Freeing the Klamath River 

Very sad.

Very sad. We are in a great place in America, to promote environmental awareness and respect for Mother Nature. We need to focus on the 18-28 year old demographic population of young adults that are currently lost. Our youth and older adults are doing quite well now. If we can bring the young adults back to the good side of things, then we can live harmoniously in nature on earth.

Countering your argument Karluk River on Kodiak was one of the largest salmon runs in the Western hemisphere but keeping a cannery running that far west closed it down. The salmon run never increased back again. The only surviving runs today are hatchery like PWS. Even most of the hatchery Fed river runs have fallen below sport fishing levels. Blow up all the dams the runs have not returned anywhere they have. False hope Klimate )esus.

@@robertmarmaduke9721 not sure how to interpret this.....Are you saying take out all the dams? Or keep them in place? Confusing comment.

Very true, would have loved to see/fish the San Joaquin in it's heyday, safe to say those days are gone forever, the friant dam is not going anywhere, however that said it's amazing what nature can do if just given a fighting chance, there is a project called SJRRP a long term effort to restore the san joaquin between the dam and the confluence of the merced and bring back the chinook. Hard to believe the stories of old when compared to the current 100 mile section that runs dry do to water diversions, and then you hear about an event that drives home the miracle that nature is and what it could be if allowed the chance to run its course. In a fish report from 2016 titled Salmon Die-Off in Fourteen Mile Slough by California Delta Chambers & Visitors Bureau date 12-25-2016 listed the details of the event I remembered reading about almost a decade ago, 14 mi slough is a cut of waterway that looks like a drainage ditch or creek surrounded by residential housing developments traversing through a city size of 200,000. From the main deep water channel near the Port of Stockton CA it's mouth is barely noticeable and hardly traversable in anything smaller than a john boat that rapidly reduces to a creek and finally just ends near a development of roads and houses that line its banks the entire time before fully enclosing it, perhaps at it's deeper pools near the confluence with the san joaquin an occasional channel cat could be found, but nothing deeper into the city as it shallowed into a dried up dead end. Yet in this year there was high water and low behold they found almost 50 dead salmon with eggs in the mud dried up next them. It is suspected the fish came up the slough thinking it would take them to spawning grounds up river but when they became trapped they tried to spawn in the mud flats. But the most incredible thing is that this was in 2016, the friant dam went in the 1940's and has since desecrated the runs, but yet here was this rogue pod that came in during high water run offs still honed into the san joaquin river after almost a century? Think these fish can't rebound? I wonder how many of the Sacramento Chinook population has roots in the san joaquin and just needs to taste the flow again to return, albeit hopefully to a restored river with spawning habitat and not a dried up city ditch. But given an opportunity nature will thrive. Thanks for sharing your story it reminded me of this story I had forgotten about and was able to search and find it. I have been fishing the klamath since I was able to, my grandpa started going up there in the 1950's and my dad started taking me before I could walk in the 70's and it's been a long time coming these removals many thanks to the tribal communities that kept fighting for it.

The real story on the Elwha is really just how fast she is rebounding. Wild summer Steelhead have repopulated the river. The genetics saved above the dams in the resident rainbows for a century.❤ Freeing up the worlds rivers is a good way to fight the climate change as well

The river is now dead. So much metals are in the sludge. So sad the government didn't think twice before removing all dams at once.

@@troyalger1603 I think the plan was to try and get all the sediment out in one summer so it wouldn't be lingering around for years. Seems like a bit of a sacrifice now, but in the long-term, it was the best thing to do. Give it a year or two. I think things will be fine.

OPB has had an ongoing series of reports from the area.

There's none because they messed up. The whole river is now contaminated with all sorts of metals. Plus all the fish they're trying to save they killed.

Let’s hope over the next 100 years salmon run will recover

No silver bullets, but dam removal will help, and the rest of what needs to be done can be addressed after.

The simple fact the fish aren’t returning may have more to do with the estuary than the actual creeks. With these dams coming down millions of pounds of sentiment will rebuild the nursery’s these fish need to survive the early life stages. The changing ocean conditions are another factor but taking down dams is always a step in the right direction

​@@boblove6865 Not trying to be a negative nancy - just trying to be realistic - but the klamath actually has had plenty of sediment. Most of the mountains contributing erosion and sediment from wildfires are downstream of the dams, and there has been plenty of sediment in the system in the last 10 years due to some bad fires. Once the estuary reaches equilibrium, it will more than likely look exactly the same as it did before dam removal. It's not like the Elwha, where almost the entirety of the river was upstream of the dam, so all the sediment was blocked. The best argument would seem to be that main channel temperatures and water quality should improve for over-summering adults, but if you look at tributaries like the south fork - which is only tangentially affected by water quality from the dams - their runs are all but gone. In other spring-run systems around california such as butte creek, spring chinook runs are down 90%+ (probably more like 95%), and they have comparatively less dam influence than Keno will continue provide.

​@@boblove6865 ugh, typed out a whole response but it didn't get posted! Not trying to be a negative nancy - just trying to be realistic - but the Klamath has had plenty of sediment. Most of the mountains, erosion and forest fires are actually downstream of the dam, so the estuary will likely look identical once it comes back to equilibrium. It's not like the Elwha where almost the entirety of the river and sediment was blocked by the dam. The best argument for improved numbers would probably be that main channel temps and water quality will be improved for over-summering adult fish, but even on the South fork trinity which has very limited main-channel influence, spring runs are basically gone. If you look at other drainages like Butte creek, where dam influence is comparatively less than what Keno will continue to have on the Klamath, their runs are down 95%+.

They don’t want to talk about that.

But it's probably about right on par for their work right

Hence why the damn is being destroyed once again conservationists win

850,000 fry is nothing to reproduce. Yes they did talk about it. I heard about it and so did everyone I talked to. There will be some growing pains to undue the years of damage and abuse to the eco system.

Yay!@@christianishima7098

Solar will never be grid-level, all the grid-level attempts went bankrupt, there are no 'grid-level battery banks' either, and no technology is promising any, ... other than pumped dam storage ... _and you just blew up the dam!_ 😜💩

Sorry, you are not getting 7X24 power at a cheaper rate then what Hydro elec dams provide. That is myth and lie.

Good thing we have gas n diesel to charge those batts

You forgot Sun, wind and hydro. Zero power plants are powered with gasoline or diesel.@@RonS.-ts8ec

That "corporate shill looking guy" is Craig Tucker. He works for the Karuk tribe, and he's about as far away from a corporate shill as you can get. I've met him in person several times and heard him speak in person. I think he's genuinely good.

talk about delusional

They are doing that. And they are placing sediment back in the stream. Slowly.

What about the annual fish kill that happens in overheated water every year? Every year! Because of the dams!

Even rivers without dams have seen their Chinook salmon populations decimated, especially by warming oceans temps, but also by a variety of other factors. Existing dams on the Skagit have fantastic salmon survival rates, and their removal would eliminate our biggest and most reliable source of renewable energy. I am hugely pro solar and wind, but turbines and panels have a lifecycle shorter than 20 years and cannot recycled due to the complexity of manufacturing. Replacing them causes huge swaths of land to be strip mined in an unsustainable manner.

they already have a water shortage theses politicians are going to starve everyone out this is just the beginning no damms no water no electricity cant wait till these self righteous people who think this is a good thing are going to fuck around and find out . the only reason they are doing this is to cause a water shortage they want complete destruction of the United States and they are doing it right in your face and saying it is for the environment when everything they do is to destroy America watch and see

The power company itself has noted many, many times the power these dams generate altogether (so all of them, not just the Copco dams) generated minimal power, in the single digit percent. On top of it, they are entirely obsolete as well, needing intensive refurbishment or outright needing to be rebuilt legally and otherwise, as well as reinforced to meet earthquake standards. So it made no sense for them to spend the money to do so at all. They were effectively pointless for everyone now. So the electricity complaints people against their removal are not relevant.

You are late to the table! Do some reading and catch up! Both of those things have been hashed out time and time again.

I have no idea what you just said, means.

@@johnkilty1419 the analytical sciences involving the survey of restored gold or gold/silver/platinums/cu ect preservation on wild land, in original locations, have no record in humanity…. I have personally seen cooling and significant precipitation in deep summer recently, in Six rivers from artificial gold/silver/pt/cu renditions and think that an overwhelming cooling could be achieved at about 5oz’s of gold… but you know, the lands of earth used to be covered in oceans of waters, fragrant chemicals from the plants and tantalizing sensation as the early 80’s people and beyond remember….. …..there’s no trail to this place….I’m looking for sponsorship that want to go for it?😂

That's why they shouldn't have removed the dams in one go like they did. They need to do it in small steps, like they did with the Elwa dams in Washington. You incrementally take out small portions, little bit by little bit and observe so you can minimize any negative impacts from the force of the water released, as well as the massive amounts of sediment built up from the time the dams got built. Why the hell they just went with 1800s "just detonate the entire dam in one go" method is beyond me.

@@trippinoutdoors but they did blowup the Elwha dams. They sent tons and tons of sediment down river. Now look at the estuary!

@@boblove6865 they did not. They even documented their demolitions in time lapse through the entire process from start to after completion. They took them apart in sections, slowly. Did they use explosives? Yes. But they did not just blow them completely apart and down in one go like a cooling tower at a decommissioned nuclear plant. No idea where so many people got that idea from that they did the same thing with the dams of the Elwa.

@@trippinoutdoors Dude they blew Glines Canyon dam on the Elwha and sent all that silt into the estuary then they slowly tore the remaining structures out. The poor hatchery practices in CA are more of a problem than the sediment that will clean itself out. Broodstock for the win!

Wrong! Sediment is measured in cubic yards, not by the millions of acres. The rive restoration has begun. This is the beginning not the end. Something wonderful is about to begin. Soon you will see for yourself.

This is the beginning of fixing that.

there will be no more water or electricity that is the goal of these politicians people are so freaking blind

Yep…….not to mention that the ONLY way to even begin a comeback would be a moratorium on commercial fishing. Maybe subsidize that instead of 100’s of billions to Ukraine???!! I’m a hard core conservative/leaning libertarian but I’m an outdoorsman as well and I’ve always realized that maybe just maybe you can’t have 50 million people sucking water out of the west coast, and agriculture and healthy rivers.

@@jefflanham1080 If you look at pictures of Klamath, before the marihuana and drugs- it was a thriving town. It's not that way any longer, it's a place you definitely don't want your car to break down at.

Poverty from stealing their land and confining them from civil society sure does a community good, right? All the non reservation cities sure look clean and safe, right?

@@GardenerEarthGuy Saving Rural America ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wjAsjCL84Yk.html

The Yuroks have been eating salmon for thousands of years. There have always been plenty! The Yuroks didn't build the dams! Good try at blame shifting!

I do, 10th grade , yes we were taught about the slaves and indians, Nazis, colonizers, etc. yes I was also taught about discrimination, the school I went to gave me first hand experience, my high school, McLane high, Fresno CA. Called me to the office 2 days before becoming a jr. To see in person if I was white, I was and was told I could not have any elected classes, at my school because I was white. One of the lady's in the office said transfer to a minority school and you'll probably get what you want. I loved mamasitas, so I transfered to Roosevelt , got my electives(work experience) n my senoritas. That was in 1978

The water was just called unsafe to drink today, could be years before it hits balance.

That's part of the process. When you remove a dam, let alone multiple along a wild river that have been holding back natural water flow and sediment deposits, it builds for the entire time the dams are up. When you breach them, especially if it isn't done in small steps, the sheer force of all that built up sediment, mud and pollutants, alongside the force of the water, will alter the river's course, health and topography heavily. It takes far longer for it to properly recover. But in small steps, it ensures a controlled, gentle release of the water and sediment built up, allowing for a far swifter, more natural recovery and return to a healthy, natural flow and state, like the Elwa in Washington. As far as I understand, they simply detonated the entirety of the Copco dams rather than doing it in small steps. So that's on the company who owned the dams and partially on the coalition that was overseeing their removal. Hopefully they'll be smart and do the remain dam removals in small steps/stages from here on our seeing the mistake it is to replicate the all in one go removal of the Copco dams.

That was bound to happen due to the accumulation of silt behind the dams being washed downstream. Of course over the years this will eventually be distributed throughout the system and out to sea, as a natural river will do. Bear in mind that the rivers surrounding Mt St Helens were turned into deadly pyroclastic flows which destroyed literally everything…but those rivers have now recovered. The same will happen here.

There is no way that that 100 years of silt build up behind the dams could ever be released slowly into the river. This was a known and given fact when the decisions were made to remove the dams. Yes, there would be a period of time with massive devastation. How long that period would last was pretty much unknown. What was known was that the river would eventually clear itself, carrying 100 years of artificially withheld silt down it's course to the sea, and the lands that were once river banks and then lived underwater for 100 years, would revert to being riverbanks once again. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of volunteers helping to restore the native riparian waterways both below and above the dam removal sites. Try to imagine, if you can, the horrendous damage to the existing wild river ecosystem that occurred when these dams were built, ecosystems that had existed for hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years. Mother Nature has amazing powers of self-restoration, as has been shown in countless examples over hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Be patient. This river will restore itself, now that is allowed to run free again.

Stop spreading misinformation. Most of what you just wrote in wrong or untrue! I did not need a video to watch. I was there the day they popped Copco. I have driven for miles along the river. The Klamath has hundreds of feeder creeks, streams and tributary's. None of the sediment has enter any of those. Water flows down stream , incase you did not know. The day after the opened Copco. I was about 30 miles downstream. The River looked that same as it did after a few days of rain. Not destroyed!

won't be saying that when the water and electricity is gone they already have water shortage and electrical black outs cant wait till the libs in California figure out they been had it will be to late

wow when the damms are gone ypu will be doing without water and electricity camt wait to hear you liberals when all of what you neen to survive is gone . they arw absolutely not doing this for the environment it is all in their plans for the destruction of the United States. so come back at me wiith oh solar and wind mills will replace the damms lmfao so are they building these so called wind mills ans solar panels. while they are tearing down the damms no. where is the water supply going to come from .

not

I think beaver is extinct in u.s., Been stocked with blu haired land manattees

Sorry racist, you can’t bully these people who are trying to do the right thing.

Could be years before the toxic levels balance out. People are being told not to drink or swim in. They were originally advised to slow down and dredge all the built up crap but no one wanted to do that. Just will be awhile to balance

​@@brockroberts4258 lol kuck

Nah, free the sacramento.. and watch food prices triple... California is a human engineered landscape, and dams have a central role in creating water stability for some 30 million people. The value argument is: do we as a society value affordable rice, corn, beef, milk, cheese, or do we value fishing, salmon, trout, etc.

Really what make dam removal inevitable is the economics of the dams. Dams are incredibly expensive to maintain, and to retrofit them to get them up to code and safety standards costs more than taking them out. Most dams that were constructed pre 1970 that are in the small to medium range that haven't necessarily had the best maintenance and don't produce enough electricity or flood protection to pay for themselves will eventually be cheaper to remove as well.

Bot

that is the plan

where do you get racist and bot from the truth ypu cant possibly be that stupid

Only harder for you sgtpepperz25…...only for you.

Wrong

...and how should it have been done differently. You obviously seem to think yourself knowledgeable on the subject.

@@scpatl4now The majority of the damaging clay silt in the reservoirs should have been removed first, not flushed downstream.

@@Dave_9547Removing the clay is not usually possible from a financial perspective, and a controlled release of sediment is beneficial to the eventual release into the ocean for the estuary

News today is don't drink or swim in the Klamath. River was not shown respect in hurry to tear down dam. Dredge was proper from toxins from generations. Balance now will take years.

Bull? Your comment is Bull. This is just beginning. The sediment has to clear out and that takes time, but more like a year or two. Once the native plants are reestablished it will proceed even faster. In 3 years you will see measurable increases in salmon migration...just like they did on the Elwah which is the best comparison to this project.