Photo: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Salmon on the Klamath River have crossed a major threshold a year after four dams were removed along the California-Oregon border, as fish reached the river's headwaters for the first time in more than a century. Multiple salmon were observed in Upper Klamath Lake, as well as its major tributaries, confirming the 300-mile migration of salmon from the Pacific Ocean in Northern California to their historical spawning grounds in southern Oregon."It's a true blessing," said William Ray, Jr., chair of the Klamath Tribes. "We haven't had (salmon) here since 1909." The $500 million dam-removal project, considered the largest in U.S. history, was done with the goal of restoring the vast Klamath watershed. The return of salmon was the benchmark for success. Within weeks of completion of the dam removal last fall, chinook salmon were observed migrating through the footprints of the former hydroelectric facilities. But only last month was a salmon observed getting past the still-existing Keno Dam in Oregon, where questions had remained about whether fish could climb an old fish ladder. On Oct. 6, another salmon was detected scaling the fish ladder at Link River Dam, the last of the river's remaining dams.
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