Work on demolishing four dams on the Klamath River is now complete on budget, and ahead of schedule.
Gov.Gavin Newsom made the announcement Wednesday. It’s a significant milestone in the Klamath River Restoration Project, the largest such project in U.S. history.
The Yurok and Karuk tribes and environmentalists had mounted a decades-long campaign to dismantle the dams claiming they were seriously degrading the Klamath River’s ecology and depleting the endangered chinook salmon population.
Newsom called the removals a “monumental achievement,” also stating, “By taking down these outdated dams, we are giving salmon and other species a chance to thrive once again, while also restoring an essential lifeline for tribal communities who have long depended on the health of the river.”The dam’s owner, PacifiCorp, signed an agreement with California, Oregon and the tribes in 2020 making way for the removal of the dams.
Work began in March 2023. Now more than 400 miles of river and 2,200 of previously submerged land on the upper Klamath need to be restored.
“The tribally led effort to dismantle the dams is an expression of our sacred duty to maintain balance in the world,” said Yurok Tribal Chairman Joseph James in the release. “That is why we fought so hard for so long to tear down the dams and bring the salmon home.”
