Klamath dams

Removing the Copco 2 dam takes deconstruction crews one step closer to drawdowns of the remaining three reservoirs next January.

The impending removal of four hydroelectric dams on the main stem of the Klamath River has thrown the normally tranquil community of Copco Lake into turmoil.

For over a century, four hydroelectric dams along the Oregon-California border have cut off habitat to fish swimming up the Klamath River from the ocean. Now, researchers are in the midst of a project to learn how fish will use this ecosystem once the dams are removed.

Twenty years ago, tribal youth founded the Salmon Run to call for the removal of four dams along the Klamath River. This year’s run will coincide with work to demolish them.

Restoration contractor Resource Environmental Solutions and area tribes will plant up to 19 billion native seeds as the Klamath Dams come out and reservoirs are drained.

Klamath River Dams are topic number one; demolition work on four dams could begin later this year. JPR News Director Erik Neumann and Correspondent Juliet Grable have both spent some time covering what's happened so far.

The four-dam teardown brings hope and uncertainty to residents in an area of Southern Oregon and Northern California where drought has made water a source of fierce controversy.

The order is the last major regulatory step before four dams can be decommissioned. It marks the start of the largest dam removal project in U.S. history.

Kayakers are already training for new open water when the Klamath River dams are removed.

Dam removal on the Klamath River is one step closer to reality. A draft environmental impact statement was released on Friday by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. It’s an opportunity to get feedback on the dam removal plan along the Oregon-California border.

Federal energy regulators have approved a key step in the long road toward removing four hydroelectric dams on the lower Klamath River to help threatened salmon.