Dam-removal groups say things are going well after salmon returned to the Klamath

REDDING, Calif. — Tribes and agencies that have worked to remove dams from the Klamath River gathered Thursday to present how they are handling the current batch of culled salmon heading upriver for the first time since the dam was removed.

According to the Karuk Tribe’s water quality monitors, things are going well. The temperature of the Klamath River drops an average of 5 degrees Fahrenheit. Salmon, which like cold water, are thriving, he said. This results in less bacterial disease and overall healthier fish.

“Fish help inform managers about what recovery measures can be taken to help them,” said Karuk Fisheries Manager Toz Soto. “Because nothing has been done yet. It’s a blank slate, and the fish are already using that blank slate, and it can only get better.”

Several officials emphasized that this is just the beginning. Fish farming is still less profitable, although the expansion they are seeing is promising.

Morgan Nechtl, an environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife in Irica, said they expect more than just salmon to return in the fall run.

“As the season progresses, we’re transitioning into coho returns and steelhead return monitoring continues,” he said. “And we usually see those fish come back throughout the season.”

In the Q&A section of the KRRC presentation, people directly asked how the project was progressing. As we reported last spring, many residents faced the loss of access to well water and other consequences of draining reservoirs.Chronicle of San Francisco the situation was reported to be the same earlier this month.

In a statement sent after the webinar, KRRC responded:

The Klamath Mitigation Fund is separate from the KRRC. The total amount in the fund and the payouts are completely confidential, as is standard with mitigation funds. KMF is nearing completion of all identified issues and it is our understanding that permanent solutions to the well issues are currently being implemented.

KRRC has provided and continues to provide temporary solutions with tanks and water delivery, providing water to affected residents as KMF assesses the overall impact.

You can monitor the quality of water on the river through The Karuk Tribe page is updated regularlyand track progress more broadly remediation measures from the RES website.