Klamath River Flows Free for the First Time in Over 100 Years
For the first time in more than a century, the Klamath River is flowing freely. This week, the cofferdam at the site of the former Iron Gate Dam was removed, marking the completion of the largest dam removal and river restoration project in U.S. history.
The removal of the dams on the Klamath River, including the Iron Gate Dam, opens access to hundreds of miles of historic habitat for native salmon and steelhead, significantly improving water quality for humans and wildlife. It also represents a step toward restoring a place critical to the cultural life of the Indigenous communities who have lived along the river for generations.
California Trout, alongside numerous conservation organizations, government agencies, and Indigenous and tribal partners, played a key role in advocating for this historic project.
“Dam removal on the Klamath River is special not just because of its magnitude and impact, but because of all the people that came together to make this happen,” said Curtis Knight, Executive Director of California Trout.
While the physical removal of the dams is nearly complete, restoration work along the river and its tributaries will continue for several years. The company overseeing this effort, Resource Environmental Solutions (RES), is committed to remaining involved until the new habitat is thriving.
The Klamath River Monitoring Program, launched in July 2024 by CalTrout and its partners, will assess the effectiveness of the restoration, particularly how fish populations recover in their newly accessible habitats. This program brings together a wide range of stakeholders, including tribes, governmental entities, and nonprofits, to monitor fish migration and the overall ecological health of the river following this monumental project.
