Chinook salmon, or c’iyalls, swam up into tributaries of Upper Klamath Lake for the first time in over a century after dam removal. Credit: Paul Wilson
Picture a crew of Yurok Tribal members tending to the native plants on acres of former reservoir bed that were underwater just two years ago. Imagine smoke rising from a ridgeline as beneficial fire returns to land that needs it. Picture a rancher and a partner from a local conservation organization huddled over a map, working out how to stretch scarce water resources a little further.
This is the Klamath Basin today, and this is what Reconnect Klamath is here to cover.
Upper Klamath Basin rancher Alex Howard conducted a site visit with members of the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board's Klamath Water Quality Improvement Grant Program steering committee. The site visit was part of the application process for project funding to support installing a stockwater well and riparian fencing to help protect Sprague River water quality.
The construction phase of dam removal wrapped up in October 2024, closing one of the most consequential chapters in this basin's history. The Tribes who led that fight, and the scientists, conservationists, farmers, and ranchers who supported it, were always clear about one thing: removing the dams was a critical step, but it was never expected to be the finish line.
From the river's mouth up through Upper Klamath Lake and into the headwaters above, the basin's varied communities are now deep into the harder, quieter work of restoration. That means making sure that when salmon find their way back into streams they haven't seen in a century, they’ll find the habitat they need to survive and thrive. It means bringing prescribed and cultural burning back to a landscape that depends on it. It means managing the upland forests and meadows for increased snowpack and water. And it means finding smarter ways to irrigate fields and investing in nature-based solutions so that cleaner water will flow into the lake and down into the river itself.
None of this work is simple. Water availability remains unpredictable year to year. Tribal nations have stewarded this watershed since time immemorial. Farmers and ranchers have worked it for generations. All of them know a sustainable future isn't guaranteed. And all of them are working toward one anyway, together.
Klamath Tribes member (and Natural Resources Specialist for the Tribes) Don Gentry led a cultural burn on his property in spring 2025 to help advance a better understanding in his community of the importance of “good” fire to restore and support ecosystem health. Credit: Paul Wilson
A Klamath Basin where fish and wildlife thrive alongside working farms and ranches isn't a fantasy. It's a goal with people actively pursuing it, one project at a time.
That's the story Reconnect Klamath will be telling going forward. Come back often and make sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram. There's a lot of work underway, and all of it matters. It’s a story we will all be writing, together.