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Salmon Return to Klamath River After Dam Removal
Developing
In Short: Over 20,000 chinook salmon have migrated up the Klamath River since dam removal, but challenges remain for their recovery, according to new research published by Inside Climate News.
Now, new research published on Thursday shows that in the two years since dam removal, over 20,000 chinook salmon have migrated up the Klamath River, many past the former dam sites and into traditional spawning grounds.
‘The biological response has been much faster than I, and most of us, expected,’ said Damon Goodman, lead author of the study and Mount Shasta-Klamath regional director for Cal Trout.
The four dams, constructed by PacifiCorp in the early and mid-20th century to generate electricity, blocked passage for migrating salmon and altered the river’s natural hydrology, increasing water temperatures and flooding naturally cold springs.
‘It’s not a magic bullet. There are still plenty of issues with the Klamath,’ George Pess, COO and science director at the Portland-based nonprofit Conservation Angler and former NOAA fisheries scientist, said of dam removal.
Background
Inside Climate News is a non-profit news organization, focusing on environmental journalism about the climate crisis. The publication conducts watchdog journalism on climate policy, climate misinformation, and environmental injustice.
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- Now, new research published on Thursday shows that in the two years since dam removal, over 20,000 chinook salmon have migrated up the Klamath River, many past the former dam sites and into traditional spawning grounds.
- “The biological response has been much faster than I, and most of us, expected,” said Damon Goodman, lead author of the study and Mount Shasta-Klamath regional director for Cal Trout.
- The four dams, constructed by PacifiCorp in the early and mid-20th century to generate electricity, blocked passage for migrating salmon and altered the river’s natural hydrology, increasing water temperatures and…
- “It’s not a magic bullet. There are still plenty of issues with the Klamath,” George Pess, COO and science director at the Portland-based nonprofit Conservation Angler and former NOAA fisheries scientist, said of dam…
- “ I think a lot of people think that the removal of those dams created an entirely dam-free, free-flowing river condition. And that’s true for a large part of the river, but it’s not the complete story,” said Mark…
- In 2025, a new motion-sensor camera operating in the daytime captured 2,497 fish swimming through the dam and just 210 salmon swimming through the Link River dam into Upper Klamath lake.