Historic land deal more than 20 years in the making returns vast swath of land to Native tribe: 'An unprecedented step forward'

Native American teens kayak major US river to celebrate removal of dams and return of salmon

Associated Press

15-07-2025

Associated Press

Native American teens kayak major US river to celebrate removal of dams and return of salmon

KLAMATH, Calif. (AP) — As bright-colored kayaks push through a thick wall of fog, voices and the beats of drums build as kayakers approach a crowd that has formed on the beach. Applause erupts as the boats land on the sandy spit that partially separates the Klamath River from the Pacific Ocean in northern California. Native American teenagers from tribes across the river basin push themselves up and out of the kayaks and begin to cross the sand, some breaking into a sprint. They kick playfully at the cold waves of the ocean they've been paddling toward over the last month — the ocean that's seen fewer and fewer salmon return to it over the last century as four hydropower dams blocked their ideal spawning grounds upstream. 'I think our ancestors would be proud because this is what they've been fighting for,' said Tasia Linwood, a 15-year-old member of the Karuk Tribe, on Thursday night, ahead of the group's final push to the end on Friday. The Klamath River is newly navigable after a decades-long effort to remove its four hydropower dams to help restore the salmon run — an ancient source of life, food and culture for these paddlers' tribes who have lived alongside the river for millennia. Youth primarily from the Yurok, Klamath, Hoopa Valley, Karuk, Quartz Valley and Warm Springs tribes paddled 310 miles (499 kilometers) over a month from the headwaters of the Wood River, a tributary to the Klamath that some tribes consider sacred, to the Pacific Ocean. The teens spent several years learning to navigate white water through Paddle Tribal Waters, a program set up by the nonprofit Rios to Rivers, to prepare local Native youth for the day this would be possible. During their last days on the water, the group of several dozen swelled to more than 100, joined by some family members and Indigenous people from Bolivia, Chile and New Zealand who face similar challenges on their home rivers. Dams built decades ago for electricity Starting in the early 1900s, power company PacifiCorp built the dams over several decades to generate electricity. But the structures, which provided 2% of the utility's power, halted the natural flow of a waterway that was once known as the third-largest salmon-producing river on the West Coast. With the dams in place, tribes lost access to a reliable source of food. The dams blocked the path to hundreds of miles of cool freshwater streams, ideal for salmon returning from the ocean to lay their eggs. Salmon numbers declined dramatically along with the water quality. In 2002, a bacterial outbreak caused by low water and warm temperatures killed more than 34,000 fish, mostly Chinook salmon. That galvanized decades of advocacy by tribes and environmental groups, culminating in 2022 when federal regulators approved a plan to remove the dams. Through protests, testimony and lawsuits, the tribes showcased the environmental devastation caused by the dams, especially to salmon. From 2023 to 2024, the four dams were dynamited and removed, freeing hundreds of miles of the Klamath. The renewable electricity lost by removing the hydropower dams was enough to power the equivalent of 70,000 homes, although PacifiCorp has since expanded its renewable sources through wind and solar projects. Two dams used for irrigation and flood control remain on the upper stretch of the river. They have 'ladders' that allow some fish to pass through, although their efficacy for adult salmon is questionable. On the journey, the paddlers got out of the river and carried their kayaks around the dams. For teens, a month of paddling and making memories The journey began June 12 with ceremonial blessings and kayaks gathered in a circle above a natural pool of springs where fresh water bubbles to the surface at the headwater of the Wood River, just upstream of the Klamath River. The youth camped in tents as they made their way across Upper Klamath Lake and down the Klamath River, jumping in the water or doing flips in their kayaks to cool down in the summer heat. A few kayakers came down with swimmer's ear, but overall everybody on the trip remained healthy. Nearly everyone had a story to share of a family's fishing cabin or a favorite swimming hole while passing through ancestral territory of the Klamath, Modoc, Shasta, Karuk and Yurok. More than 2,200 dams were removed from rivers in the United States from 1912 through 2024, most in the last couple of decades as momentum grows to restore the natural flow of rivers and the wildlife they support, according to the conservation group American Rivers. 'I believe that it was kind of symbolic of a bigger issue,' said John Acuna, member of the Hoopa Valley Tribe and a leader on the trip. Removal of dams represents end of long fight with federal government The federal government signed treaties with these tribes outlining their right to govern themselves, which is violated when they can't rely on their traditional food from the river. Acuna said these violations are familiar to many tribal communities, and included when his great-grandmother was sent to boarding school as part of a national strategy to strip culture and language from Native Americans. That history 'comes with generational trauma,' he said. Their treaty-enshrined right to fish was also blatantly disregarded by regional authorities in the 1970s but later upheld by various court decisions, said Yurok council member Phillip Williams. Standing on a fog-shrouded boat ramp in the town of Requa awaiting the arrival of the youth, Williams recounted the time when it was illegal to fish here using the tribes' traditional nets. As a child, his elders were arrested and even killed for daring to defy authorities and fish in broad daylight. Fifty years later, with the hydropower dams now gone, large numbers of salmon are beginning to return and youth are paddling the length of the Klamath. 'If there's a heaviness that I feel it's because there's a lot of people that lived all in these places, all these little houses here that are no longer here no more,' said Williams. 'They don't get to see what's happening today. And that's a heavy, heavy, feeling.' Even as a teen, Linwood says she feels both the pleasure of a month-long river trip with her friends and the weight of the past. 'I kind of feel guilty, like I haven't done enough to be fighting,' she said. 'I gotta remember that's what our ancestors fought for. They fought for that — so that we could feel this joy with the river.' ___ The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP's environmental coverage, visit

Young indigenous kayakers about to complete historic river journey, after ‘largest dam removal in US history'

CNN

10-07-2025

CNN

Young indigenous kayakers about to complete historic river journey, after ‘largest dam removal in US history'

Ruby Williams' birthday was not your average 18th. She celebrated it on the Klamath River, with a group of young people making a historic journey paddling from the river's headwaters in southern Oregon to its mouth in the Pacific Ocean, just south of Crescent City, California. It marked the first time in a century that the descent has been possible, after the recent removal of four dams allowed the river to flow freely. Williams, together with fellow paddler Keeya Wiki, 17, spoke to CNN on day 15 of their month-long journey, which they are due to complete on Friday. At this point, they had just 141 miles (227 kilometers) of the 310-mile (499 kilometer) journey left to go and had already passed through some of the most challenging rapids, such as those at the 'Big Bend' and 'Hell's Corner' sections of the river. Both were exhausted and hadn't showered in days — although they promised they 'aren't completely feral.' However, despite tired minds, they were steadfast in their commitment. 'We are reclaiming our river, reclaiming our sport,' said Williams. 'We are getting justice,' Wiki, who is from the Yurok Tribe, added. 'And making sure that my people and all the people on the Klamath River can live how we're supposed to.' The Klamath River runs deep in the cultures of the native peoples living in its basin, who historically used dugout canoes to travel along it. They view it as a living person, a relative, who they can depend on — and in turn protect. 'It's our greatest teacher, our family member,' said Williams, who is from the Karuk Tribe, which occupies lands along the middle course of the Klamath. 'We revolve ceremonies around it, like when the salmon start running (the annual migration from the sea back to freshwater rivers to spawn), we know it's time to start a family.' Historically, it was also a lifeline, providing them with an abundance of fish. The Klamath was once the third-largest salmon-producing river on the West Coast of the US. But between 1918 and 1966, electric utility company California Oregon Power Company (which later became PacifiCorp), built a series of hydroelectric dams along the river's course, which cut off the upstream pathway for migrating salmon, and the tribes lost this cultural and commercial resource. For decades, native people — such as the Karuk and Yurok tribes — demanded the removal of the dams and restoration of the river. But it was only in 2002, after low water levels caused a disease outbreak that killed more than 30,000 fish, that momentum really started to build for their cause. Twenty years later, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission finally approved a plan to remove four dams on the lower Klamath River. This was when Paddle Tribal Waters was set up by the global organization Ríos to Rivers to reconnect native children to the ancient river. Believing that native peoples ought to be the first to descend the newly restored river, the program started by teaching local kids from the basin how to paddle in whitewater. Wiki and Williams were among them — neither had kayaked before then. Related article This 1,000-mile river suffered decades of oil spills. Now it's a legal person, things could change In the fall of 2024, the last of the four dams was removed – completing what has been called 'the world's largest dam removal effort' by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Upriver (beyond where the Klamath River technically begins), two smaller non-hydroelectric dams remain, where the paddlers had to disembark and carry the kayaks overland; there are currently no plans to remove them despite an ongoing campaign. Wiki recalled feeling giddy when she heard that the last dam had fallen. 'So many of our elders and our aunties and uncles… fought so hard to get these dams down,' she said. 'It was a really long, hard fight, and a lot of people thought — even my grandma thought — they would never see the dams come down in their lifetime. 'So, for us to paddle down the river… it's very surreal. I think we're all just so grateful, knowing that the salmon can finally go from the mouth to the headwaters, and that we can go from the headwaters to the mouth too.' Weston Boyles, founder and director of Ríos to Rivers, who is also on the journey, said that it was critical that native people lead the first descent. 'Historically, 'first descents' have been a colonial idea: outsiders staking claims on waterways that indigenous communities have navigated for millennia,' he said. 'We're reclaiming a stolen narrative. It matters because those waters flow through ancestral homelands, and these young paddlers are reasserting sovereignty, healing cultural trauma, and honoring their tribes' deep connections to the river.' The ecological impact is also something to celebrate. Within a few days of the final dam being removed, chinook salmon (the largest of the Pacific salmon species) were seen swimming past the former location of Iron Gate Dam in northern California — a spot where no fish had passed in 60 years, said Dave Coffman, director of northern California and southern Oregon for Resource Environmental Solutions (RES), the company working on the Klamath's restoration. 'We were hopeful that within a couple of years we would see salmon return to Southern Oregon. It took the salmon two weeks,' he told CNN. 'No one saw that coming — the response has exceeded our wildest hopes. It demonstrates the remarkable resilience of these fish: if we give them a chance, they will make their way back home.' But there is no denying the landscape has changed dramatically since before the dams and it will take years to recover, according to Coffman. RES is working to accelerate the natural process by reshaping channels, excavating sediment, planting billions of native seeds along the riverbanks, and even using helicopters to place downed trees in tributaries to provide crucial cover for fish and wildlife. 'Sometimes we give nature a gentle nudge, but sometimes we give it a great big shove in the right direction,' says Coffman. Wiki and Williams have already witnessed the results. 'It's been so cool to paddle through where the old reservoirs were and see all the new growth,' said Williams. 'I got to see it earlier this year and it was kind of looking sad, and then I paddled through a couple days ago and it looks like a completely different river.' Related article Lost underwater forests are returning to Sydney's coastline After completing the epic journey, the girls will go their separate ways. Williams will head off to college in fall and Wiki is starting her final year of high school. But despite living on different sections of the river and being from different tribes, they are confident their paths will cross again. Both strongly believe their futures are grounded in the Klamath. Williams dreams of coming back in her college breaks and becoming a paddle instructor, while Wiki sees herself doing advocacy work for her community. 'We are celebrating (now), but there's still so much work to be done in the United States and also globally around dams and dam removal,' said Wiki. '(I want to) create a larger global community.'

CNN

10-07-2025

CNN

Young indigenous kayakers about to complete historic river journey, after ‘largest dam removal in US history'

Ruby Williams' birthday was not your average 18th. She celebrated it on the Klamath River, with a group of young people making a historic journey paddling from the river's headwaters in southern Oregon to its mouth in the Pacific Ocean, just south of Crescent City, California. It marked the first time in a century that the descent has been possible, after the recent removal of four dams allowed the river to flow freely. Williams, together with fellow paddler Keeya Wiki, 17, spoke to CNN on day 15 of their month-long journey, which they are due to complete on Friday. At this point, they had just 141 miles (227 kilometers) of the 310-mile (499 kilometer) journey left to go and had already passed through some of the most challenging rapids, such as those at the 'Big Bend' and 'Hell's Corner' sections of the river. Both were exhausted and hadn't showered in days — although they promised they 'aren't completely feral.' However, despite tired minds, they were steadfast in their commitment. 'We are reclaiming our river, reclaiming our sport,' said Williams. 'We are getting justice,' Wiki, who is from the Yurok Tribe, added. 'And making sure that my people and all the people on the Klamath River can live how we're supposed to.' The Klamath River runs deep in the cultures of the native peoples living in its basin, who historically used dugout canoes to travel along it. They view it as a living person, a relative, who they can depend on — and in turn protect. 'It's our greatest teacher, our family member,' said Williams, who is from the Karuk Tribe, which occupies lands along the middle course of the Klamath. 'We revolve ceremonies around it, like when the salmon start running (the annual migration from the sea back to freshwater rivers to spawn), we know it's time to start a family.' Historically, it was also a lifeline, providing them with an abundance of fish. The Klamath was once the third-largest salmon-producing river on the West Coast of the US. But between 1918 and 1966, electric utility company California Oregon Power Company (which later became PacifiCorp), built a series of hydroelectric dams along the river's course, which cut off the upstream pathway for migrating salmon, and the tribes lost this cultural and commercial resource. For decades, native people — such as the Karuk and Yurok tribes — demanded the removal of the dams and restoration of the river. But it was only in 2002, after low water levels caused a disease outbreak that killed more than 30,000 fish, that momentum really started to build for their cause. Twenty years later, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission finally approved a plan to remove four dams on the lower Klamath River. This was when Paddle Tribal Waters was set up by the global organization Ríos to Rivers to reconnect native children to the ancient river. Believing that native peoples ought to be the first to descend the newly restored river, the program started by teaching local kids from the basin how to paddle in whitewater. Wiki and Williams were among them — neither had kayaked before then. Related article This 1,000-mile river suffered decades of oil spills. Now it's a legal person, things could change In the fall of 2024, the last of the four dams was removed – completing what has been called 'the world's largest dam removal effort' by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Upriver (beyond where the Klamath River technically begins), two smaller non-hydroelectric dams remain, where the paddlers had to disembark and carry the kayaks overland; there are currently no plans to remove them despite an ongoing campaign. Wiki recalled feeling giddy when she heard that the last dam had fallen. 'So many of our elders and our aunties and uncles… fought so hard to get these dams down,' she said. 'It was a really long, hard fight, and a lot of people thought — even my grandma thought — they would never see the dams come down in their lifetime. 'So, for us to paddle down the river… it's very surreal. I think we're all just so grateful, knowing that the salmon can finally go from the mouth to the headwaters, and that we can go from the headwaters to the mouth too.' Weston Boyles, founder and director of Ríos to Rivers, who is also on the journey, said that it was critical that native people lead the first descent. 'Historically, 'first descents' have been a colonial idea: outsiders staking claims on waterways that indigenous communities have navigated for millennia,' he said. 'We're reclaiming a stolen narrative. It matters because those waters flow through ancestral homelands, and these young paddlers are reasserting sovereignty, healing cultural trauma, and honoring their tribes' deep connections to the river.' The ecological impact is also something to celebrate. Within a few days of the final dam being removed, chinook salmon (the largest of the Pacific salmon species) were seen swimming past the former location of Iron Gate Dam in northern California — a spot where no fish had passed in 60 years, said Dave Coffman, director of northern California and southern Oregon for Resource Environmental Solutions (RES), the company working on the Klamath's restoration. 'We were hopeful that within a couple of years we would see salmon return to Southern Oregon. It took the salmon two weeks,' he told CNN. 'No one saw that coming — the response has exceeded our wildest hopes. It demonstrates the remarkable resilience of these fish: if we give them a chance, they will make their way back home.' But there is no denying the landscape has changed dramatically since before the dams and it will take years to recover, according to Coffman. RES is working to accelerate the natural process by reshaping channels, excavating sediment, planting billions of native seeds along the riverbanks, and even using helicopters to place downed trees in tributaries to provide crucial cover for fish and wildlife. 'Sometimes we give nature a gentle nudge, but sometimes we give it a great big shove in the right direction,' says Coffman. Wiki and Williams have already witnessed the results. 'It's been so cool to paddle through where the old reservoirs were and see all the new growth,' said Williams. 'I got to see it earlier this year and it was kind of looking sad, and then I paddled through a couple days ago and it looks like a completely different river.' Related article Lost underwater forests are returning to Sydney's coastline After completing the epic journey, the girls will go their separate ways. Williams will head off to college in fall and Wiki is starting her final year of high school. But despite living on different sections of the river and being from different tribes, they are confident their paths will cross again. Both strongly believe their futures are grounded in the Klamath. Williams dreams of coming back in her college breaks and becoming a paddle instructor, while Wiki sees herself doing advocacy work for her community. 'We are celebrating (now), but there's still so much work to be done in the United States and also globally around dams and dam removal,' said Wiki. '(I want to) create a larger global community.'

Historic land deal more than 20 years in the making returns vast swath of land to Native tribe: 'An unprecedented step forward'

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Native American teens kayak major US river to celebrate removal of dams and return of salmon

Young indigenous kayakers about to complete historic river journey, after ‘largest dam removal in US history'

Young indigenous kayakers about to complete historic river journey, after ‘largest dam removal in US history'

Historic land deal more than 20 years in the making returns vast swath of land to Native tribe: 'An unprecedented step forward'

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Native American teens kayak major US river to celebrate removal of dams and return of salmon

Young indigenous kayakers about to complete historic river journey, after ‘largest dam removal in US history'

Young indigenous kayakers about to complete historic river journey, after ‘largest dam removal in US history'

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