Salmon fish have made a highly anticipated comeback to Oregon's Klamath River Basin after more than a century.
According to BBC, salmon have returned to the river after over 100 years due to the historic dam removal project in California.
The fish biologists at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife spotted the first autumn-run Chinook salmon in the Klamath River, where C Boyle Dam once stood, in October 2024. It was a historic moment as salmon was spotted in the state's Klamath Basin for the first time since 1912.
This came after the last four dams in the territory were demolished in August 2024 as part of a campaign by tribal communities who hoped that dam removal would bring back the vital food source of tribal communities, “the salmon.”
No one was expecting that salmon would return to the river this year, but surprisingly, “the sheer number of fish that are back.”
Moreover, the river was once the third-largest salmon-producing river on the West Coast, but the dams blocked the fish migration, plummeting the number of the fall Chinook salmon by more than 90% and the spring Chinook by 98%.
Brook Thompson, a Yurok tribal member and civil engineer who is involved in restoring the Klamath basin, said, “Salmon returning to the upper Klamath River the same season as the dam removal has filled me with gratification and joy that I usually reserve for weddings and births.”
“Seeing the videos of the salmon returning home brought me to tears of happiness and relief. We did it. I am filled with newfound energy and hope to keep up my work in restoration and supporting the rights of tribes and fish," he continued.
Furthermore, the removal of the dams was the largest dam removal project in the history of the United States. Local Native American tribes never wanted dams to demolish these dams for decades and had campaigned for their removal since at least the 1990s.
