The largest dam removal project in the US is completed a major win for #Indigenous tribes
The #KlamathRiver dams removal project was a significant win for tribal nations on the #Oregon-#California border who for decades have fought to restore the river back to its natural state.
By Rachel Ramirez, CNN
Published Sep 2, 2024
"The largest dam removal project in US history is finally complete, after crews last week demolished the last of the four dams on the Klamath River. It’s a significant win for tribal nations on the #OregonCalifornia border who for decades have fought to restore the river back to its natural state.
"The removal of the four hydroelectric dams — #IronGateDam, #CopcoDams 1 and 2, and #JCBoyleDam — allows the region’s iconic #salmon population to swim freely along the Klamath River and its tributaries, which the species have not been able to do for over a century since the dams were built.
"Mark Bransom, chief executive officer of the #KlamathRiverRenewal Corporation, the nonprofit group created to oversee the project, said it was a 'celebratory moment,' as his staff members, conservationists, government officials and tribal members gathered and cheered on the bank of the river near where the largest of the dams, Iron Gate, once stood.
"Federal regulators approved the plan to raze the dams in 2022. The next year, the smallest of the four dams, Copco No. 2, was removed. Crews then began releasing water from the dams’ reservoirs at the beginning of this year, which was necessary before dismantling the last remaining dams.
"The river system has been steeped in controversy: During the recent historic #WesternDrought that dried up the #KlamathBasin, an intense #WaterWar pitted local farmers against #Indigenous tribes, government agencies and conservationists.
"But anxiety turned to joy for the #IndigenousPeople who have lived for centuries among the Klamath and its tributaries.
"'We all came together in the moment with a feeling that ranged from pure joy to anticipation to excitement,' Bransom told CNN. 'For the first time in over 100 years, the river is now back in its historical channel, and I think that was an extraordinarily profound moment for people to actually witness that — the reconnecting of a river.'
"The #Yurok Tribe in Northern California are known as the '#SalmonPeople.' To them, the salmon are sacred species that are central to their culture, diet and ceremonies. As the story goes, the spirit that created the salmon also created humans and without the fish, they would cease to exist."
Read more:
https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/the-largest-dam-removal-project-in-the-us-is-completed-a-major-win-for-indigenous-tribes/1687353
#RestoreNature #ProtectTheSacred #WaterIsLife
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