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Blue Dot: The Klamath River flowing freely again and the science driving it

Klamath River flowing freely after dam removal
Michael Weir
/
California Trout
Klamath River flowing freely after dam removal

Blue Dot takes an in-depth look at the science behind the Klamath dam removal project, one of the largest of its kind ever attempted.

After the removal of aging dams that had outlived their effectiveness at producing hydroelectric power, the river is once again flowing freely to the Pacific Ocean.

Host Dave Schlom talks to Robert Lusardi from the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences and Barry McCovey Jr., Fisheries biologist for the Yurok Tribe.

Both have been instrumental in driving the science behind the dam removal project, which has involved multiple agencies and NGOs.

Dave also visits with fellow journalist Kat Kerlin from the UC Davis Unfold podcast, which recently took a deep dive into the role science has played in the efforts to save the river's imperiled Chinook salmon fishery and restore the diversity of the watershed which has been suffering from the dams existence for over a century.

Dave Schlom is the longtime host and creator of Blue Dot. From surfing to Voyager in interstellar space, rock guitar to orcas in our imperiled oceans, the topics on Blue Dot are as varied as the host’s interests and connections -- which are pretty limitless! An internationally respected space history journalist, Dave is also deeply fascinated by all aspects of the grand workings of nature’s awesome machinery on scales ranging from galactic to subatomic. And topics take in all aspects of the arts and sciences.
Matt Fidler is a producer and sound designer with over 15 years’ experience producing nationally distributed public radio programs. He has worked for shows such as Freakonomics Radio, Selected Shorts, Studio 360, The New Yorker Radio Hour and The Takeaway. In 2017, Matt launched the language podcast Very Bad Words, hitting the #28 spot in the iTunes podcast charts.