Looking to the Future – Dam Removal on the Klamath

Nothing can be more momentous to our community and restoration in the watershed than the removal of four dams on the Klamath River. The removal of Copco 2 – the smallest of the dams has begun and will be removed this year. The other three dams will be drawn down in January of 2023 and removed throughout the year.  A great article – “Undamming (and Restoring) the Klamath” by Thadeus Greenson gives insight into the removal and restoration process over the next few years.

There will be a lot of money coming down from both State and Federal sources ($162M via the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law alone) to fund ongoing restoration efforts over many years. MKWC has started to receive some funding towards this effort, along with many other groups working in the watershed.

Here are just a few resources for information about this massive effort:

The lead organization for dam removal is the Klamath River Renewal Corporation. Their website is: https://klamathrenewal.org there are many job opportunities listed on their site for those wanting to get involved. 

The lead contractor for restoration is Resource Environmental Solutions, who along with area Tribes will plant up to 19 billion native seeds as the Klamath dams come out and reservoirs are drained. More information in this article from Oregon Public Broadcasting, “After the dams: Restoring the Klamath River will take billions of seeds”.

Another great resource for learning more about the Dam Removal is Bring the Salmon Home: Understanding Dam Removal.

Klamath Basin Salmon Restoration Request for Proposals - the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, will award up to $1,409,500 for Klamath River projects. To get an idea of the variety of projects being funded, check out their website.

Current as of May 2023

Digital rendition of what the river will look like after dam removal.

https://bringthesalmonhome.org/understanding-dam-removal/#why