The Klamath Tribes’ Ambodat Department documented the first naturally hatched Chinook salmon within the Upper Klamath Lake in more than a century, as observers witness promising signs of the species’ return following dam removal.
Klamath Tribes Chairman William Ray Jr. said the disappearance of Chinook salmon, which his tribe historically relied on for food and cultural practices, has been devastating.
A newly-hatched Chinook salmon gets measured by the Klamath Tribes Ambodat. Young, naturally hatched salmon have been found in a tributary of the Upper Klamath River for the first time since the removal of four dams on the river.
Courtesy of Mark Martin-Klamath Tribes Ambodat / JPR
“We’ve been harmed as a tribe for so long,” Ray said. “Our culture, our subsistence and, in particular, the medicine that those fish gave us.”
He hopes the return of Chinook salmon will lead to a cultural renewal for tribal members. But he noted there is still a long way to go.
“It can’t be complete unless you have a fishable population of fish,” Ray said.
Fish provided a healthy diet for regional tribes, he explained, and he blames high rates of diabetes, hypertension and obesity on losing that food source.
“The survival of these fish, along with c’waam and koptu, was promised to the Klamath Tribes in the Treaty of 1864,” the Ambodat Department said in a statement. “We continue to fight for this land and the revival of all treaty-guaranteed resources promised to us through the Treaty and the United States Constitution Article VI, Clause 2.”
Last year, researchers documented the first adult Chinook salmon in a tributary of the Upper Klamath since dam removal. The Klamath Tribes fisheries department said the presence of young salmon is a step toward restoring self-sustaining populations.
Observers deployed rotary screw traps in the Sprague and Williamson rivers, capturing fish moving downstream without harm.
Ray said the tribes are also closely monitoring water quality in the tributaries that support fish species.
A coalition of state and tribal partners completed the removal of four dams along the Klamath River in 2024, the largest dam-removal project in U.S. history.
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