… Built between 1908 and 1962 to generate electricity for nearby communities, these four hydroelectric dams submerged indigenous lands, blocked salmon passage, and created pockets of warm water where toxic blue-green algae thrived. Deconstructing them promises to repair significant social and environmental damage … This change promises, in the long-term, to improve water quality and allow salmon to reach their former upstream spawning grounds. But there are unwelcome tradeoffs … Since the dams have come down, property values along the former lakes have declined. The region’s sprawling farms and ranching families also fought the project because the dams routed water to their lands. And some environmentalists question whether salmon can or will return to upriver spawning grounds. Rafting outfitters anticipate significant financial losses now that dam releases no longer produce the rapids that attracted boaters.

Related article:

• Salem Statesman Journal: River guides explore transformed ‘New Klamath’ after historic dam removal
• Outdoor Life: Salmon are returning to the undammed upper Klamath River even sooner than expected
• BBC: After 100 years, salmon have returned to the Klamath River – following a historic dam removal project in California
• Action News Now: Threatened Coho salmon make return to Upper Klamath River Basin for first time in over 60 years
• SciAm: Opinion: How the return of salmon to the Klamath River shows us what’s possible in wildlife conservation