When fish are free: Hundreds of salmon are now spawning in Klamath River and tributaries after dam removal completed

By Dan Bacher

Hundreds of fall-run Chinook salmon are now spawning on the Klamath River and its tributaries both above and below the former sites of the four PacifiCorp dams – now that the removal of those structures is finally complete.

Craig Tucker, Natural Resources Consultant for the indigenous Karuk Tribe, made a trip to Spencer Creek in Oregon three days ago. He reported counting more than 100 Chinook in Spencer Creek and around the mouth of the creek.

“Salmon are coming back to the Upper Klamath Basin!” Tucker stressed. 

The indigenous Yurok Tribe also reported that “hundreds of salmon” are now spawning in the river and tributaries above the former Iron Gate Dam, emphasizing the key role this fish plays in the Klamath’s ecosystem.

“Within eyesight of the fish, the Yurok Revegetation Crew is hand-sowing millions of native plant seeds along the previously inaccessible upper mainstem Klamath and four tributaries,” the tribe observed. “Hundreds of salmon are spawning in this area for the first time in 60 and 112 years. Like all Pacific salmon, these Chinooks will perish after they reproduce and their bodies will provide nutrients for the newly planted vegetation as well as saplings and shrubs established earlier this year. The restoration of the flow of marine nutrients from the ocean to upper basin is one of the many benefits of dam removal.”

The tribe added, “In addition to fertilizing plants, salmons’ corporeal remains will provide food for other fish, birds and mammals, including resident trout, bald eagles and black bears. Salmon is one of the most nutritionally dense food sources for native wildlife in the region … Much more work is needed to get to a point where the reservoir reach is producing large numbers of juvenile salmon: It has only been five weeks since the conclusion of deconstruction component of the dam removal project.”

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has documented a combined total of 5,660 adult Chinook Salmon and 10 adult Coho Salmon returning to the Shasta River, Bogus Creek, Scott River, Jenny Creek and Shovel Creek, all Klamath tributaries, within the agency’s Klamath Project Adult Fish Counting Facility In-season Update. That report was released on November 8.

The Shasta River station reported 4,625 adult Chinook Salmon and 0 adult Coho Salmon through November 3, 2024.

The Bogus Creek station reported 293 adult Chinook Salmon and 0 adult Coho Salmon through October 30, 2024.

The Scott River station reported 413 adult Chinook Salmon and 10 adult Coho Salmon through November 5, 2024.

Jenny Creek Weir reported  245 Chinook Salmon, 0 Coho Salmon as of October 30, 2024. 

Shovel Creek Weir reported 84 Chinook Salmon and 0 Coho Salmon as of October 29, 2024.