Watch as Salmon Return to the Klamath River System

With the Klamath River flowing completely free for the first time in over 100 years, the next question was how soon the salmon would return. It didn’t take long.

In October, scientists with CalTrout documented Chinook salmon beginning to migrate beyond the site of the former Iron Gate Dam for the first time since 1912. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) then confirmed that on October 16 that a run of Chinook salmon was identified by biologists in a tributary of the Klamath River.

“It’s been over one hundred years since a wild salmon last swam through this reach of the Klamath River” said Damon Goodman, Mt. Shasta/Klamath Regional Director for California Trout. “I am incredibly humbled to witness this moment and share this news, standing on the shoulders of decades of work by our Tribal partners, as the salmon return home. While dam removal is complete, recovery will be a long process. This individual represents the beginning of the next chapter of recovery for Klamath River fish and for the communities that depend on the watershed.”

"c’iyaal’s are culture carriers,” said Natalie Ball, a Klamath Tribes Council Woman, in an ODFW news release. “I'm excited for their return home and for us to be in relation with them again.”

“The return of our relatives the c’iyaal’s is overwhelming for our tribe," added Robert Frost, Klamath Tribes Secretary. "This is what our members worked for and believed in for so many decades. I want to honor that work and thank them for their persistence in the face of what felt like an unmovable obstacle. The salmon are just like our tribal people, and they know where home is and returned as soon as they were able."

Dam removal was the result of a 20-year effort by Tribal nations, conservation groups, and government agencies, aiming to revitalize the Klamath River ecosystem. The project will significantly improve water quality, support the resurgence of salmon populations, and restore critical cultural and subsistence resources for the Indigenous peoples of the Klamath Basin.

“Dam removal on the Klamath River is special not just because of its magnitude and impact, but because of all the people that came together to make this happen,” said Curtis Knight, Executive Director of California Trout. “We started this journey 24 years ago sitting at a negotiation table. Together this amazing community of committed people are pulling off the largest dam removal and restoration project in U.S. history.”

Fly Fisherman has been call for and predicting the removal of the four Klamath River dams for 25-plus years in what is likely the longest running story in Fly Fisherman magazine history. 

For more details on the project, visit caltrout.org.

Click here to watch the dam removal on youtube.com.

Click here to watch salmon return to the Klamath system on youtube.