It’s official! Four salmon-blocking dams are coming down on the Klamath River

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) today approved the staff recommendation to surrender the license for the four lower PacifiCorp dams on the Klamath River in California and Oregon and begin the dam removal process.

By Dan Bacher

The vote follows the August 27th release of the FERC staff’s final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) recommending the removal of the lower four Klamath River Dams.

Dam removal on the Klamath will open up over 240 stream-miles of salmon and steelhead habitat that has been blocked to fish migration for over 100 years. The project, the largest of its kind in U.S. history, is funded by dam owner PacifiCorp and a voter-approved California bond measure.

Klamath Basin Tribes, commercial  and recreational fishermen and environmentalists applauded the vote today.

“The Klamath salmon are coming home,” said Joseph L. James, the Chairman of the Yurok Tribe. “The people have earned this victory and with it, we carry on our sacred duty to the fish that have sustained our people since the beginning of time.”

”Today’s victory was well earned by the thousands of people who fought for clean water, healthy fisheries, and environmental justice for Klamath River communities,” Karuk Chairman Russell “Buster” Attebery said in a statement. “I am grateful to everyone, from the youth to the elders, Governors Newsom and Brown, and the team from PacifiCorp who made this victory possible.”

“Congratulations to all those who poured their blood, sweat and tears into making this happen. Water and fish health are at the heart of our identity as Native People and we are looking forward to seeing a healthier watershed and fishery which will result in healthier communities for all Klamath Basin tribes,” said Hoopa Valley Tribe Chairman Joe Davis. “Now we must keep the momentum going and we are looking forward to working with all of our neighbors and partners in that effort.”

Upstream of the dams, the Klamath Tribes of Oregon are anxious to see salmon return. “Our people have been without c’iyaals (salmon) for over a century. We welcome the fish home to the Upper Klamath Basin with open arms,” said Klamath Tribes Chairman Clayton Dumont.

Commercial salmon fishing families along the West Coast are also celebrating the FERC vote.

“Restoring the Klamath gives our struggling salmon fishing industry a chance to survive,” said Vivian Hilliwell, a former commercial salmon harvester and now the Watershed Conservation Director for the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA). “The possibility of revitalized Klamath fish runs gives us hope that we can continue our tradition of bringing healthy wild salmon to dinner tables across America.”

Before the vote, FERC Chairman Richard Glick and other commissioners commented on why they supported dam removal on the Klamath River.

In issuing the Final License Surrender Order, Glick stated, “Dam removal makes sense in large part due to fish and wildlife protections. But there is a discussion in the order on the impact on Tribes and the ability to have their traditions and cultural practices improved… I think it’s a very important issue. A number of years back the commission did not think about the impact of our decisions on Tribes. That’s an important element in today’s order…”

The document for license surrender, decommissioning and removal of four dams – Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2, J.C. Boyle and Iron Gate – contains the FERC staff’s evaluation of the environmental, cultural and economic impacts associated with dam removal.

The vote took place nearly 20 years after a massive fish kill left over 60,000 adult salmon rotting along the banks of the Klamath River on the Yurok Reservation in September 2002, a disaster that I was one of the first journalists to cover. The fish perished from disease spurred by low, warm water conditions under abysmal water management of the river by the G.W. Bush Administration.

“The fish kill is a lot worse than everybody thinks,” said a shaken Walt Lara, then the Requa representative to the Yurok Tribal Council, in a phone interview with me on Monday, September 23, 2002. “It’s a lot larger than anything I’ve seen reported on the T.V. news or in the newspapers. The whole chinook run will be impacted, probably by 85 to 95 percent. And the fish are dying as we speak. They’re swimming around in circles. They bump up against your legs when you’re standing in the water. These are beautiful, chrome-bright fish that are dying, not fish that are already spawned out.”

The fish kill served as a lightning rod to unite Klamath River Tribes, environmentalists, fishing groups and the public around the cause of dam removal and salmon restoration on the Klamath, the second largest producer of Chinook salmon in California next to the Sacramento River at this time.

“After the 2002 Fish Kill we committed ourselves to defending our river and our cultures no matter what it would take,” said Molli Myers, co-founder of the Klamath Justice Coalition and member of the Karuk Tribe. “That kind of extraordinary commitment by ordinary Indians is what led to this victory.”

Today’s Klamath River salmon returns are less than 5% of their historical abundance with some runs of salmon completely extirpated from the system, according to a press statement from a coalition of Tribes and groups. Dams deny salmon access to hundreds of miles of historical habitat, degrade water quality, and foster the spread of fish diseases. Scientific studies and dam removal efforts in other watersheds demonstrate that dam removal can reverse these trends.

“This is a historic day for the Tribes of the Klamath River and for Indigenous People all over the world. When we act together with a unified voice no power in this universe can stop us,” said Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group Principal and Yurok Tribal member Amy Cordalis.

“This is one of the final permits and decisions needed for dam removal, and is the most important approval,” said Regina Chichizola, co-director of Save California Salmon. “It is only happening  due to the Klamath River Tribes and communities refusing to give up. Congratulations to the Klamath River Communities.”

“I inherited the responsibility to take care of my relatives, the salmon, from my father,” concluded Save California Salmon Education Director Charley Reed, who was seven years old when with the Klamath fish kill set the “Bring the Salmon Home” movement in motion. “While I have spent most of my life as an activist at protests and rallies, my hope is for my children to spend more time fishing and less time protesting.”

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is composed of up to five commissioners who are appointed by the President of the United States with the advice and consent of the Senate. Commissioners serve five-year terms, and have an equal vote on regulatory matters. The current commissioners are Chairman Richard Glick, Commissioner James Danly, Commissioner Allison Clements, Commissioner Mark C. Christie, and Commissioner Willie L. Phillips.