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The Klamath River spans two states and is one of the West Coast鈥檚 most important rivers for fish. Historically, the river provided a generous abundance of salmon, trout, and other fish species to Indigenous populations, who have inhabited the basin for thousands of years. Today, it remains critical to numerous Native communities, including the Hoopa, Karuk, Klamath, and Yurok tribes, who rely on it for food, weaving materials, and spiritual connection.

But for the past century, a series of dams have blocked the to their historical spawning grounds, with ripple effects to the entire ecosystem.

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Normally, after salmon return to a river to spawn and die, their bodies provide key nutrients to other organisms in the river. This includes the trees that grow along the riverbanks whose roots help prevent erosion. Near Upper Klamath Lake, wetlands once served a vital role in filtering toxins from upper basin lakes and rivers, but they have been drained for agriculture.

An interdependent water-centered ecosystem has been replaced with warm stagnant waters and toxic algae blooms. Many of the fish populations are now dwindling, some of them approaching extinction. And tribal traditions can鈥檛 continue without these life-giving waters.

But thanks to the grassroots actions and intense lobbying of the lower basin tribes, especially the Yurok and Karuk, all of that is about to change.

In 2024, four of the five major dams on the Klamath River will be removed. This will be the largest dam removal process in U.S. history and will have far-reaching effects for the entire West Coast. Tribal efforts for removal began in 1903, when work on the first dam began. In recent decades, these efforts have received growing support from federal, nonprofit, and state agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, where I work as a fisheries biologist and consulted on the impact of dam removal on endangered species. A collaborative network of these groups has been working hard to assemble an environmental framework that can support species once the dams are removed, and minimize any short-term consequences of the dams鈥� removal. The long-term benefits for the Klamath River鈥檚 fish and ecosystem will likely be huge.

鈥淲hen we remove these dams, we鈥檙e restoring the river and also ourselves, because we鈥檙e so interconnected with everything,鈥� says Barry McCovey Jr., a biologist and Yurok Tribal Member.

Cultural and Ecological Importance

The vital nature of salmon to the tribes has been known since well before the dams were built. The Hupa 鈥淟egend of Gard鈥� ensures that 鈥渢he red-fleshed salmon shall never fail in the river鈥� as long as the people practice the spirits鈥� teachings of love and people. 

In a Karuk creation legend, fishes were the first beings created 鈥渢hat have breath,鈥� followed by other animals, and then humans.

With salmon mostly absent from their diets today, the tribes struggle to keep those cultural practices and traditions alive, such as smoking fish and presenting salmon to elders.

鈥淪almon have always been a keystone species for us and for this ecosystem,鈥� Barry says. 鈥淏ut salmon are also important to people outside of the basin, and in the cities.鈥� With the promise of dam removal secured, the tribes are finally seeing a larger societal response toward protecting wild salmon. Barry knows people want to be able to buy wild salmon with the assurance that it鈥檚 sustainable.

鈥淥n the backs of the salmon鈥攁 kind of Trojan horse鈥攔ides the bigger idea of ecosystem restoration,鈥� Barry says. That鈥檚 critical to the tribes鈥� larger message. 鈥淚f we talked about how dam removal is going to help lamprey runs,鈥� he says, 鈥渨ell, we wouldn鈥檛 get the same response or support.鈥�

Historical Fishing Versus Current Fish Runs

In addition to blocking access to hundreds of miles of fishes鈥� upstream habitat, the impoundment of water by the dams increases water temperatures. During a hot summer, river temperatures can reach 22 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit), stressing a fish鈥檚 immune system, and making fish more susceptible to pathogens and parasites in the Klamath, notably and Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (known as 鈥渋ch鈥�), which can both be deadly.

The large reservoirs behind the dams also create conditions for a blue-green algae toxic to humans and dogs, known as , to thrive and deplete water oxygen levels. Kathy McCovey, a Karuk Tribal Member and cultural resource management specialist, says they have to put up signs warning people, especially dogs and kids, not to touch the water. That鈥檚 antithetical to the annual late-summer medicine and renewal ceremonies meant to bond the community together with water and each other. 鈥淚 bathe in the Klamath that time of year for ceremony, so do a lot of us, and we鈥檙e afraid to be going into the river,鈥� Kathy says.

Fish health and abundance, too, are closely tied to poor water quality in the Klamath River.

Barry has seen the Chinook salmon population, which was once the third-largest in the country, plummet dramatically. 鈥淔or most salmon runs on the Klamath, we鈥檙e in the 10% range of historical abundance. Some are even less. Some Chinook runs in recent years have dropped to as little as 2% to 3%.鈥�

The Southern Oregon and Northern California Coho salmon populations, too, have declined sharply since the mid-20th century. The Klamath River commercial coho fishery was closed in 1994 and has remained closed to California ocean fisheries. In 1997, this same population of coho was listed as threatened under the federal .

鈥淭he fish are not really limited by annual rainfall, they鈥檙e limited by not having consistent sources of cold water,鈥� says Toz Soto, fisheries biologist and Karuk Tribal Member. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of cold water in the basin. 鈥� There are springs basically coming right out of the earth, but they flow into the reservoirs above the dams, so fish don鈥檛 have access to that cold water.鈥�

Green sturgeon, Pacific lamprey, and eulachon鈥攁 small, oily fish that can be dried or smoked鈥攁re also of great importance to the tribes, but their runs, too, have diminished in the past few decades. Lampreys use their sucker mouths to adhere to and climb rocks but are unable to navigate through a traditional fish ladder installed near many dams.

Climate change is layered on top of these already challenging conditions: In 2021, the Klamath saw massive juvenile fish die-offs as a result of extreme drought, warm water temperatures, and fish disease.

鈥淔ish runs aren鈥檛 big enough for our harvest to be at the level that we need,鈥� Barry says. Last year, the allocation of fall Chinook salmon for the Yurok Tribe was 6,500. But the Tribe needed 12,000 to meet the subsistence needs of its 7,000 members. Such low numbers mean the Yurok Tribe often leaves its unused. And that has huge ramifications for the lower Klamath Tribe鈥檚 ability to feed itself.

Food Insecurity

Many downriver tribes live far from stores that would provide regular access to healthy foods. For residents of the Yurok reservation, the closest city is Crescent City, which requires a nearly two-hour drive along winding remote roads in need of repair.

鈥淭he Karuk Tribe is located in the mid-Klamath, so it鈥檚 pretty remote,鈥� Soto says. It and the Hoopa tribal lands can only be accessed by Highway 96, which meanders along the river and is susceptible to landslides and flooding. It鈥檚 a lonely drive from where the highway starts near the border with Oregon to the eventual salty coast of Northern California. A drive at dusk reveals long hours of dark stretches without a single headlight or house light to be seen. 鈥淭here鈥檚 not really a lot of access to traditional foods, or even just groceries,鈥� Soto says.

was conducted in 2019 by University of California, Berkeley, researchers with tribal colleagues among the Hoopa, Yurok, Karuk, and Klamath. They found that food-insecurity rates among Native American communities in the Klamath River Basin were higher than in any other Native American communities studied to date: 92% of households were suffering from some level of food insecurity. More than half experienced very low food security.

According to the study, 鈥淭here is a strong demand for Native foods and fresh fruits and vegetables that is not being met.鈥� Some 70% of all households in the Klamath River Basin rarely or never have access to desired Native foods. Still, nearly 40% of households rely on fishing, hunting, and home-canned foods to minimize food insecurity.

Kathy McCovey knows this firsthand. She says during the pandemic, even basic staples like beans and rice were sold out. 鈥淚f there is a kink in the system for us here in rural area[s],鈥� she says, 鈥渢hat鈥檚 pretty dire circumstances.鈥�

As traditional foods, also known as 鈥�,鈥� have been removed from Native diets, the rates of diabetes and other diseases have risen, with about 83% of Klamath tribal households reporting at least one person in their household suffering from health issues, including high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity.

Of dire need are foods sourced from what is traditional and accessible to the tribes: earth and river. have shown that restoring more natural flows to the river would provide many significant benefits, including the protection and restoration of anadromous fisheries and a connection to wetlands that are of vital importance to the tribes and their health.

A Future With First Foods

With the future promising a more natural river hydrology with seasonal ebbs and flows and cleaner water, tribal people can start looking forward to the return of ceremony and first foods on their tables again.

Justin Alvarez, a biologist working with the Hoopa, is optimistic that with the dams out, new populations of lamprey will make their way into areas even above Upper Klamath Lake. Kathy remembers large freshwater clams once taken from the river. With natural sediment deposits from a free-flowing river, the Yurok may have access again to healthy runs of eulachon, which they may be able to trade with other tribes farther upstream.

Other first foods will benefit from the return of annual spring floods, colder and faster-moving waters, and natural sediment dispersal. Newly expanded wetlands and woodlands could provide bulbs, like camas and wapato, which can be boiled and eaten like potatoes. Mushrooms like morels appear after the flooding of riverbanks, as do blackberries.

Eventually, as the river restores itself, newly expanded oak woodlands could return acorn mush to the plate and once again provide habitat for deer and elk, too.

鈥淩emoving dams is a huge step towards restoring balance to the Klamath River. And that鈥檚 who we are, as a people, as a culture,鈥� Barry McCovey says. 鈥淲e are always striving towards a restorative and balanced ecosystem.鈥�

CORRECTION: This article was updated at 12:46 p.m. PT on Feb. 28, 2023, to replace an image that was mislabeled as Toz Soto. Read our corrections policy here.