Researchers join Oregon biologists, tribal leaders to exchange insights on fish migration, restoration and river management
By Lee Juillerat for Ashland.news
Scientists from Mongolia spent three days touring various areas along the Klamath River recently to learn about the impacts of dam removals and the impacts on salmon.
Eight Mongolian scientists with specialties in aquatic ecosystems, biology, chemistry, and construction engineering participated in the tour to see “what it looks like to dam – and undam – a salmon river in the Klamath River Basin near the Oregon-California border.
Their visit was described by Melaney Dunne, a senior conservation manager with the Portland-based Wild Salmon Center, as an opportunity to advance global dialogue on how to best protect taimen, the world’s largest salmonids, which are found in Mongolia. The largest are up 72 inches long and can weigh more than 80 pounds.
Mongolia is home to some of the most pristine and productive taimen rivers across Eurasia. But the nation is also looking for ways to sustainably develop and expand its domestic energy production. “That drive for energy means that some of Mongolia’s most iconic taimen rivers are also now attractive locations for new hydropower dams and water storage infrastructure,” according to a Wild Salmon Center press release.
Among the stops was a section along the Klamath River near the Highway 66 bridge. Mark Hereford, an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist who is overseeing restoration efforts for Chinook salmon, explained the history of the recently removed dams, including what had been the nearby John C. Boyle Dam.
Hereford noted fall Chinook have been making their way up the Klamath into tributaries, including nearby Spencer Creek, much faster than expected. Chinook have been documented passing the two remaining upstream dams, the Keno and Link River dams, which have fish ladders. Although the existing fish ladders were not designed for salmon, tagged salmon have been documented as traveling up Upper Klamath Lake to the Williamson and Sprague rivers.
“The fact the fish are getting up here is astounding,” Hereford said, noting the various dams had prevented fish from moving up the Klamath River for more than a hundred years.
He said observations and recordings of tagged Chinook have verified their faster-than-expected return to tributaries. A recent count showed 75 redds (nests built by female salmon in the gravel of a stream bed to lay eggs) for migrating salmon, and 150 to 200 Chinook in the area near the bridge, which formerly was a reservoir created by the Boyle Dam.
Hereford also explained that the fish now being seen are fall Chinook, which spawn in warmer waters. He said spring Chinook, which he termed as “imperiled” and which are regarded as better eating fish, require colder water. Next spring it is hoped they will migrate upriver to tributaries like the Sprague, including its north and south forks, along with the Williamson and Wood rivers, distances of upwards of 300 miles.
By tagging the fish, which involves attaching a small, non-invasive tag near the dorsal fin – each tag contains a unique identification number – fish biologists can track a fish’s movement, growth and behavior.
The speedy upstream movement also shows Chinook can pass the Keno and Link River dams, which Hereford explained were built for irrigation and flood control purposes. He noted ODFW is coordinating efforts with “tons of partners,” including the Klamath Tribes and other tribes impacted by or living along the Klamath. The cooperative efforts include studies to determine the immediate and long-term impacts of the dams.
At another stop along the Klamath River, the Mongolian scientists met with Toz Soto, program manager for the Karuk Fisheries Program. Soto, who advocated for the removal of the dams, has also helped advise the Klamath River Renewal Corporation on how to protect fish during the dam deconstruction process.
“This is the largest dam removal to occur in the world,” Soto said to the delegation. “I think it sets a good precedent for us as humans when infrastructure is built, lives its life, and is removed. Dams are not permanent. And that can give folks that love rivers and salmon hope. This is the largest dam removal to occur in the world. I think it sets a good precedent for us as humans when infrastructure is built, lives its life, and is removed.”
From 1913 until dam removal, the majority of the Klamath River Basin had been blocked to salmon and other fish, such as lamprey and steelhead. Three of the four dams built on the Klamath mainstem — Iron Gate, Copco No. 1, and Copco No. — were built without any fish passage features.
In recent decades, as Tribes and conservation groups pushed for dam removal, some opponents argued that historically salmon never migrated above Iron Gate. They claimed it was a myth that salmon ever made use of spawning and rearing habitat higher up in Klamath Lake and its tributaries.
For Soto and others, the “myth” has been shown as fact.
Echoing Soto’s thoughts is Klamath Tribes Chair William Ray Jr., who said of the return of the salmon, “A hundred and fifteen years that they haven’t been here, and they still have that GPS unit inside of them. It’s truly an awesome feat if you think about the gauntlet they had to go through.”
For updates on the salmon and where they have been seen, visit the ODFW Facebook page or the post on the ODFW website at myodfw.commews/salmon-hit-more-milestones-klamath-river-chinook.
ODFW also reminding anglers that all salmon fishing remains closed in the Oregon portion of the Klamath River Basin to support salmon recovery: “Other regulations in place will help protect salmon as they return: Spencer Creek closed to fishing early this year (Sept. 30 rather than Oct. 31) to protect spawning Chinook. Other Klamath River tributaries (Williamson, Wood, Sprague) are routinely closed to all angling Nov. 1–May 21 to protect spawning redband trout and these closures will offer additional protection for returning salmon.”
According to the ODFW website, the timetable for salmon in the Klamath Basin include: tagged below Keno Dam on Oct. 1. Detected above Keno Dam on Oct. 8. Detected above the Link River Dam on Oct. 9. Detected multiple Chinook on Williamson River on Oct. 10. Detected on Sprague River on Oct. 14.
Stream Ecologist’s ‘Joyful Experience’
Members of the Klamath Basin Outdoor Group happened to be at the site where the Mongolian scientists stopped to listen to Mark Hereford, the Oregon Department of Fish of Wildlife’s Klamath Fisheries Reintroduction Project Leader, talk about the surprisingly fast sightings of Chinook salmon in Oregon.
Among those at the river during the Mongolian visit was Gary Vequist of Klamath Falls, a retired National Park Service ranger and self-described stream ecologist.
After hearing the talk by Hereford and later walking along Spencer Creek, one of the Klamath’s tributaries where salmon are now commonly seen, Vequist said, “The removal of four dams on the Klamath River is one of the greatest ecological restoration success stories in Oregon’s history. The removal of levees to create natural river deltas and the restoration of wetlands in Upper Klamath Lake have contributed to improved water quality and a reduction in harmful algae blooms that release microcystin toxins into the water column. The Upper Klamath Wild and Scenic River experienced improvements in water quality and sedimentation. Seeing a free-flowing river is a joyful experience.
“The return of salmon,” he added, “is celebratory after a hundred years of banging their heads against Iron Gate. Within a year of the dams’ removal, salmon returned to Spencer Creek in the Fall of 2024.
“This fall, King Salmon traveled nearly 257 miles upriver from Redwoods National Park (near Crescent City, California) to Klamath Falls. Their return,” Vequist believes, “is emblematic of a species’ resilience.”
“Even more exhilarating,” Vequist added, “was my sighting of river otters following salmon up the free-flowing Klamath River in the new river channel within the drained J.C. Boyle Reservoir. Where did the otters come from? Where are they going?”
Email freelance writer Lee Juillerat at 337lee337@charter.net.
