A group of young Indigenous kayakers is headed to the mouth of the Klamath River in free-flowing water after portaging around two dams and paddling through four former dam sites. They launched into the Klamath River headwaters two weeks ago and are now more than halfway through a momentous 30-day journey. So far, they’ve paddled through waves on a treacherous lake, portaged around the two remaining dams on the river, plunged into canyons with class 3, 4 and 5 rapids, and paddled through four former dam sites where removal operations wrapped up last fall. The nonprofit Rios to Rivers organized the event, which is the first source-to-sea descent of the Klamath since dam removal. Their Paddle Tribal Waters team aims to reach the mouth of the river by July 11 and celebrate the removal of J.C. Boyle, Copco 1, Copco 2 and Iron Gate dams.

Other Klamath River news:

• Save California Salmon: News release: Tribal youth learn, paddle, and lead on restored river