Katie Falkenberg

As part of the Klamath River restoration following drawdown and dam removal, helicopter crews place large wood in priority tributaries to immediately improve fish habitat. These structures promote natural geomorphic processes and provide critical cover for spawning salmon and steelhead, accelerating the return of healthy populations after a century of disruption.

Resource Environmental Solutions (RES) launched a collection and relocation effort at JC Boyle Reservoir in Oregon for an increasingly rare species of suckers – C’waam or Lost River sucker, Koptu or shortnose sucker, and the Klamath largescale sucker. It was imperative to move these critically endangered fish to safe habitats before the reservoir was drained in preparation for dam removal. RES partnered with the Klamath Tribes as well as state and federal agency staff to carry out this endeavor.

Before reservoir drawdown and the release of a century’s worth of stored sediment, RES worked with the Karuk Tribe fisheries department to capture and relocate almost 250 Coho salmon to off-channel rearing ponds constructed by the tribe. Without this intervention, most or all of these endangered fish would likely have perished as extreme turbidity spiked and dissolved oxygen plummeted temporarily.

Following RES’ initial water quality monitoring efforts, we now have measurable data showing the dramatic changes on the Klamath River post-dam removal. For decades, dams fostered toxic algal blooms in the reservoirs, degraded water quality, altered natural temperature cycles, and blocked the sediment transport essential for salmon spawning habitat.

For over a century, Pickell’s Dam prevented threatened California South-Central Coastal steelhead from reaching intact habitat and cold water in the headwaters of Little Arthur Creek, a key tributary to the Pajaro River. Now, with the help of Trout Unlimited’s Tim Frahm, this migration barrier is gone.

Commissioned by Natural Earth Paint. naturalearthpaint.com

Flowing into one of Northern California’s most robust salmon rivers, the Lower Sacramento, Paynes Creek offers excellent spawning grounds for Chinook and Central Valley steelhead. But it’s also an important source of water for the people and agriculture of Tehama County. Like many small waterways in the area, it’s a stream that must balance many needs. For Trout Unlimited

Commissioned by the Ashland Food Co-op.

Commissioned by the Ashland Food Co-op.

Commissioned by the Ashland Food Co-op in Ashland, Oregon.