Klamath River

For members of the Klamath basin tribes who had fought for the river dams’ removal and organized the historic first descent of the newly free-flowing waters, the signing of an international accord brought into sharp focus the worldwide implications of their local triumph.

We'll hear from two kayakers who made the journey.

Over a hundred family and community members gathered on the sand spit shore below Requa Village on the Yurok Reservation, where the Klamath River meets the Pacific Ocean, to welcome 120 Indigenous youth kayakers who made history as the first people to descend over 310 miles down the free-flowing Klamath River.

On Thursday, dozens of young kayakers from a variety of Indigenous tribes will embark on the first source-to-sea descent of the Klamath River since the country’s largest dam removal project was completed last fall.

New public access sites have opened along the post-dam Klamath River, allowing opportunities to enjoy the free-flowing river.

Today, we’re bringing you up to date on the Klamath River. What’s on folks’ minds now that all the dams are out a year later — and what still needs to be done to piece this basin together again?

After decades of conflict, farmers and tribes say they’re working in concert to restore salmon habitat in the Klamath Basin. But two dams remain - one that blocks fish passage another that plays a key role for agriculture.

Researchers are using advanced technology and creative methods to study how migrating salmon and steelhead are returning to the river after the removal of four dams.

Chinook salmon are spawning in streams above four former dam sites on the Klamath River in numbers that are astounding biologists. Now, a network of tribes, agencies, university researchers, and conservation groups is working together to track the fish as they explore the newly opened habitat.

OPB video captures four Klamath River dam sites and Copco Lake reservoir before and after a $500 million removal operation.