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The World’s Largest Dam Demolition Has Begun. Can the Dammed Klamath River Finally Find Salvation?

Oshun O’Rourke waded into the dark green water, splashing toward a net that her colleagues gently closed around a cluster of finger-length fish.

The Klamath River is wide and still here, making its final turn north to the coast as it winds through the Yurok reservation in Humboldt County. About 150 baby chinook salmon, on their long journey to the Pacific, were resting in cool waters that poured down from the forest.

Opinion: California Taxpayers on the Hook to Save Two Unhealthy Western Rivers

The Klamath River begins in Oregon, draining the eastern slope of the Cascade Mountains, and slices through the northwestern corner of California before flowing into the Pacific Ocean. The Colorado River begins in Colorado, draining the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, before meandering southwesterly and emptying into Mexico’s Sea of Cortez – if there’s any water left after California and other states have tapped the river for irrigation and municipal supplies.

To Save Salmon, U.S. Approves Largest Dam Removal in History

A U.S. agency seeking to restore habitat for endangered fish gave final approval on Thursday to decommission four dams straddling the California-Oregon border, the largest dam removal undertaking in U.S. history. Dam removal is expected to improve the health of the Klamath River, the route that Chinook salmon and endangered coho salmon take from the Pacific Ocean to their upstream spawning grounds, and from where the young fish return to the sea.

FERC Endorses Nation’s Largest Dam Removal Project

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has advanced the nation’s largest dam-removal project, which could restore flowing water to more than 400 miles of the Klamath River near the California-Oregon line.

FERC’s release Friday of its final environmental impact statement reiterated its support for removing the Lower Klamath Project’s four hydroelectric dams.

Oregon State, Yurok Tribe Partner to Study Klamath River After Dam Removal

On the precipice of the largest dam removal project in U.S. history, researchers at Oregon State University are partnering with a northern California tribe to envision what lies ahead for the Klamath River.

Demolition of the J.C. Boyle, Copco 1, Copco 2 and Iron Gate dams could begin as early as next year, though federal energy regulators are still reviewing plans submitted by the Klamath River Renewal Corp. to decommission and raze the structures.

California Is About to Begin the Nation’s Largest Dam Removal Project. Here’s What It Means for Wildlife

After decades of negotiation, the largest dam-removal project in U.S. history is expected to begin in California’s far north next year.

The first of four aging dams on the Klamath River, the 250-mile waterway that originates in southern Oregon’s towering Cascades and empties along the rugged Northern California coast, is on track to come down in fall 2023. Two others nearby and one across the state line will follow.

Undamming the Klamath May Be a Reality This Year

Twenty years ago, undamming the Klamath River seemed like an impossibility. Against all odds, the project is entering its home stretch and dam removal may begin as early as this year.

On Friday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission released a draft environmental impact statement detailing how removing four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River would have permanent and significant benefits for the environment and the public. One of the biggest benefits would be the restoration of water quality and temperatures, which are essential for the survival of fish species in the river that local tribes and fishermen rely upon.

Largest Dam Removal in US History Set to Begin

The Iron Gate Dam, one of four dams on the Klamath River, will be removed in 2023. It will be the largest dam removal in U.S. history.

For Pachomio Feliz, the waters of the Klamath River and Pacific are life. He’s a member of the Yurok Tribe.

“This is our lifeblood,” he said. “Without the river, we’d be dead.”

Standing at the Cusp: The Klamath River Edges Closer to Dam Removals

Few rivers have faced such a protracted battle about their future as the Klamath, which flows through Oregon and Northern California. After decades of negotiations, the decommissioning of four dams on the river is finally in sight, but hurdles remain. We spoke with Mark Bransom, CEO of the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, to learn how he’s working to get the dam removal across the finish line—and what the transformation will mean for the many communities that depend on the river.

Who will benefit from the Klamath dam removals? Who may be at risk of negative consequences? How might the dam removals impact the tribes in the basin?

Anti-Government Conspiracies Create Another Challenge to Addressing Drought in the West

For more than a century, a system of government and legal agreements has largely resolved water disputes among those living in America’s most arid region of the country.

The methods of conflict resolution were at work in December when water bosses in California, Nevada and Arizona agreed to cut their use of Colorado River water to avoid penalties under a compact that divvies up the river among seven western states and Mexico.