Dams can be beneficial to an area but can also have negative impacts on the ecosystem and how they work. The recent dam removal projects that included four on the Klamath River, will likely help restore the salmon population and overall health of the river.
From 1911 to 1962, four dams were built in the Klamath river, in Oregon, for many reasons, but mainly for innovative rise. Pacificorp, the company that built the dams, saw significant improvement in energy production, drought, and flood control as well as created reservoirs for agriculture. However, building these dams had a tremendous effect on tribal communities and the health of the river. These tribes relied on the fish for a food source, economy and cultural beliefs.
According to Sustainable Northwest, 1918 is when the salmon routes were first cut off, the dams wiped out almost the entire nearby salmon population. It also affected the overall environment due to electric shock, built-up sediment and turbine entrapment. The overall result of the dams resulted in over 1500 acres of land unavailable to natural animals, and less than two percent of the original salmon population.
Blocking the migration routes of salmon had a devastating impact on native tribes and indigenous lands. The importance of restoring our rivers is emphasized by Lee Pilon, a hatchery specialist at the Washington Department of Wildlife. “I’m not an expert in this by any stretch, but as a hatchery person dam removals should get the river back to its natural environment in which the water system or river basin was originally before it was damned.”
With the removal of the dams, restoration is expected to begin soon and in the next few decades, the fish and salmon population will likely be restored. The removal of the dams will cause a reduction in electricity supplied from them. There are efforts by energy companies and local governments to invest in energy using other alternative sources such as wind, solar, and geothermal power to replace the power from the outdated dams that are causing harm. “Perfection is impossible, progress is important,” according to Daniel Lopez, a senior military officer.
