Klamath dam removals spur rapid salmon return, tribes and agencies say

California and tribal leaders hailed the removal of four dams on the Klamath River as a milestone for salmon recovery and regional restoration. Crystal Robinson, senior environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said the project restored volitional passage in October 2024 and that “fish were documented just 8 days later in historic habitats of California and 14 days later in Oregon.”

Robinson told the joint committee the removal cleared access to roughly 400 miles of anadromous habitat, exposed reservoir footprints that are being revegetated, and initiated monitoring required under FERC permits and the Magnuson‑Stevens Act. She reported that in 2025, 13,008 adult Chinook migrated past the former Iron Gate site and 1,245 returned to Fall Creek Hatchery, roughly 10 percent of that run. The department plans ongoing habitat restoration, monitoring and adaptive management to track production in reoccupied habitats.

Tribal leaders described the removals as part of cultural and ecological healing. Yurok Chairman Joseph James said salmon are “our identity” and credited tribes, state partners and NGOs for persevering to make the project happen. Karuk Chair Atterberry stressed the need to protect cold‑water refugia—Scott, Shasta and Trinity tributaries—and to combine tribal ecological knowledge with modern science to sustain diverse salmon life histories. Both chairs asked the state to continue funding restoration, protect instream flows and defend water protections in federal processes.

Experts cautioned that restoration is only a first step. Dr. Craig Tucker described the result as “an example of remarkable engineering, good science and good policy,” and emphasized that long‑term recovery requires diverse habitats and robust flows to support spring, summer and winter runs. The committee also discussed pending federal actions, including a revision of biological opinions that could affect irrigation projects in the basin; tribal and state speakers urged continued state engagement and legal readiness to defend protections.