Klamath Finds Its Way Home
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- čas přidán 5. 03. 2024
- The Klamath River is in the middle of a vast transformation. Right now it's finding its way back into the original river channel after being blocked by a series of dams and reservoirs for many decades. By fall of 2024, all four dams on the main-stem Klamath River will be removed and native salmon and steelhead will have access to hundreds of miles of historic habitat.
Learn more: caltrout.org/news/klamath-riv...
I own property 45 miles down river from Iron Gate Dam and the Klamath flows through my property for a half mile and I walk along it daily.The first six weeks of drawdown came with a very strong smell and horrible color with tons of sediment, but that has now settled down close to what it normally looks like and runs during the Winter season and the strong smell has faded. After a heavy rain, instead of chocolate brown runoff from fire burn scars upriver, it is now a very dark brown to charcoal gray color from the lake bed sediment, but isn't bad and that too is lessoning. From my perspective, it's amazing and beautiful how quickly the river is recovering from the initial shock of the dams being removed and nearly 100 years of lake sediment flowing through it. I was very concerned initially and my fears are certainly lessoning with each day. Wildlife is not dying downriver in my area and the river was full of heavy metals and other toxins before the dams were breached, not as a result. It will not be pretty for a few years, but that's a short time to give back for the longer term benefits.
Finally a honest assessment of what is actually happening. The people that were against the dam removal will never have their minds changed. Nature heals itself. Maybe not overnight, but it will heal
what about all the dead fish they've done water samples and the water is now polluted to high heaven and not one live fish in the klamath for 50 miles so dream on, ou've been lied to
Hey Brian, you're a bot.
@@faithwilkins1482 -haha...I can assure you that I'm not a bot. I'm not for or against dam removals and I wasn't here when the decisions were made or involved in any public comment in the years of hearings. The deed has been done and I'm simply communicating what I'm seeing on the river each day and what I think about it and my hope for the future. If that doesn't fit your narrative, that's fine. I'm not here to try and convince you or anyone else of anything, or trying to sway your opinion.
Of course I believe you....the story is quite different from actual residents which leads me to believe you are no less than full of shit sir.
Praying for a quick recovery. It just feels like such a dramatic transition, though. Would have liked to have seen things done more gradually personally but what's done is done, so all I can do is hope things rebound well and soon.
Just give it a few months, and a chance for the rain to properly flush as much of that unsightly looking silt downstream as it ever will. The Yurok tribe and other groups are also ready to start covering the exposed areas with native plants as soon as the conditions are favorable. So yeah, in a year’s time the landscape will look a lot more green and attractive than it does right now.
And one good thing about all these sediments being exposed and flushed downstream is that they will greatly expand and shore up the sandy beaches at the river’s delta. That means more roosting and feeding habitat there for plovers, sandpipers, curlews, and other migrating shorebirds-which need all the help we can give them right now.
It will take a while to undo the damage done by the reservoirs including sediment flushed down stream, riparian zone revegetated, mineral salt deposits dissolved, etc before the river is truly restored, but it will get there.
So very cool, putting it all back into balance. I hope to be able to see it after so many years., now free.
Beautiful, Lovely, Spectacular, Happy Happy, Joy Joy!
What was the original purpose for the dams? Hydroelectric power? Irrigation? If it was either of these what happened to the power and water users?
They were made to supply hydro-electric power. When the dams were built, the amount they could generate was seen as very worthwhile and useful, but in the years since, they've become outdated, and due to age they would have cost far more to maintain/upgrade than they cost to take down. In general, we use much more power than when they were built, and alternative renewable energy sources such as solar and wind farms can now generate much more electricity than these early generation hydro dams.
Essentially, in terms of efficiency, keeping them would have been like using steam trains for modern passenger rail. Combined with the environmental concerns, it really was better on all fronts for them to come down, even if it is a long and messy process to do so.
Excellent explanation. Thanks!
Great job
the opening shot is jenny creek before it reaches the Klamath River. Do you see the hole off to right in the opening shot ? Three of us caught , cleaned, and ate 255 perch in one day in the month of September in 1996 right there. the perch is a member of the Walleye family.
Yellow perch are not native to this region. They don't belong in the Klamath River. But I am extremely impressed at how many you could eat! I used to live in Wisconsin. I fished for and ate a lot of walleye there. They are excellent eating! But there's no way I could eat as much as you did. That's quite impressive.
@@georgehaydukeiii6396 George I just reread my entry and you are right, that is a lot to eat in one day and we did not. thanks for correcting me.
Perch are an excellent tasting fish, but unfortunately they accumulate a lot of heavy metals in their flesh. I catch and eat perch but wouldn’t let my grandkids eat it. Or a daughter-in-law who is pregnant or nursing.
Awesome.
Do Hetch Hetchy Next 😭
Wouldn’t that be a joyous miracle
I live by the Klamath, and you don't know what you're asking. Some day, the Klamath will be ok again but right now, hundreds of thousands of fish are dead, eagles, deer, and other wildlife are getting stuck in the toxic wasteland left behind and dying, the water is toxic and wells are being affected. It's a mess up here. This video is a nice attempt by KRRC to make it all look good, but it's not.
@@valeriefitzer4649 this would have been easily avoidable if they slowly worked to remove each dam in small stages like they did in Washington with the Elwa River dams. But they've been taking each dam along the Klamath in one detonation of the entire structure each time. That's how and why you've had such a massive, sudden and negative dump of all the sediments and water at once, which in turn causes massive washouts along the river system, which then only adds far more sediments to the overload already from all that was built up behind the dams. Why the hell they didn't learn from the Elwa removals I'll never know. The power company that owned the dams likely is too focused on getting it over with to save as much money as possible, while the nonprofit group overseeing it likely is too preoccupied with having them removed and gone yesterday, not today, so they're unconcerned and not thinking about what it could and does cause and do.
In the end, it will bounce back, but sadly it will take FAR longer than if they had been sensible and did it right, doing it very slowly. Impatience and greed are clearly at the core of how they've screwed it up.
@@valeriefitzer4649 Oh no, non-native warm water fish died and there is mud at the bottom of hundred-year old reservoirs exactly as the project planners expected. Weird how you didn't have any complaints about a "toxic wasteland" when it was under gross algae-infested fake lakes.
@@valeriefitzer4649 Should've never been dammed to begin with. Its an outdated method.
The most important thing to happen in a long time❤
Next: The Upper Eel!
Looks beautiful! Wonderful work. Now, plant the hell out of the resurrected land.
Yurok are planting millions of native plants and seeds they've gathered and propagated along the banks of the Klamath.
@@onealjones9039 Excellent!!! Thank You.
I had posted a link about the proposed landfill at the very source of the Klamath lake, river head waters. Appears to be a state project, third party, being proposed in Klamath County. My concern is that many downstream might not be aware of this project, this will effect us all from the headwaters to the outlet at the coast.
Very cool
WOW . Maybe there is hope for a future!
Maybe this video was done a little too soon? The afters look worse.
Thank you California Trout for having a healthy vision of the future...
The dams were coming out no matter what. The leases were up and the power companies were not going to spend 100's of millions of dollars to bring them up to code to relicense them. No way any landowners or groups were going to come up with the money either.
Why on earth would it costs more to put a fish ladder then it does to take them completely out
A big win for the.river .it won't be long before its back to beautiful. Wonder how long before they remove the rest of that dam ?
All the dams are scheduled to be removed by the end of this year.
Well done!
Many will whine and complain about change, but in the end the benefits of removing the dams will be felt from the headwaters far out into the ocean. However, everyone needs to understand that removing the dams was just one step in the restoration of the river. There is much left to do to repair the damage that has been done. Streams and tributaries must also be protected so that beavers can create wetlands that protect fish and habitat for countless other creatures and provide clean cool water back to the river in the hot, dry months of summer. They are a keystone species that will help to replenish groundwater and improve water quality for everyone.
Cool. I have property for sale near Copco. Gonna be a great fishing area soon.
Incredible
cool
It only took nature a couple of years to repair Nature's 20-year drought, I love Mother Nature! Now let's take care of her this time!! #SaveThePlanet #VOTEBLUE24 #JoeMotion24 #SaveOurSchools
Interesting & well done.
Happy happy joy joy!
Hope you're Hope's and Dreams come true. If not we're screwed.
Video needs correlation. One video of before and then after, all taken in one spot.
There are many such videos taken by Shane Anderson.
FREE The Salmon and the Steelhead
Salmon now go up creek to spawn,good luck on that
I live close to the Klamath river and these dams. I have my whole life. It’s not as great as they portray on the internet. I’ve heard two scenarios. About ten years and the river will be back to being healthy and the other is 100 years. From what I’ve seen I would say 100 is more realistic. Millions of yards of sediment are now on the river and more to come for the foreseeable future. They released 800,000 salmon fry the other day and they all died in short run down the river. There is a lot more to say but it won’t change anything. I hope it all works out.
as always, somewhere in between. Lets hope its closer to 10 than 100. Likely a little more than 10.
Once the river blows out it’s going to be beautiful. It’s just going to take some time. Even if all your fish die some fish from other runs will eventually repopulate your section of river because fish always get lost.
@rcknrol7258kiiiiiiiinda…it’s really a depository for chemical build up from farming and pollution. So it’s going to get worse before it gets better.
I love the PNW. I hope your experience is a positive one
@rcknrol7258 that sediment is full of toxic heavy metals.
❤️❤️💪💪
So sad that the ones assuming they were doing some great for wild life and the salmon have instead killed and created more hazards then anyone could of ever imagined? The metals in the areas around the river is now killing all wild life. So sad .
So sad you've got nothing but approved rancher and industry talking points? Wild how those "metals in the area" were cool to you when they were under diseased, algae-infested reservoirs. So sad.
River ain't dead... live right down the road from the mouth.. mighty Klamath River is alive and well my friend! Only gonna get better! 🎉🙏💙
Where are all these metals from ?
We've created it? 😆 I have tickets on sale to a place called denial-ville. Hit me up
Regardless of anything, the dams choked the life out of the klamath for a very long time. The dams created a toxic problem, and of course, that has to be fixed. It will not be pretty at first, but the klamath will be wild and free.
and what about the people that used to boat and do water sporty things on the reservoir? what about that river bank. how would u like to live near that? is any of that mud toxic? You know Cali will never restore those river banks. that state is bankrupt or plain corrupt. but keep saying happy happy joy joy. this isnt an episode of Ren and Stimpy!
The Yurok tribe will be active is restoration. Hyperbole much?
Bring us more FUD and fearmongering. Oh noes, no more algae-infested diseased fake lakes for "water sporty things".
Sporty things
You know someone has absolutely no clue what they’re talking about when they say California is bankrupt LOL!
@@dayofthejackylif u read it correctly i said or plain corrupt. you chose bankrupt. i say corrupt and bankrupt. Yeah that state may have not in court filed for chap 11 bankruptcy, But i am sure they are very close.LOL
Gav could, at the same time, add capacity at the Sites location so we can retain capacity during a drought. But I think all the DNC voters would instead prefer running around announcing how they are saving the planet by conserving water.
Disgusting situation…..war gross…. I’dve rather lived in a warm pine forest in 6 rivers California, full of very rich chemicals from restored golds silver pt cu and some gemstone locations too. The point was the public would, I’m sure much rather do that, but it’s not getting coverage in the media. Precludes fires and death times so yeah you know, ✍🏼
hope ALL of the dams in USA are removed for the return of all the salmon and wildlife!!
Awesome! This should have been done decades ago!
Has anyone read the articles on how the silt in some of the reservoirs is toxic and how it’s going to hurt the river? Haven’t heard a rebuttal to it yet
The Klamath River is a toxic sewer now.
Patience, my friend. Mother nature will take care of human errors.
This is part of flushing the toilet.
Change is hard !
Everything us Humans do is toxic to mother nature. She gets us back every time and finds a way to cleanse herself
Now the Indians deer, otters and other wildlife get to drink the putrid water. Nice work!
Now the hydropower and ranching lobbies pat you on the head. Nice work!
We know what we are in for, we fought for decades for it to happen. You can argue all day, but what it comes down to is nature vs greed. The river didn't become a river with dams built in. We want our river returned to it's natural state. It may take years to clear up, and that's what we have to suffer to undo 100 years of damage done, the poisons that were bred inside of these reservoirs. All you guys argued the fact the river was poison, until they took away your lake front property, then suddenly everybody is exclaiming " poison poison" like big surprise, the dams made the shit
hey Raven, you are bot.
Uh, Raven guess you haven't seen the thousands of dead and rotting blue mussels at Topsy Reservoir. Eyes on, baby, March 31, 2024. Let me say it again so you can understand. THOUSANDS OF STRANDED DEAD BLUE MUSSELS WHICH ARE A THREATENED SPECIES IN SOUTHERN OREGON. Did you hear that, Bot?
And killed everything down stream while filling the river bed and banks with clay. Nice job
Coughing up FUD and hydropower lobby talking points. Nice job.
@tombeno8746 what kind of power generation will replace the hydro power? Is it guaranteed clean energy sources? Or will it be dirty energy that contributes to a problem that effects everything on this planet, not just a few species?
@@DigitalM_M Few places are better suited for wind, solar, and battery storage than the Klamath River Basin, and those are the cheapest ways to produce clean green energy.
@@DigitalM_M These dams generated nearly irrelevant amounts of power - about 2% of regional supply...and are less expensive to remove than to update and relicense. But you probably know that?
@tombeno8746 it was 2% clean generation... you didn't answer my question. And we both know why already don't we?
What a $hit show removing these dams were. They were buitiful lake with their own eco systems. They killed all of that and silted the river down stream for miles killing everything. What a mistake.
Now it will return to being a beautiful river with its original ecosystem. Enjoy!
Those lakes were nasty. Every year they got loaded with microcystis and turned green.
Time to REBUILD BIGGER AND BETTER!
So much theft, murder and socioeconomic hurt done to my people. This is a good start, but a modest reparation.
800,000 dead salmon sounds like corporate planning. Give the project to the people & the gaming preserve.
I thought the idea was to save the salmon runs not destroy them? It is clear that the corperation in charge put profits over the professed mission and pulled a fast one. It's time to lawyer up people. How they changed the game plan at the last minute was ever so damaging and they need to be held accountable.
You killed off thousands of species in the klamath River, all the debris and chemicals that have just been sitting around in the bottom of the reservoirs went down River, the River is now fishless there's no oxygen and is deemed on safe to touch !!!!
A fools folly.
Dumbest idea anyone's ever had
You think saving a billion dollar or trillion dollar renewable resource that will last and feed people until the end of time is dumb. You simply cannot fix stupid. Bless your heart
Next to your parent’s decision to procreate.
Dumbest comment anyone's ever made
Reverse evolution...keeping the WHOLE story...the FACTS away from the ignorant public is the "norm" now...but it lets them "feel good"...as if it REALLY helps...keep your head in the sand..stay miss-informed...sleep well..
I love how low-info people like to cook up conspiracy theory scenarios to everything in order to make themselves feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
A rather awful video + horrible intrusive music! Did an adult review this video prior to release? Best of luck!
Released all those toxic metals. Shameful
Dumb
Deep, insightful comment
You are.
800,000 dead salmon sounds like corporate planning. Give the project to the people & the gaming preserve.