Historic deal reached to remove 4 massive dams on lower Klamath River

The Iron Gate Dam, powerhouse and spillway are on the lower Klamath River near Hornbrook, Calif. A new agreement announced Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020, promises to revive faltering plans to demolish four massive hydroelectric dams on a river along the Oregon-California border to save imperiled salmon. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus, File) AP An agreement announced Tuesday paves the way for the largest dam demolition in U.S. history, a project that promises to reopen hundreds of miles of waterway along the Oregon-California border to salmon that are critical to tribes but have dwindled to almost nothing in recent years. If approved, the deal would revive plans to remove four massive hydroelectric dams on the lower Klamath River, creating the foundation for the most ambitious salmon restoration effort in history. The project on California’s second-largest river would be at the vanguard of a trend toward dam demolitions in the U.S. as the structures age and become less economically viable amid growing environmental concerns about the health of native fish. Previous efforts to address problems in the Klamath Basin have fallen apart amid years of legal sparring that generated distrust among tribes, fishing groups, farmers and environmentalists, and the new agreement could face […]

Click here to view original web page at Historic deal reached to remove 4 massive dams on lower Klamath River