First Klamath River Salmon Reported In Oregon In 114 Years, Weeks After Remaining Dam Removals End [View all]

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – For the first time in 114 years, biologists from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) have observed a fall-run Chinook salmon returning to spawning in the Klamath Basin in Oregon. On October 16, the ODFW documented this bright, beautiful fish in a tributary to the Klamath River, Spencer Creek, above the former J.C. Boyle Dam.

This is the first anadromous fish — a fish that migrates up rivers to spawn — to return to the Klamath Basin in Oregon since 1912 when the first of four PacifiCorp hydroelectric dams was constructed, blocking migration to historic habitat, according to an announcement from the ODFW. Hopefully, we will see the return of coho salmon and steelhead to the upper watershed soon.

Make no mistake about it — the dam removal couldn’t have happened without the protests, rallies, direct action and other efforts by Tribal members, environmentalists and fishermen over the past 20 years, including trips to Scotland when a Scottish corporation owned the dams and to Omaha, Nebraska after Warren Buffett bought the PacifICorp dams.

I have reported on the battle to restore the Klamath River in an array of publications since the 1990s — and was the lone journalist or one of the few journalists at some press conferences and events by the Tribes, environmentalists and fishermen when the movement for removing the dams began over 20 years ago. The return of salmon to Oregon waters is very welcome news to me. This salmon traveled over 230 miles from the Pacific Ocean to reach Spencer Creek only a few weeks after Klamath River dams were removed to ensure fish passage from California to Oregon.

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https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/10/18/2277698/-First-salmon-since-1912-spotted-in-Oregon-s-Klamath-Basin-after-dam-removal-completed?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web