec'a to all the relations that made this return possible.
And a big mo sepk'eec'a to Paul Wilson, Klamath Tribes member, who has been on the waters with the Ambodat team so often that he has joked he barely has time to recharge his batteries! His diligence, consistency, and generosity have given people far and wide the ability to show, not just tell, about this historic moment.
