Work began Wednesday on removing the third of four dams that nearly destroyed salmon populations on the Klamath River in Oregon and California and caused some of the nation’s largest-ever fish kills.
Karuk elder Leaf Hillman and his wife, Lisa, were on hand to see the first shovelful of dirt scraped from the top of the earthen dam. They and other tribal fish and water protectors had fought for years to demolish the dams that nearly made one of their cultural touchpoints and primary food sources extinct.
“We sweep all the bad things off the downriver edge of the world and off the upriver edge of the world,” said Hillman. “We make this place all new again in service of all the spirit people that exist on this earth, both human and non-human ancestors and relations.”
The Iron Gate Dam was the last of the dams built to provide electricity to Northern California in the early 20th century. The reservoir behind the 173-foot-high dam, which went into service in 1962, was drained in January along with the other reservoirs. Klamath River Renewal Corporation, the nonprofit in charge of the largest dam removal project in the U.S. to date, chose to drain the reservoirs in the dead of winter because it was in between fish runs.