A massive female Chinook salmon flips onto her side in the shallow water, thrashing vigorously as her tail carves a nest in the riverbed. Her glistening body reflects the sunlight, while nearby males jostle and clash, competing for the chance to fertilise her eggs.

These scenes are the culmination of decades-long efforts by local tribes to restore salmon to the Klamath River, once blocked by four hydroelectric dams spanning more than 400 miles (644 km) of the river and its tributaries along the Oregon-California border.

Less than a month after the historic removal of these dams—the largest such project in U.S. history—salmon are returning to spawn in cool, pristine creeks that had been inaccessible for generations.

Video footage captured by the Yurok Tribe shows hundreds of salmon now thriving in tributaries between the sites of the former Iron Gate and Copco dams. This resurgence offers a hopeful sign for the rebirth of the river and its ecosystems.

“Seeing salmon spawning above the former dams fills my heart,” said Joseph L James, chairman of the Yurok Tribe. “Our salmon are coming home. Klamath Basin tribes fought for decades to make this day a reality because our future generations deserve to inherit a healthier river from the headwaters to the sea.”

The Klamath River originates in southern Oregon, winding through rugged, forested mountains in northern California before emptying into the Pacific Ocean. The removal of the dams, completed on October 2, represents a landmark victory for local tribes.

For years, they had protested, testified, and filed lawsuits to highlight the environmental destruction caused by the dams, which had devastated salmon populations by blocking access to their historic spawning grounds and contributing to water-quality issues.

The environmental benefits of the project are already becoming apparent. Toz Soto, fisheries program manager for the Karuk Tribe, noted a significant reduction in harmful algae blooms since the dams were removed.

In October, the Klamath River’s water temperature averaged 8°C (14°F) cooler during the day compared to the same period over the past nine years, according to the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, the nonprofit overseeing the project.

“All in all, the fish that came up this year were really healthy,” Soto said. “I didn’t see fish with bacterial infections and things like that, so water temperature’s already having an impact on the fishes’ health.”

Salmon have wasted no time reclaiming their ancestral waterways. Experts have identified 42 redds—salmon egg nests—and counted up to 115 Chinook salmon in a single day in Spencer Creek, a tributary above the former JC Boyle dam, the furthest upstream of the four removed dams. Mark Hereford of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed these encouraging developments.

“They’re showing us where the good habitat is; they’re showing us where there’s a lack of habitat,” said Barry McCovey Jr, director of the Yurok tribal fisheries department. “So we can use these fish to inform us as river managers, as scientists, where restoration needs to take place.”

Built between 1918 and 1962 by PacifiCorp, the dams were designed to generate electricity but disrupted the natural flow of the river, which was once the third-largest salmon-producing waterway on the West Coast. These barriers altered the lifecycle of the region’s salmon, which spend most of their lives in the Pacific Ocean before returning to cold mountain streams to lay eggs.

The dams also had limited utility, producing power for only 70,000 homes at full capacity without providing irrigation, drinking water, or flood control. The swift return of salmon to these tributaries has exceeded expectations.

Tribal member McCovey expressed optimism, saying the rapid rebound of salmon offers hope for the future of the river and its ecosystems.

“Out of all the milestones that we’ve had, this one to me is the most significant,” he said. “It feels like catharsis. It feels like the right path.”

The Klamath’s revival marks a profound step toward healing for the tribes and the natural world they have long fought to protect.

 

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