Iron Gate dam is disappearing. One of three barriers being removed from the Klamath River in far Northern California and Southern Oregon this summer, the dam once stood 173 feet tall. Now it’s about a third of its original height. … Several miles upstream of Iron Gate, Jenny Creek winds under a bridge and through the former reservoir footprint. Just a year ago, the creek turned into a sluggish pool clogged with bright green algae as it spilled into the Iron Gate reservoir; now, it’s tumbling freely over boulders and past young willows that have sprouted along the banks. Cool, spring-fed streams like Jenny Creek are crucial refuges for Klamath River salmon, says Mike Belchik, senior fisheries biologist at the Yurok Tribe. “The Klamath River was always a warm water system in summer, and fish have strategies for dealing with that, mostly involving the use of tributaries,” he says. With the dams gone, salmon will be able to dart past warm sections of river and into these cool pockets for the first time in over 100 years.

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