วีดีโอ

I spent many a day on Copko as a kid and quite a few as an adult. Great memories. Catfish, leaches on me, literal boat-loads of Yellow Perch, monstrous Rainbow Trout, buckets of crawdads from above the store. And some huge bucks coming right into camp at Mallard Cove. I'll still have the memories, but what's right is right. I'd 100 percent rather have the memories only and the river restored for native fish.

Glad you like it, Bruh 😉

Would love to get footage of that, unfortunately I will not be down that way.

@@tclems Understandable. Thanks for all the footage you've gotten so far, its the best I've seen!

@@DullBoyJack my pleasure!

Thank you. Music was sourced from a couple different editing apps

absolutely!

Spring 2025 there’ll be TV news clips discussing the wildflowers on the re-exposed flats. By 2026 someone will be advertising come see the Klamath River Spring Flower Festival. Are the flats to be a new state park?

The only update I have of Iron gate is from 3 weeks ago. I’m unsure of how much has been removed at this point.

That's a great comment: treat the locals well. When we initiate big changes - no matter how beneficial they are to salmon and downstream residents - we need to consider the impact on people living on the shores of former reservoirs. If we can support their communities after the dams are gone, they might realize that their way of life has not ended for them, but changed, and they could become advocates for future dam removal projects elsewhere - with the message that 'we're still doing ok'.

what have the locals lost? Looks like there has been a lot gained...?

@@dayofthejackyl I agree much has been gained, and the dam removal is a wonderful project in som many ways. But the locals did lose their waterfront access, sense of community and likely much of their property values. Don't get me wrong - the benefits of the project far outweigh the detriments - but if we are to continue with more similar projects (and be good people), we should consider and work with affected landowners in order to get their support and ensure they don't feel discarded.

@@adrianwapcaplet2773 I’ve read that the water quality of those lakes was very poor, especially in the summer. That they were sometimes green from algae blooms. I’m sure they weren’t like that all the time but it seems like having a river running through your property (and suddenly you own more land!) is going to be a beautiful exchange in the long run. I mean, if the property value is going down because of all this, maybe I should go see what’s available! I’ve always missed living in California ever since I moved away.

You mean all the fish they killed?

@@samstheman6178 haters gonna hate - sigh

@@samstheman6178 Are you talking about the fish that died in the lakes every year? From water that was too warm and filled with algae? Those fish?

​@@samstheman6178 Give it up. Why are you such a hateful, miserable, negative person? Get a grip. Do some real research. You have been listening to the wrong people for way too long! Leave the dark side Sam. Step into the light. Have faith in yourself. You can do it!

​@@samstheman6178There's still native trout above that haven't had access to the salt since the dams went in. There's still all the anadromous fish in the ocean. Killing all the non-native fish in the river is part of the restoration. So they lost a years crop of hatchery fish - that's a drop in the bucket. To make an omelet you gotta break some eggs. There's 3 solid years of Salmon growing in the ocean ready to run the bar, soon to have access to hundreds of miles of spawn habitat lost to them for decades. The only way to look at it is as a win buddy.

I can give you a big hug and glass of water to make you feel better!!

once again, the dams were "run of river" so not for water storage.

If you buy it in a bottle it is more expensive than gas.

Only idiots buy bottled water.

If you look at the Elwha River, it took ~2yrs for the river health to come back. Fish plummeted for a period bc of the sediment but now they're flourishing again. It also created a larger delta area along the coast which is adding to biodiversity in the region.

@KennyWatson-mu9to You are changing your tune. Thankfully. 2 months ago all you would say is. It is dead, all dead, forever dead. Now you are saying let's see. I say that too. Let's see.

The river, rock and fish will win! Why not understand that?

Like destroying an environment that was well enough alone

@@samstheman6178 haters gonna hate - sigh

@@samstheman6178 Getting rid of two algae filled fish killing lakes is a bad thing?

@@samstheman6178 yes, that's what happened 100 years ago when they put these dams in.

It's not natural, it was blasted into the rock to allow the river to bypass the dam site while the dam was being built.

It's the original diversion tunnel used to build the dam; it would have been blasted around the site of the dam before construction started, the river would have been diverted through it as it is now while the dam was under constructed, and it would have been plugged once the dam was completed. As it was only needed temporarily, they just left it in its rough rock state.

Reservoirs that are mostly filled with sediment do not have the ability to store water. Sediment does not water crops, supply residential homes, protect against downstream floods, or generate electrical power. It does, however, erode the heck out of turbines. Eventually, the cost of maintaining the turbines becomes more expensive than the revenue generated by those turbines, and from then on the dam loses money. Nobody, neither dam owners nor taxpayers, want to pay for those ongoing losses.

@@jasminelindros8923 So the entire reservoir was full of sediment. I thought normally only behind the dam would be full of sediment. No one used the reservoir for a water source. Spill gates can be installed to dump sediment. Not all dams have to generate electricity and they can be used for flood control. When you need water it is like gold. I thought California needed water.

@@vernmck It's the other way around. Sediment is carried into the reservoir by the river, and most of that sediment is dumped right where the river enters the still water of the reservoir. This builds a delta down into the reservoir from its upstream end, and that delta grows, year after year, from the upstream end of the reservoir down canyon towards the dam. By the time the lowest leading edge of that delta reaches the dam, the upper 2/3rds of the reservoir may be choked with sediment. The dam could still generate power, but turbines take water from the bottom of the dam and so the sediment will begin to erode the turbine blades, bearings, inlets, outlets, and valves. Maintenance and replacement costs will skyrocket. Sediment drastically reduces a reservoir's ability to contain floods. If a flood event had hit the original reservoir and added (just for example) 10% of the total reservoir capacity in a week, it might have raised the water level by five or six feet. However, if 2/3rds of the reservoir is now filled with mud, 10% of the original capacity will be 30% of the remaining capacity and the water level could jump twenty feet. This drastically increases the chance of overtopping the dam. "Spill gates" at the dam cannot release sediment from the upper reaches of the reservoir. Pretty much ALL dams in California are used for water supply, with upcanyon reservoirs like this used to store water until it can be released to downcanyon reservoirs where end users begin their water diversions.

These were private dams used solely for power generation. They were neither used for water storage nor irrigation.

@@vernmck My earlier reply has been censored. I will break it into three pieces and re-post it. Sediment is carried into the reservoir by the river, and most of that sediment is dumped right where the river enters the still water of the reservoir. This builds a delta down into the reservoir from its upstream end, and that delta grows, year after year, from the upstream end of the reservoir down canyon towards the dam. By the time the lowest leading edge of that delta reaches the dam, the upper 2/3rds of the reservoir may be choked with sediment. The dam could still generate power, but turbines take water from the bottom of the dam and so the sediment will begin to erode the turbine blades, bearings, inlets, outlets, and valves. Maintenance and replacement costs will skyrocket.

Looks like they're making really good progress. It's very impressive.

This project is really well thought out and has a lot of really experienced groups working on it. Everyone involved is completely committed to making sure this whole thing goes smoothly and successfully. A lot of people everywhere are watching.

They were built for a reason one day the reason we’ll be remembered

Why?

Why?

@@user-gz7dg2fz5n trying to appear prophetic yet comes off ignorant. Kudos, showing off that American public education.

troll

Where the dams are now will be a good place to put gill nets and fish buyers.

Lot less than that

50 years? Seedlings are sprouting on the banks of iron gate as of today. in 50 years most people will not know there were ever any dams on this river.

​@@stevet8121 No, way too far upriver. Only toothless inbred trailer trash eats salmon this far upriver. Ishi Pishi falls is about as far upriver you want to catch salmon. The C'waam & Koptu are what are good way up here. Everyone knows that....🙄

I'd recommend watching the video. Grasses and vegetation has sprouted to the riverside all over. It happens very quick. I grew up fishing Shasta Lake all year. Shasta fluctuates a lot and if the lake is down, grasses and Mullen explodes all over mud flats at every opportunity. This will be tree'd in with Willow and other trees in the blink of an eye.