At times, the best way to move forward can be by taking something down. Four hydroelectric dams operated in California and Oregon’s Klamath River, the oldest of them for more than a century, altering the water body that had long been home to salmon and native populations, as well as a significant part of their livelihood and culture. And in 2024, the last of the four dams was removed. According to a NOAA Fisheries press release, the removal of these dams opened up roughly 420 miles of salmon habitat.
However, the project on the Klamath River wasn't only about demolishing four dams and allowing the water to flow freely. The effort that went behind it was a product of decades of negotiations between tribes, local communities, governmental agencies, conservation organizations, and even the utility company that owned the dams. It stands as the biggest dam removal project in history.
Four dams and barely any reason to keep them standing
The four dams on the lower Klamath, namely Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2, J.C. Boyle, and Iron Gate, constructed between 1918 and 1962, had never held water for drinking, irrigation, or flood control. These dams served only one purpose: production of hydroelectric power. By the 2010s, they did even that poorly; together, they generated less than 2 percent of PacifiCorp's total energy output. When the federal government ordered upgrades so that the dams would comply with the new standards regarding fish passage and water quality, the utility calculated the cost and found that it would be cheaper to demolish them.
