The largest dam removal effort in U.S. history is complete

After decades of battles by native tribes, the four dams on the Klamath River that devastated salmon populations have been demolished.

• The construction of the dams had reduced the presence of salmon and deprived the indigenous peoples of their main form of subsistence.
• In 2022 the U.S.Federal Energy Regulatory Commission had given the green light for dismantling.
• Now the dams are no longer there and work has begun to redevelop the area around the Klamath River.

Native American peoples living on the river Klamath they did it.After decades of battles the four dams which devastated the population of salmon and compromised the main form of food subsistence of local tribes have been dismantled.

The final approval for the demolition was received in 2022, for an estimated cost of 450 million dollars.Now salmon will be able to swim and reproduce again in the free-flowing waters that flow between California and Oregon and an increase of more than80 percent of their presence in the coming years.In parallel with the dismantling of the dams, the redevelopment of neighboring lands, so that the Klamath River ecosystem can return to what it once was.

The Battle of the Klamath River

The river Klamath it is the second largest waterway in California but originates in the mountains of Oregon.Until a century ago it was the third most populated river in salmon of the American west coast, then the construction of several dams before the 1960s and in parallel the effects of climate changes have put the reproduction of the species into crisis, at the same time favoring the development of toxic algae.

For decades environmental activists and Native Americans they fought to have the demolition of the dams ordered.On the one hand there is a question of safeguarding salmon, whose number is now high 5 percent about what it used to be, on the other hand the need to give back to the indigenous peoples their form of traditional food subsistence in the area.The battle became more bitter after the 2002, when there was an unprecedented death of salmon.

In the 2009 an initial agreement had been reached for the demolition of the four dams on the Klamath River, but then the financing to realize it.In 2022, however, the U.S.federal energy regulatory commission gave the final approval for the demolition of the four dams on the Klamath River, declaring the victory of the local indigenous tribes.

Dismantling and redevelopment

The first dam was dismantled as early as 2022, the last at the end of August 2024.Was the largest dam removal effort in US history, led to the reopening of over 600 kilometers of the river and the water began to flow freely again.

The cost of dismantling the dams was approx 450 million dollars, to which the company that manages the dams contributed half, Pacific Corp.According to projections, over the next few 30-40 years Klamath River Salmon Population Will Increase81 percent, moving closer to the values ​​prior to the construction of the dams.But there's more.

In addition to the removal of the dams, the intervention involves the redevelopment of the entire area around the river, damaged directly and indirectly by the infrastructures built last century.I am 890 the hectares of land affected, where teams including members of indigenous tribes began planting seeds to make vegetation flourish again and encourage the return of animal species.The process will be long, the area will be cared for and monitored for years, while the waters will become increasingly cleaner and salmon will repopulate the river.The river Klamath it will return to what it once was or maybe even better, like they underlined the experts who are working on its redevelopment.