The River Runs Free

While the sun has nearly set on the largest dam removal project in U.S. history, it's just rising on a restoration effort to return the Klamath River to its natural state

For the first time in more than a century, the Klamath River began flowing unobstructed on Aug. 28 from the river's mouth to Keno Dam, just below Upper Klamath Lake, opening hundreds of miles of salmon habitat and bringing a generational effort to the brink of completion.

The moment an excavator broke open the last coffer dam holding the river back at what used to be Iron Gate Dam, letting the Klamath River spill into its natural path, it was met with cheers and tears by more than 100 tribal members, environmentalists and officials watching, many of whom had spent years — if not decades — working to free the river from the dams that had choked it for decades.

"It was kind of a magic moment," says Craig Tucker, a consultant with the Karuk Tribe who has worked for removal of the four dams on the lower Klamath River for more than 20 years. "You know how you have those milestone moments — like when you graduate from college and walk across the stage, and you don't really feel different? This felt different. It was like something monumental just happened, like the river is now a river, and there were a flood of emotions that went along with that. Lots of hugs."

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By:  Thadeus Greenson
Source: North Coast Journal of Politics, People & Art

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