Tag: klamath

CDFW: Coho Salmon Returning to Klamath River Basin For 1st Time in Over 60 Years
Fishermen's News Online, News

CDFW: Coho Salmon Returning to Klamath River Basin For 1st Time in Over 60 Years

Coho salmon, a threatened species, are slowly returning to the Klamath River Basin, now that the dam blocking their passage is gone. California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials on Nov. 22 reported the first returns of cohos to the upper Klamath River Basin in over 60 years, following removal of the former Iron Gate Dam, which was completed last month. CDFW officials said that not since construction of Iron Gate in the early 1960s have they documented coho salmon in their historic habitat in the upper watershed. The dam was one of four hydroelectric dams built on the Klamath River between 1908 and 1962 to generate electricity. The state agency report said that on Nov. 13, seven coho salmon entered the CDFW’s new Fall Creek Fish Hatchery in Siskiyou County. The creek wa...
First Salmon Since 1912 Spotted in Oregon’s Klamath Basin Following Dam Removal
Fishermen's News Online, News

First Salmon Since 1912 Spotted in Oregon’s Klamath Basin Following Dam Removal

On Oct.16, a fall-run Chinook salmon was identified in a tributary to the Klamath River, becoming the first of the fish to return to the Klamath Basin in Oregon since 1912 when the first of four hydroelectric dams was constructed, blocking migration. The salmon – part of a species which travel up rivers from the sea to breed – was identified by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife fish biologists. The Chinook and others likely traveled about 230 miles from the Pacific Ocean to reach the tributary, months after the Klamath River dams were removed to ensure fish passage from California to Oregon. “This is an exciting and historic development in the Klamath Basin that demonstrates the resiliency of salmon and steelhead,” ODFW Director Debbie Colbert said. “It also inspires us to c...
Iron Gate Dam Reservoirs Lowered on Klamath River
Fishermen's News Online, News

Iron Gate Dam Reservoirs Lowered on Klamath River

The largest dam removal in U.S. history is underway, with the lowering of dammed reservoirs on the Klamath River in Oregon. Members of the Yurok Tribe were on hand to witness the first big surge of waters on Jan. 11, as Oregon Public Radio reported on opening of a 16-foot-wide bypass tunnel at the base of the dam, releasing the flow of water darkened by pent-up sediment that also surged through. The Iron Gate itself is an earth embankment dam. The lowering of Iron Gate and two other reservoirs on the Klamath river will make way for removal of three remaining hydroelectric dams that are part of the Lower Klamath project in Northern California and southern Oregon. The report from Oregon Public Radio on NPR’s “All Things Considered” program hailed the removal of major dams along ...