Taking down the Klamath dams: the largest dam removal in the US

J.C. Boyle Dam on the Klamath. NPS.

On November 17, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the surrender and removal of four hydroelectric dams on the lower Klamath River in Oregon and California — the largest dam removal in United States history. Tribal nations and Indigenous communities had led the campaign for more than twenty years. The dams came down in 2023 and 2024.

Who made it happen

The Klamath River Renewal Corporation carried out the removal with its partners: Tribal nations, Indigenous communities, non-profits, federal and state agencies, individuals and contractors. The surrender order was the milestone that made it possible.

The wild and scenic river

Two stretches of the Klamath are national wild and scenic rivers, designated by the Interior Department at the states' request:

The National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service jointly found the project consistent with the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act — good in the long run for water quality, for free flow, and for the California segment's one "outstandingly remarkable value": its runs of salmon and other fish that return from the sea to spawn.

The Klamath Wild and Scenic River. NPS.

What removal was expected to bring

• More than 400 miles of stream habitat reopened to salmon and steelhead.
• Cooler summer water and less fish disease, for healthier runs.
• Fewer toxic algae blooms, which had made the river and reservoirs unsafe to use.
• New access sites, so people can reach and enjoy the restored river.
• The return of resources of deep importance to Tribes and Indigenous communities.

Sources

Written from "The Largest Dam Removal in the U.S. gets Approved on the Klamath", submitted by Susan Rosebrough-Jones, National Park Service, in Wild and Scenic River Currents (2023), the newsletter of the National Park Service Wild and Scenic Rivers Program, a work of the United States government in the public domain.