Dam Removal Ahead of Schedule!
...Klamath Dam removal continues to proceed with Klamath River Renewal Corporation reporting that they are even a little ahead of schedule. This is great news! And the great news keeps coming. After breaching dams in January, many locals became concerned about impacts to water quality. As reported below, recent water quality tests give the Klamath a clean bill of health. And, after losing most of the initial release of hatchery fish to gas bubble disease early this year, CA Fish and Wildlife have successfully released hundreds of thousands of hatchery salmon to the river with more on the way later this year. The revegetation of the reservoir footprints has yielded a super bloom of poppies, lupine, and other native flowers within the footprint of the former reservoirs. But the biggest story of this cycle is the decision by Governor Newsom to rematriate 2,800 acres of newly re-emerged lands to the Shasta Indian Nation, a Tribe violently dispossessed of these lands prior to dam construction. Still, we have a ways to go. In Case You Missed It, recreational and commercial salmon fishing was banned this year by fishery managers. While we are making progress, there is still much work to do before we bring the salmon home and get fishermen back out on the water. Enjoy!
News
California Gov. Newsom returns land to Shasta tribe as river returns
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is returning 2,800 acres of land to the Shasta Indian Nation as part of the largest-ever dam removal on the Klamath.
Recent Klamath River water quality testing shows improvement | News | heraldandnews.com
Water tests in the mainstream Klamath River indicate temporary increases in heavy metal that accumulated behind the four dams that were removed “have now been resolved,” and that the water is safe for recreation, agricultural uses and some public drinking.
500,000 salmon introduced to Klamath River, 1.75 million more on the way – Times-Standard
Tuesday saw the release of about 90,000 coho salmon – a threatened species – which reside in rivers for around a year before migrating, precipitating Wednesday’s 400,000 chinook salmon, who go stra…
Scientists are tracking ecological changes as the Klamath River dams come down - High Country News
A giant sediment pulse — millions of cubic yards of silt, clay and dead algae — trapped for decades behind the dams is now flowing downstream.
Commercial salmon fishermen eye Klamath dam removal with cautious hope - OPB
Will the restoration of Klamath River runs help restore California’s struggling salmon fishing industry?
In Case You Missed It...
Recreational Fishing on the Klamath and Trinity Shut Down For the Second Consecutive Year | Lost Coast Outpost | Humboldt County News
The California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) voted unanimously this week to close in-river salmon sport fishing in the Klamath River Basin and Central Valley rivers for the second consecutive year.