Klamath Headwaters (Joshua Duplechian/Trout Unlimited)
Klamath River
Overview
The Klamath River drains an extensive watershed that stretches from the high desert of south-central Oregon to the cool, rainy redwood forests of the northern California coast. On the West Coast, only the Columbia and Sacramento Rivers produced more salmon historically. This complex watershed is home to native redband and bull trout in its headwaters, two species of endemic suckers (C’waam and Koptu in the Klamath language), steelhead, Chinook and coho salmon, Pacific lamprey, and other native fish species. The Klamath’s sport fisheries are legendary among anglers, and its Chinook salmon runs are the cornerstone of the commercial salmon fishing industry in northern California.
For over two decades, Trout Unlimited has been deeply committed to reconnecting the Klamath’s salmon, steelhead, and lamprey to historic habitat that has been blocked for more than a century.
That commitment was realized in 2024 when the last of four hydroelectric dams blocking the Klamath River were removed, opening 420 miles of historic habitat and marking the largest dam removal project ever completed.
Dam removal is a reason to celebrate, but our work in the Upper Klamath Basin is not done yet and is more urgent than ever before. We are helping improve water quality in Upper Klamath Lake, restoring and reconnecting spawning and rearing habitat for anadromous and resident fish, and are working hard to ensure that the goal of anadromous fish return above the former dams is fully realized.
Dam Removal
Copco Dam removal. (Swiftwater Films)
For over two decades, Trout Unlimited has been deeply committed to working with regional tribes, commercial fisherman, state and federal agencies and other partners to reconnect the Klamath’s salmon, steelhead, and lamprey to historic habitat that had been blocked for more than a century by the four dams of the Klamath River Hydroelectric Project.
That commitment was realized in 2024 when the last barriers were removed, opening 420 miles of historic habitat and marking the largest dam removal project ever completed.
Salmon began returning within weeks and were soon found all the way into Oregon. The following year, the fish went even further and were documented successfully spawning upstream of Upper Klamath Lake.
Restoration of the Reservoir Reach
To fully leverage the ecological benefits of dam removal, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Restoration Center partnered with Trout Unlimited and the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC) to produce a comprehensive report identifying and prioritizing the most impactful restoration projects within the “reservoir reach,” the span of the hydroelectric project on the Klamath.
Since the completion of the report in 2022, TU has completed several identified projects including the removal of a defunct irrigation dam on Jenny Creek and 26 miles of fencing installed along the former reservoir footprints to protect newly established riparian vegetation. In addition, TU has two high-priority fish passage and screening projects planned on Oregon’s Spencer Creek, a key spawning tributary reconnected to anadromous fish after dam removal, to ensure volitional movement of fish and prevent entrainment into irrigation infrastructure.
Restoration
Building beaver imitation structures in the Upper Klamath Basin (Joshua Duplechian/Trout Unlimited)
In the Upper Klamath Basin, TU’s Oregon staff have been leading projects to restore habitat, fish passage, water quality, and instream flows in the Sprague, Williamson, and Wood River watersheds. In partnership with private landowners, Tribes, and federal and state agencies, projects include beaver-mimicry and instream wood placement in many headwater streams, removal of man-made barriers that block fish passage, adding spawning gravel, and installing screens to protect fish from getting stuck in irrigation diversions.
Monitoring
Monitoring water temperature in a Upper Klamath tributary
Effective restoration and resource sharing requires extensive, accurate data on instream conditions over time. Trout Unlimited staff have installed and are monitoring more than 30 temperature data loggers, 15 groundwater wells, and five turbidity stations throughout the Upper Klamath Basin. They routinely monitor fish populations by electrofishing and document river morphology, riparian vegetation, and floodplain connectivity with drone flights. All of this work is done in partnership with many state and federal agencies and supported by TU’s science team.
Bull Trout Recovery
Klamath Bull Trout caught at a TU restoration project site.
The Upper Klamath Basin is home to one of the southernmost populations of Bull Trout remaining in North America. For more than decade, Trout Unlimited staff have been working to recover this native species which remains on the endangered species list. Despite many positive outcomes for Bull Trout, such as the reconnection of Sun Creek to the Wood River, Klamath Bull Trout remain threatened by extirpation as stream temperatures warm and extreme wildfire increases in frequency and extent.
Recovering Bull Trout is a priority for Trout Unlimited in the Klamath watershed and, to that end, we have recently completed, along with strategic input and direction from the local Bull Trout working Group, a strategic action plan that identifies specific, actionable tasks that are needed over the next decade to recover the species. Trout Unlimited has started work on several of the identified tasks with projects including seasonal movement and population abundance monitoring, passage barrier removal, environmental DNA tracking, instream habitat restoration, and non-native fish removal. This work would not be possible without the staff at Crater Lake National Park and our other state and federal agency partners.
