After a tremendous environmental effort, salmon have returned to the Klamath River. Weeks after massive dams were demolished, salmon are now swimming upstream and spawning in the upper reaches of the Klamath River, where they had been absent for a century. In fact, Christina Snider-Ashtari, Secretary of Tribal Affairs in the Office of California Governor Gavin Newsom, described the return of salmon to areas where they had been banned for over 100 years as a miracle. Following the demolition of a large dam, the salmon are once again migrating upstream, and the news has been met with great joy.
Part of the agreement involved supporting “trail reduction facilities,” or fish screens
To provide context, the 2016 Klamath Energy and Facilities Agreement, signed between the state, federal government, and other stakeholders in the Klamath River Basin, established the goal of limiting new regulatory burdens for irrigators resulting from the reintroduction of fish species, such as salmon. Part of the agreement involved supporting “trail reduction facilities,” or fish screens. Regarding the importance of restoring salmon, Christina Snider-Ashtari, Secretary of Tribal Affairs in the Office of California Governor Gavin Newsom, said, “It’s a statewide plan, and it’s for salmon and rainbow trout, which are native California fish, and it has been for several years.”
After years of activism by an Indigenous-led movement to restore rivers to their natural flow, the United States undertook the world’s largest dam removal project. As mentioned above, constructing fish screens is no easy task, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), as they must be adapted to the specific flow and sediment levels of each location. “The conditions of the Klamath River preclude the use of simple, prefabricated designs,” the agency stated. These screens are crucial to the district’s Ady Canal Reconnection Project. Demand for fish screens from landowners has exceeded supply, the ODFW indicated. The plan aims to allow fish to pass through the Ady Canal into the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge, thus connecting the habitat to the Klamath River and providing potential new spawning grounds for salmon.
“We’re seeing all these things again that restore balance to a huge ecosystem, and that’s a really beautiful thing to see”
So far, Chinook salmon have returned to the upper Klamath River for the first time in 100 years, and now Coho salmon are reappearing after 60 years. “We’ve been saying this all along, that just like these species that have been traveling as part of their life cycles up this river for millennia, since time immemorial, if you take these dams away, they’re going to remember it. It’s not rocket science not to understand,” exclaimed Christina Snider-Ashtari.
On the other hand, as we mentioned earlier, the Klamath Drainage District continues to collaborate with federal and state agencies on a $4.5 million multi-screen installation project on the Ady Canal. The first screen is planned for 2026, subject to funding approval. “We’re seeing all these things again that restore balance to a huge ecosystem, and that’s a really beautiful thing to see,” said Snider-Ashtari. She also emphasized the importance of salmon and its significance to Indigenous communities: “It’s really fantastic to see the communities in the area seeing a glimmer of hope for the first time in a long time. To be able to see now that what they said before was right, is right. I think the fact that this is happening so quickly also validates Indigenous knowledge and practices.”
There are some issues that still need to be finalized, such as the current concern that the fish might not reach agricultural land. But overall, it’s good news that salmon are able to return to an environment they haven’t visited for decades. In any case, it will also be important to keep in mind that the rest of the ecosystem cannot be neglected and that any practices implemented must respect the local flora and fauna.