Biologists with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that they found a single fall-run Chinook on Oct. 16 in a tributary of the Klamath River upstream of the spot where J.C. Boyle Dam was recently dismantled. This marks an incredible milestone, as salmon have been spotted in Oregon for the first time in over a century due to the restoration of a free-flowing Klamath River.
Reed and other Indigenous leaders and activists spent decades campaigning for the dams to be removed, believing that restoring the river would help struggling salmon populations recover. The fact that the fish are going up above the dams now, to the most prolific spawning and rearing habitat in North America, definitely shines a very bright light on the future.
With those dams now gone, members of Native tribes along the river express optimism that salmon, central to their cultures and fishing traditions, will thrive again. The long-term effects of the dam removals are yet to be determined, but the initial sightings of salmon provide a hopeful outlook for restoration efforts.
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