What makes a river special to you? Is it the sound of the rushing water? The spots you can jump in and cool off? The opportunity to catch a fish or view other wildlife? The fact that it is an ecosystem that helps support all types of life? Or that it is a path to travel up or down?
My favorite types of rivers have always been wild rivers — rivers that I know are flowing free and natural. Those are the areas that seem to speak to me the most. The more developed a river gets, the more it starts to feel like plumbing. That’s how I feel when I visit the dams on the Klamath River. Something just doesn’t sit right deep within my soul.
I recently had the opportunity to visit the mid-Klamath Basin for a sneak peak of summer conditions on Iron Gate reservoir and the main stem Klamath River. It hurts the soul to see what Iron Gate reservoir looks like in the middle of summer when it’s hot and dry. The lake is a horrible green color, and the algae blooms are prolific through July and August. It looks completely uninhabitable to fish and wildlife, although there are some critters that manage to hold on out of necessity. Picture a very hot and dry canyon in which 90% of what you see on a terrestrial level is dried brown grass punctuated by hot dry outcroppings of red and brown stone. The vegetation is scarce and dominated by scrub oak and brush. There are very few tall pines or large Black Oak trees here. It is unlike all other parts of the Klamath River. The mid-Klamath area near Hornbook is actually one of the driest and most arid eco types that the river transcends.
My favorite types of rivers have always been wild rivers — rivers that I know are flowing free and natural. Those are the areas that seem to speak to me the most. The more developed a river gets, the more it starts to feel like plumbing. That’s how I feel when I visit the dams on the Klamath River. Something just doesn’t sit right deep within my soul.
I recently had the opportunity to visit the mid-Klamath Basin for a sneak peak of summer conditions on Iron Gate reservoir and the main stem Klamath River. It hurts the soul to see what Iron Gate reservoir looks like in the middle of summer when it’s hot and dry. The lake is a horrible green color, and the algae blooms are prolific through July and August. It looks completely uninhabitable to fish and wildlife, although there are some critters that manage to hold on out of necessity. Picture a very hot and dry canyon in which 90% of what you see on a terrestrial level is dried brown grass punctuated by hot dry outcroppings of red and brown stone. The vegetation is scarce and dominated by scrub oak and brush. There are very few tall pines or large Black Oak trees here. It is unlike all other parts of the Klamath River. The mid-Klamath area near Hornbook is actually one of the driest and most arid eco types that the river transcends.
An algal bloom stretches across Iron Gate reservoir, the green and brown colors undulating in patterns created by sub currents and wind.
At the time of writing, the reservoir is completely green. The surface is dominated by different hues of green depending on how thick the algae is in certain areas. There are piles and piles of algae buildup in the corners and curves where the wind is blowing. The algae blooms stretch out across the reservoir and undulate in patterns created by sub currents and wind. An aerial view from a drone displays the varying shades of green and brown. It’s hard to imagine that this is the water flowing into the main stem of the Klamath River, one of the greatest salmon producing ecosystems on the West Coast. And it’s hard to understand there are people that would rather have this reservoir there than a free-flowing river packed with salmon and steelhead as it used to be.
Hope is on the way. Deconstruction for the dam removal process is happening — and at a fast pace! Just driving through Hornbrook looks much different this year than it did last year. The company Resource Environmental Solutions (RES) bought property along the river to set up a base camp to manage their restoration efforts both pre-and post-dam removal. They will be handling much of the restoration and re-vegetation once the dams come out. This includes extensive work with the local tribes and others to collect millions of native plant seeds over the past several years. Those new plants have been started and propagated in nurseries so that viable starts are ready to go as soon as the construction site is stabilized and revegetation can begin.
Hope is on the way. Deconstruction for the dam removal process is happening — and at a fast pace! Just driving through Hornbrook looks much different this year than it did last year. The company Resource Environmental Solutions (RES) bought property along the river to set up a base camp to manage their restoration efforts both pre-and post-dam removal. They will be handling much of the restoration and re-vegetation once the dams come out. This includes extensive work with the local tribes and others to collect millions of native plant seeds over the past several years. Those new plants have been started and propagated in nurseries so that viable starts are ready to go as soon as the construction site is stabilized and revegetation can begin.
Credit: Shane Anderson
Construction and engineering company Kiewit is busy building roads and staging areas for de-construction activities. In fact, Copco 2 dam has already been removed! Copco 2 was the smallest of the dams to be removed, serving as a diversion dam to push the water into the pen stock for the powerhouse above Iron Gate. The canyon below Copco 2, between there and Iron Gate powerhouse had been completely dewatered for over 60 years. This is one of the first momentous occasions was to see water flowing back into that natural river channel after so many years of being strictly diverted!
Some of the hatchery fish holding ponds at the base of Iron Gate dam have been removed as well. There is water coming out of the spillway next to the dam. They are building large staging areas at both Copco and Iron Gate for equipment. They are also working on holes in the dam walls to begin to them simultaneously starting this winter. It’s amazing to see all the changes taking place, and I highly recommend having a drive up there if you’re in the area.
Some of the hatchery fish holding ponds at the base of Iron Gate dam have been removed as well. There is water coming out of the spillway next to the dam. They are building large staging areas at both Copco and Iron Gate for equipment. They are also working on holes in the dam walls to begin to them simultaneously starting this winter. It’s amazing to see all the changes taking place, and I highly recommend having a drive up there if you’re in the area.
Klamath Dam Removal in Action Photo Credit: Shane Anderson, Jason Hartwick, & Michael Wier
I can’t wait to see a free-flowing Klamath River once again. We may lose some fishing opportunities in the short term but in the long run the ecological benefit to the river will immensely outweigh what we stand to lose. The Klamath River will also soon be one of the best multi-day rafting destinations in the country (if not the world.) Those non-extractive ecotourism dollars are some of the best money you can have flowing through a local economy.
Here's to the future – I look forward to seeing what it holds for the Klamath River.
Here's to the future – I look forward to seeing what it holds for the Klamath River.
