Biggest Klamath Stories of 2022
2022 was a tumultuous year on the Klamath filled with highs and lows. From contentious water allocations and the destructive McKinney Fire to Klamath youth being featured in Vogue and the largest river restoration project in the world set into motion, it was one for the books.
Many of this last year's events will have lasting effects on the region and we will continue to follow the stories as they develop. Explore the story's below before we jump into the news of 2023 next week.
News
Beaver Dams Help Wildfire-Ravaged Ecosystems Recover Long after Flames Subside - Scientific American
February 7, 2022 - Dams mop up Bootleg Fire debris that would otherwise kill fish and other downstream wildlife, new observations suggest
Restoring the Klamath Basin - OPB
April 1, 2022 - Thanks to a large infusion of federal funding, more than $160 million, stakeholders in the Klamath Basin are submitting proposals to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for restoration projects. The Klamath Tribes are one of the groups submitting a proposal. Mark Buettner is an environmental scientist for the Klamath Tribes. We hear more about what the plan looks like.
Farmers, tribes in Klamath Basin get the grim news on this year’s water restrictions - OPB
April 11, 2022 - Farms that rely on irrigation from a depleted, federally managed lake on the California-Oregon border, along with a Native American tribe fighting to protect fragile salmon, will both receive extremely limited amounts of water this summer as a historic drought and record-low reservoir levels drag on in the U.S. West.
Klamath River Salmon Run celebrates its 19th year | Jefferson Public Radio
May 12, 2022 - The annual Salmon Run returns for its 19th year on Thursday. The four-day run is organized by a variety of tribes along the Klamath River, including the Hoopa, Yurok, Modoc, Klamath, and Karuk, as a way to bring awareness to the health of the waterway and its declining salmon populations.
As the Klamath Basin faces another dry year, the effects are far-reaching - OPB
June 14, 2022 - The Klamath Basin has been plagued by drought and a lack of water for years. Last year, the region faced one of the worst droughts on record, and this year Gov. Kate Brown declared a drought emergency in Klamath County for the third year in a row.
Ranchers, tribes, state clash over Shasta River water - CalMatters
AUGUST 30, 2022 - A standoff over shutting down ranchers’ pumps signals a flareup of water wars as California is gripped by seemingly endless drought. “To hell with it. We’re starting the pumps,” one Siskiyou County rancher said.
A New Series, “Tokala,” Spotlights BIPOC Youth Climate Activists | Vogue
At just seven years old, Hoopa activist and water protector Danielle Rey Frank attended her first protest on the Hoopa Valley Reservation in Northern California where she grew up. Frank is one of many inspiring young people who are the subject of a new series spotlighting a generation of BIPOC climate activists.
Community of Klamath River near California-Oregon border razed by deadly wildfire - oregonlive.com
Aug. 03, 2022 - The scenic Northern California hamlet of Klamath River was home to about 200 people, a community center where they gathered, a corner store and a post office. But the wildfire raging through the forested region near the Oregon state line jumped the river last weekend, killing four residents of the tiny community and turning most of its homes and businesses to ash.
McKinney fire debris flow kills Klamath River fish - Los Angeles Times
Flash flooding in a Northern California burn scar triggered a massive debris flow that is now suspected of killing scores of Klamath River fish.
Nearly extinct, California condors return thanks to Yurok, scientists - Washington Post
Once pushed to the brink of extinction, condors are soaring in Northern California skies again with the help of an Indigenous tribe and a team of scientists
‘Cheerleading for a broken system’: fire exclusion in the Klamath National Forest | Jefferson Public Radio
September 10, 2022 - A conversation with Will Harling of the Mid Klamath Watershed Council about the McKinney Fire and the need to talk more about beneficial fire in our public lands.
What if Indigenous women ran controlled burns? (Femme fire) — High Country News – Know the West
The Karuk Tribe’s first-of-its-kind training seeks to extinguish hypermasculinity in firefighting culture.
'Momentous:' US advances largest dam demolition in history | AP News
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — U.S. regulators approved a plan Thursday to demolish four dams on a California river and open up hundreds of miles of salmon habitat that would be the largest dam removal and river restoration project in the world when it goes forward.
