After over two decades of advocacy and planning, the four hydroelectric facilities on the Klamath River were removed in 2023-2024. Prior to dam removal, some significant improvements to the river were expected. The presence and impacts of Harmful Cyanobacteria Blooms will be reduced. Native salmon and lamprey now have access to a nearly two-fold increase in habitat area and fish disease risk is expected to decrease. Other responses to the changing river are less certain, such as how post-dam water quality and flow management impact the health of the food web, or how decision processes influencing river health intersect across different cultures.
As the basin moves beyond dam removal, this project aims to provide a forum where diverse perspectives on water quality and river health can be represented in making management decisions.
Diverse perspectives and ways of knowing the river. A major theme of this project is evaluating the different ways people who know the river understand its health. We are thus engaging multiple groups in the basin as participants in this project, with the Yurok Tribe as full partners. The Yurok traditional homelands are at the mouth of the Klamath River, and their economic livelihood and cultural identity have been closely associated with riverine and nearshore fisheries. The Tribe are both steering project direction and represent one of the ways of knowing we are documenting. Other groups whose understanding of river health will be interviewed and surveyed include local residents, multi-generational water users, fishermen, and environmental conservationists.
Broader outreach and engagement. To reach a broad audience and share resources about the river, we are developing a podcast on the dam removals, establishing a summer internship program with Tribal youth and university students, hosting field trips to the Klamath, developing undergraduate curriculum about the dam removals, working with the media, and giving presentations locally within the basin.
Science contributions. Project outcomes emphasize collaborations across disciplines and with the tribes:
Western science. Produce new data and computer models on interactions among streamflows, water quality, primary producers, and fish disease risk;
Community experiences. Document the values, experiences, and priorities of five Klamath Basin communities as they experience change.
Knowledge co-production. Document how different groups with extended experience with the river understand the relationships between river health and management actions.
