The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) said in a press release in mid-October that salmon are making serious waves in the upper Klamath Basin, showing up in places they haven’t been seen in over 100 years. In just a few weeks, ODFW and The Klamath Tribes have tracked Chinook salmon moving past old dam sites, through Upper Klamath Lake, and into tributaries like the Williamson and Sprague Rivers…which is a huge milestone after last year’s dam removals. Biologists are racing to keep up with the fish’s progress, using cameras and radio tags to follow their journey, and while salmon fishing remains closed to help the comeback, ODFW says this return is exactly what years of collaboration were aiming for.
It’s a reminder of what is possible for river restoration and fish recovery efforts everywhere.
