It’s hard to believe that Labor Day Weekend is just days away, signaling the end of summer. This time of year typically coincides with wildfire season in the West. Some news outlets are reporting on the slowness of this year’s wildfire season, yet given fire’s unpredictability, we must always be ready to act.

In the Klamath watershed earlier this month, we saw some bad situations play out. As the McKinney Fire roared through the Klamath National Forest, a massive thunderstorm followed the burning. Up to three inches of rain fell which triggered a landslide of burned soil, rocks, and downed timber into the Klamath River. This caused the river’s oxygen concentration to fall to extremely low levels, even reaching zero two nights in a row, prompting a massive fish kill. Those attending to the fish kill aftermath, prominently members from the Karuk and Yurok tribes, observed dead ESA-listed, juvenile coho and Chinook salmon among many other native species. While we are thankful that the adult salmon populations seemingly avoided the kill, the loss of any native fish is detrimental to both the ecosystem and those that rely on the fishery. This event underscores the need to take immediate action to restore Klamath fisheries.

Our organization has been working for over two decades to restore the Klamath river and bring down the lower four destructive dams. We’re very pleased to announce that just this week, a federal report confirmed the environmental and social benefits of removing the Klamath dams. After such a difficult month for the Klamath, it’s exciting to receive this news.

Speaking of dam removal, I’m currently in Port Angeles, Washington with Rob Lusardi (CalTrout-UC Davis Wild and Coldwater Fish Scientist) attending a multi-day workshop on dam removal and river restoration. The symposium includes highlights and lessons learned from the 10-year anniversary of removing the Elwha dams. I’m particularly looking forward to learning more about what the research and data shows in how fish, other wildlife, and the river has responded now that its a decade later after dam removal. The Klamath dams will also be featured in this workshop, with an emphasis on how to apply lessons learned from the Elwha and how to be set up for success in tracking the river’s response once the dams are removed.

Projects like dam removal are hefty and require a significant amount of time and commitment. Project successes and forward progress may not come to us every day, but we stay committed. What we’ve seen from the Elwha dams’ removal and now with the positive news from the Klamath dams’ federal report, this spurs our hope and our determination. Thank you for sticking with us.