On the Klamath, Dam Removal Alone is Not Enough
Until now, American Rivers has trained our focus on dam removal. Now we are transitioning to the next chapter: post-dam removal river restoration.
Though a century of damming has had one of the largest impacts on the health of the Klamath River, its ecosystems, and the fish and wildlife that depend on them, they are not the only obstacles the river faces on the road to recovery. It is difficult to understate the ecological significance of the four dam removals on the Klamath River: with over 400 vertical feet scheduled for removal in 2023 and 2024, its sheer scale is why dam removal is such an important start to the river’s recovery. Now that the dam removals are underway, we are shifting our focus forward to improve the health of the entire watershed, from the meadows of the Upper Klamath downstream to the estuary at the Pacific and the tributaries in between. Below are three post-removal restoration priorities that are key to watershed-wide recovery.
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- Establishing environmental flows: Environmental flows (water allocated for ecosystems, rather than directly for human use) are a big deal in the Klamath and its tributaries. An undammed river is not necessarily a wild river, and we need to designate water for the environment to enhance the health of our ecosystems. In the Klamath watershed, some of the undammed rivers like the Scott (which is vital for native fish and wild salmon) run dry year after year because of agricultural and municipal water use. No single person or place is responsible for diverting the river; but together, all these small diversions are creating severely degraded and unhealthy rivers. Setting environmental flows help people know when and where water is available for diversions, and when and where it is critical for a healthy river.
- Restoring the Upper Klamath: Though four major dams are being removed, the Klamath River will not be free-flowing. The upper river remains dammed, with Keno Dam and Link River Dam still in place. The water that runs through these dams is managed to maintain a steady water supply for agricultural water users and wildlife refuges, and the landscape around the river has mostly been converted for agriculture use. These developments have eliminated most of the wetlands in the headwaters that were crucial for shallow groundwater storage and improved water quality in the river, and many waterways run through many active working ranches and farms. While land management and water management have improved substantially from earlier practices, the damage done in previous decades remains. We need to scale stream restoration and habitat restoration so we can promote watershed-wide river health. Some of this work has already started, but more work remains. By working with landowners and rightsholders to reconcile how people live and work with rivers, we can provide a model of healthy rivers and healthy communities
- Restoring the Klamath’s Headwaters: The headwaters of the Klamath extend far beyond upper Klamath region in Oregon. The headwaters of tributaries like the Shasta, Scott, Salmon, and Trinity rivers play a vital role in the overall health and biodiversity of the Klamath watershed. Healthy headwaters create healthy rivers, and as the Klamath flows downstream, it draws water from the surrounding landscape. But with larger and more destructive fires fueled by climate change, water quality can be seriously impacted. As wet mountain meadows dry, they lose the capacity to store and filter water. These processes are critical to river health. We are taking the lessons learned from our meadow restoration and forestry management work in the Sierra Nevada with the Sierra Meadows Partnership (SMP) and integrating them into our work in the Klamath. American Rivers has joined the core team of the Klamath Meadows Partnership (KMP), a coalition dedicated to scaling the sort of work that can build towards resilience in Klamath’s headwaters and a more resilient future across the region.
Until now, American Rivers has trained our focus on dam removal, and for good reason. Now we are transitioning to the next chapter: post-dam removal river restoration. This work truly takes a village and depends on the combined efforts of Tribes , private philanthropy, the state and federal government, NGOs, private landowners, and impacted communities. To learn more about how to get involved as we look towards our collective future, please reach out to Pat Callahan at pcallahan@americanrivers.org.
9 responses to “On the Klamath, Dam Removal Alone is Not Enough”
The water quality of the Klamath River must be improved. Unpaved roads must be decreased and the remaining roads must be paved. More LODGING !!, hiking, bike riding trails, hiking trails, kayaking & canoeing rentals shops, bike rental shops must be built to increase tourism and recreation activities. New lodging must be clean, comfortable, and affordable for low and middle income people. There must be lots of shuttle buses from Crescent City and from the Shasta Lake area. Gary Hartung, Thousand Oaks, CA, hikersierras123@protonmail.com
I grew up near the Klamath River where my Father started teaching me to fly fish at age four in 1956. When this dam removal project was first proposed, I was extremely concerned about the sediment behind the dams and advocated for it to be hauled away after the water was released, slowly, from the surface. Unfortunately, our governor chose economics over fish, habitat and conservation. This river system will be dead for a decade or more, with average flows. If we go into another prolonged draught, the consequences will be even more dire. This is another example of poor decision making without proper consideration of long term issues. My brother sent me a video of the river where it passes under I 5 yesterday-terribly sad for the whole county and everyone who lives along the river banks. I sincerely hope that there will be accountability for those that made these bad decisions.
I grew up on the Klamath river in the early 50’s . The fishing was fantastic. Logging right down to the river edge and the dams among other factors destroyed the Klamath.The same people who said the dam would never come down are now saying it will never return to its natural state. It took over a hundred years to destroy it. Lets give a couple of years to recover.
I’ve wished for these dams to be removed for more than 50 years. Thank you for your help in getting this done.
On another note, I lost my best friend and long time fishing partner just 4 years ago. He also wanted the dams removed and together we did what we could to make it happen. We had plans of fishing the “free” river in the years following the removal of the dams. He loved the Klamath canyon, so we held a service for him at one of our favorite fishing spots, next to the river he loved.
This process of damn removal will come back an bite on you.
The original plan was to truck out the (now re tested and deemed toxic as all hell) sediment. Now that the powers that be have decided that will be to expensive, the toxic heavy metals (lead mercury chromium iron ect ect) will be left to leech in to the water effecting the edible fish population for centuries to come. As of now there is a no contact order with the water of the klamath river.
Greeting, In 2019 I purchased 56 acres with a half a mile of the Klamath River, which is approximately 18 miles from The Department of Fish and Wildlife, 8638 Lakeview and .5 mile down river from the tree of Heaven Camp Grounds.
I am interested in doing a Aquatourism project with American Rivers and local organizations in my area playing a meaningful role in helping with the education, restoration and preservation of the Klamath River.
I would greatly appreciate being contacted regarding this project.
I have only 21 acres at Sycan Flat. Have been sowing some native plants and grasses for 4 years now. The pinus adults have barely held on due to the current drought. Seeds remain viable for years, so here’s hoping to increased rains in the future and the remote possibility of miniature buffalo returning to the Flats…
Restoring the Klamath River requires removing the River’s “sediment impairment” and that requires addressing the hundreds of thousands of miles of unpaved and poorly maintained logging roads on national forests and industrial timberlands within the Basin. Those logging roads bleed fine sediment into our streams and thence to the Klamath during even moderate storm events. It is those roads which created and which continue the River’s sediment impairment as declared by the North Coast Water Board.
The Forest Service only has funds to maintain 25% of its roads within the Basin. If we want to restore the River and its salmon we must get the FS and Industrial Timber to decommission and put to bed the unpaved roads they don’t and can’t afford to maintain.
Unmaintained unpaved roads always bleed sediment into our streams. For more on this source of our River’s impairment see KlamBlog at http://www.KlamBlog.blogspot.com