Salmon Have Returned to the Klamath Basin After More Than a Century
KLAMATH COUNTY, Ore. — The long-awaited return of Chinook salmon to the Klamath Basin has happened less than a month after the removal of the four Klamath River hydroelectric dams that have blocked the salmon from returning to their spawning grounds.
Earlier this week, wildlife officials documented the return of the salmon to the Klamath River above the former J.C. Boyle Dam in Southern Oregon, the first time salmon have swum in the river since 1912.
According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), the salmon traveled 230 miles from the Pacific Ocean before reaching their old spawning grounds.
ODFW director Debbie Colbert described the return of the fish as ‘an exciting and historic’ event.
The Return of the Salmon is Overwhelming to Local Tribes
Klamath Tribes Secretary Roberta Frost paid tribute to her people for their ‘persistence in the face of…an unmovable obstacle.’ Frost says the salmon know the location of their home ‘and returned as soon as they were able.’
Sharing the excitement is Mark Hereford, ODFW’s Klamath Fisheries Reintroduction Project leader, who said he and his team were thrilled when they saw the return of the salmon to the Klamath Basin.