I used to live in Humboldt county. The economy runs on tourism and finishing. We need a healthy river for that. I don’t get why people think that because they bought a house that they can expect nothing to change or go bad for them. I’m told to suck it up and piss off when something doesn’t go my way, why does someone with a vacation home get a pass?
We're trying get dams taken down along the Penobscot River in Maine to restore endangered Atlantic salmon. Hope we can bring about positive results such as you have there.
Appreciate these tribes respecting and acknowledging the tribes where their land is! Really shows the collaboration and love put into this! I respect how these are being done. Keep it up - Aho!
The Klamath River restoration will never be complete without also restoring streams and beaver habitat. The beavers will store water that will replenish groundwater supplies, create ideal habitat for birds, fish, and other animals, and will provide clean, cool water to the river in the hot and dry summer months. The removal of dams without that stream restoration will fail to improve water quality or to decrease water temperatures and algae blooms in the summertime because there will not be enough freshwater flow. The beavers are a keystone species. The rivers need them to survive.
I also worry that by not removing all the dams there won't be much of a water quality improvement. Klamath Lake is routinely closed to swimming from the toxic algae. That will continue to poison the river.
The rights of the tribal communities and wildlife that have existed for thousands of years should come before a few lake residents that only moved in relatively recently. It's tough but it's for the greater good.
I do not weep for anyone’s lakefront property. Edit: how many tribal folks have waterfront property in their ancient historic lands? Even less sympathy.
It was the same sky is falling rhetoric when they took the Condit dam out on the White Salmon river but that process was simpler since the power company owned all the land and the residents were lessees. It's true they no longer have lakefront property, instead they now have gorgeous riverfront property. I weep for them every day.
But it's not tough at all is it? It's just hard to due to to the power those few residents have. It's not a complicated solution, it's in fact quite simple. The rich just make it more difficult.
Very good episode. To those who might worry about losing their lake front property. Listen to the ghosts of those who lost their land when the waters came.
I think the river's recovery will be drastic and rapid and shock everyone. When the Elwha digested a century of sediment in like 1 moderate storm, build several new miles of estuary, and populations quickly bounced back, that was stupendous and marvelous.
Populations are still not adequate enough to hold fisheries on the Elwah even after a 10 year moratorium on fishing. The Tribe held a C&S fishery but common fisheries such as those that take place on Puget Sound river's with dams will not take place until the numbers of upriver natural spawners reaches a healthy level. The rebound is not quick and is one of the many lies removal proponents use to gain favor for their cause.
Grew up in seattle, and we raised Salmon in elementary school as part of a unit on ecology and native cultures. Our teachers really stressed how important salmon are for both the environment and people
I can honestly say I am glad to hear this. Removal of most dams in america is a great thing. Between return of the under ground water souces and the return to wild life I am not really concerned about a few home owners who will be impacted. Its time we make serious headway in restoring the country as much as possible back to what it looked like prior to all the human intervention
Ecosystems are rooted to energy flow. Water provides energy flow. You wouldn't dam a vain in your body to provide a few cells on one side a boost in oxygen at the cost of the rest of your bodies health. Yes a lake front home is nice. Not at the cost of everyone else, and the ecosystem. Find a natural lake.
You definitely need to do a story on the Elwha Dam and its removal, and the remarkable recovery of the Elwha valley and its salmon. The recovery exceeded expectations, and it's strong support for removing more dams.
Really an incedible project. This was at the time, the largest dam removal in the US. In Olympic national park, it allowed all 5 species of Pacific salmon to return to their spawning and rearing habitat.
What about the electrical power that these dams generate? What about irrigation water for the farmers? What about river transportation that relies on deep water for passage? Has anyone thought about any of these things in their to get rid of all of the "horrible" dams? There wete some good reasons for building these dams!
@@DeanFWolff There is too much electrical generation because of all the wind power in the Columbia River Gorge. The price of electricity actually goes negative in the spring when hydro and wind generation peak at the same time. Rail is used to move the goods now days. There is more economic benefits to removing the 4 lower dams than letting them stay.
What about irrigation water for the farmers? I have an issue about that too much electricity statement. There is the big push to get rid of fossil fuel and run everything on electricity. Where is that power going to come from?
I care more about the salmon and the orca that eat the salmon than I do about humans that planted their crops in a place that naturally doesn't get enough water. I bet people would be more interested in destroying those awful dams if it were their babies starving to death. But since it's only Orca that are suffering humans don't care.
@@DeanFWolff Maybe you are familiar with the area. There is a surplus amount of electricity production because of the combination of wind, solar and hydro. The 4 lower Snake River Dams generate very little and they generate it the wrong time of the year.
@@gubermon5903 you are wrong, I explained it to you and you still want to go through life blind. A lot of the dams have been there 100 years and you think removing will restore the ecosystem to that time, not.q
A casino will pop up on the river somewhere. Do not let them decide what to do. They will kick you off the land or charge you money to use the resource.
I'm sorry but the people who live on the lake borders have ONE concern and that's the loss of their beachfront property. They then create the other POSSIBLE scenarios just as has been done with global warming, smoking and EVERY cause that affects people. You throw a whole bunch of doubt into a scenario and you don't have to prove anything. Simply having the doubt there makes it harder to get anything done. And this is called "Merchants of Doubt". You don't have to actually win any debate, but truthful, use facts, etc.... you just have to spread doubt. And it's always driven by self interest not a common good. So short of showing REAL data that suggests REAL harm caused by removing dams I don't believe it.
I've seen many interviews with some of these people shot on location. The verdant green color of these "lakes" in the background is a more authoritative statement than anything the people are saying.
was serching for such a comment. It feels like false balancing on the medias part... also how the f* are they concerned about the loss of wildlife... My guess is, that the overall wildlife diversity of the area might improve due to changed and more natural habitat.
@@SpecialSP my point is not to argue who is doing it right or longer. My point is that we should acknowledge the fact that it's not just indigenous people fighting or doing research.
@@Firefenex1996This isn't presented all that well here. In reality, it's been a negotiation of scientists, engineers, indigenous people, and farmers. The project has been under discussion and design for over 10 years. There are also some property owners who do support the restoration project.
@@eh3477 agreed, it's a mix and sometimes not everyone has a hand in the process everytime. I don't assign credit to any one group either because I know some non profits that like to tote that they were the driving force in getting a species or multiple species on endangered list in their states. Those orgs still work with indigenous people on large scale efforts abd local areas they own. They will also work with individuals land owners.
Up here in the PNW we’re working on the removal of the lower four dams on the Snake. Very important to the lives of the indigenous Nez Perce. Hoping to get it going soon before extinction of the pacific salmon species.
I assume those folks who live at Copco Lake will benefit big time since their properties boundaries will now extend down to the river's edge....?? That for some will be a huge increase in value and they should prepare now by planning to build vacation units right along the river and rent them out or sell them?? People view change as a threat but smart people can find a way to benefit from it.
We went to Copco in March of this year. Just after the lake disappeared. It was ugly and smelly. There were some dead fish we could see. It is important for me to see this. My son was in Klamath Falls in 2002. I saw the fish die off and began to understand the problems that human intervention can cause. I hope to go back up the River from I-5 sometime this summer. This is the most amazing thing I can imagine. To see the salmon come back. I know it can take many years. Fish that left this year will not return for four or five years. Will ocean conditions be good so most of those salmon live. There are so many factors. Just look to the removal of the Elwah River dams and you can see what the future might hold for the Klamath. For me there is no downside. This dam removal is a blessing for all, even if you own a house in Copco.
river habitat restauration might have rarely if ever been done on this scale, but they're not completely unheard of, and every time a natural habitat has been restored it's been an overall boon for the communities affected.
Back in the day, I did a sea kayak trip starting in the Okefenokee swamp in S. GA down the Swanee R. to the Gulf ICW to the Okeechobee canal across FL to the Atlantic ICW and finally back up the St Mary's R. to within 20 miles of my starting point in the Okefenokee. Nice wintertime paddle.
I've camped and backpacked around the Klamath for decades. The forests around the river are the most diverse conifer forests on the planet. I've been following this since it was a ridiculous suggestion and I'll believe it when the dams are actually down.
Klamath & Yurok tribes et al have fished the river for THOUSANDS of years, not hundreds of years. The writer & researcher of this story need to understand this going forward.
I expected better accuracy in factual reporting from PBS. But PBS has aired worse ignorance regarding Indian fishing rights in Puget's Sound before this story. PBS let non-Indian farmers in a Skagit river valley farm claim their right to farm in former salmon spawning beds was the result of the plains Indians fighting in the midwest and losing. Total ignorance of USA history & ignorance of the Point Elliott Treaty. Also blatant ignorance that treaties are the Supreme Law of the Lands of the USA. Do better PBS. Read a constitution. Read a treaty. Stop reporting your ignorance for all the World to see & hear.
@@TiredAmerican247 Put it this way, the yurok tribe has been here on turtle Island before the Spanish invaded in the 1400s. as a modoc/Klamath tribal member I can definitely confirm we have been river neighbors with the yurok tribe very long time Let alone all the other tribes up and down the Klamath river. Idk what you were trying to do with your comment but yeah, yurok has been here just as long as the modoc/Klamath and predate European arrival
8:30 Maps of the area before the dam exist, so that should be knowable... 🤔 Also, if the dams are less than a century old, the homes they love aren't settled since the land and lake are new. 🤔
Nah these resident feel a threat? 😂 look at the native people. If they happen to remove all dams it will become a river. A river that used to be there. On regards to the resident "we are guinea pigs" ... no you dont. The lake will become a river .. it wont become massive and engulf your house near the river... it become like it was before - again if they remove all dams- these neighbors need to be informes more
I don’t feel bad for the lake people. Thousands of generations of indigenous peoples and animals were used to the river and the benefits of it running free, three or four generations of lake people got used to having an artificial lake that’s terrible for the environment, the ecosystem, and the people. I know change is hard but it needs to be put into perspective. They need to get over it
Saying that you, as an individual, are going to lose your property values, is ludicrous. The ecosystem being restored is so much more important that it’s insane to even talk to these TWO guys!!
Don't people recognize what is upstream of these Klamath River dams? Klamath Lake! A huge, shallow lake that acts like a heat sink, warming up during summer to a point well beyond what any salmonid can tolerate. For a trout to survive, it must migrate above the lake during summer. But the outflow forms the Klamath River. The lake suffers from algae blooms as well. Someone please tell me how the removal of the dams downstream of Klamath Lake will resolve the water quality issues associated with the lake. Or do we simply choose to ignore this inconvenient truth among others. Like overfishing the ocean and climate change.
Thats why they need to work on re-watering the Shasta River, Scott River and Trinity River in tandem with the dam removal. Some are heavily irrigated and others piped down into Central California. These streams can give the Klamath a shot of cold so it doesn't end up being too warm by the time it gets to the ocean. The Klamath will never be a cold and clear type river because it never was, but it will need healthy tributaries to make this project successful.
I fish Klamath lake regularly. Some of the biggest trout in North America live in Klamath lake and its tributaries (The Sprague, Williamson, Wood, and Sycan rivers). You are either ignorant or misinformed. Take it from a fish biologist that lives near the headwaters and fishes there regularily. There is a healthy population of trout in and above klamath lake!
I live about 45 minutes away from Copco reservoir and I cant wait for some of those cabins to go up for sale. It would be my dream to live on the banks of the un-damed Klamath and watch the river recover from my back porch!
Dont underestimate the power of salmon. There will be huge salmon runs in two or three years. Nature is very good at regaining its old territory, if allowed.
It gets so old hearing people complain about losing their unnecessary vanity, convenience, and comfort, and acting as if it’s more important than the environment that’s around them. This being something that has existed for so much longer than they can even comprehend and that will exist long after they are gone hopefully. Boo-hoo. I am sympathetic But they are living somewhere unnatural that should’ve never been that way in the first place.
The homeowners and business owners, it's not a lake it's a reservoir when the dam goes yes the reservoir goes with it. Next time do better do diligence on the property you buy!
i just cisited klamath during the pandemic and just am in awe how beautiful it is! i was sad about how hard it is for the indigenous people to have their salmon run when salmon is really having a hard time in our dry state. yes yes yes to damn removal! thank you scientist. honestly i think this is only happening because we want to eat salmon. but im happy this is happening!
Your property value is going to skyrocket. You will have a front row seat to the biggest dam removal project. People will come to see that. Your store will be busy and rivers attract more tourists than man made lakes.
A lot of money has been spent on dam removals, culvert removals, river restoration!!! Time will tell if it’s working!!! We have to concentrate on beaver restoration and bio-swales for storm water runoff. Cities must start removing abandoned asphalt parking lots to let rain water soak into ground again!!! Good luck out there!!!
This is great news. Remove the dams and go solar. And it's bizarre the narrator said "they depended on the salmon for 100's of years." What a stupid statement.
I'm a little surprised the video didn't talk about the impact of dam removal on power generation for the areas affected. 7 hydroelectric dams is a lot of power. What is the new source for electricity for the areas previously served by those dams?
These dams are comparatively small and don't produce much power. More important, upgrades to the infrastructure are required periodically. The dam owners didn't want to invest funds to make the required upgrades, and then made the dams available for removal. There's some backstory missing here.
I'm sure there's a great deal more complexity to the entire issue than you can cram into a ten minute video. That said, it would make the most sense for everyone to work together on restoring the river, because the river enriches and supports everyone living along it, as has been true for most every river on Earth since - well, forever. A short sighted view that prioritizes lakefront property (or profit, or general privilege of one group over another) is a fool's dream. The kind of thing we've seen prove out, over and over in our nation's history, to be a Bad Decision for Everyone. I'd encourage folks who've watched this to go and dig deeper, read the research if you can, check into the dams themselves. If I understand right, not ALL the dams are hydro plants, some of them were for flood control or redirection. So removal of power generation might not be at issue at all - AND if it is at issue, I would be willing to bet that the removal people are already planning ways to mitigate or replace that, because that's not a non-profit performing the removal, y'all. It's not a bunch of starry eyed teenagers without experience and know-how, either. The engineers working on the dam removal, and most certainly the several tribes that live along the river, have been thinking long and hard about this problem. Imagine if they'd just blown up the dams, hm? Not a good way to go about it. So the slower pace already indicates that care is being taken at least to SOME extent. And any benefit to the wildlife along the river IS a benefit to the humans, or do you think we're not wildlife? Given the shenanigans us humans get up to I'd say we're the wildest life on earth!
It will not have a huge improvement unless we can stop all the giant commercial boats draging the ocean and killing millions of bycatch fish, including salmon.
Funny how the dam removal proponents never mention the effects of overfishing in the oceans. Plus other inconvenient truths. The Klamath River doesn't exist in a vacuum. Let's also consider climate change effects on both salt and fresh water.
Hey, I’m glad they are removing dams and trying to restore salmon and Steelhead the the Klamath. But will the Tribe stop placing nets halfway across the river? The 20 feet later another net halfway across the river on the other side?
Been waiting & hoping the one thing I would love to do...catch salmon on the Williamson & Sprague rivers... salmon will make it here the first time the run off hits without the dams...the first year...but I honestly don't think I will ever see it.
It does seem odd to me that now, in the days where we are struggling to replace fossil fuels with renewables, that we would choose to tear down all the dams. I too think that we need to be aware of the impact of damns on biomes. I just wonder if there could be a middle ground? Keep smaller dams, adding power generation while making them safer for salmon in whatever way possible, while removing the more problematic ones. I think too, power generation should be added to every irrigation canal and diversion dam.
It absolutely kills me that most of the green movement proponents want to get rid of dams. Many dams produce relatively clean energy, reserve water, and irrigate farm lands. They could modify dams to help accommodate the salmon run at a tremendous expense. California won’t learn their lesson when so much of the Central Valley agriculture water got shut down because of a fish. Absurdity.
Wrong. These dams cost more to maintain than they do producing energy. They are also used to divert water to Big AG. Sending sending more water to corporate farms and warming the river. That’s how salmon get gill rot.
@@TiredAmerican247 fake news. What would happen to energy prices if you took away 15 percent of renewable energy? They would over inflate even more than the radically overinflated energy prices in CA. What energy sources would be relied upon to recoup the lost hydro energy? How about those drought years off and on the last decade? Where do you expect to get your water for drinking and irrigation? A hope and a prayer? Leach off of other states like they already do? Dams are 100 percent necessary.
@@TiredAmerican247 you didn’t answer any of my questions. You made the assertion that it would be more costly to maintain than their energy output, not me. My main questions are, if you take 15 percent of energy production away tomorrow… A. How would you replace it? B. At what cost? C. How would you store water? D. How much would that cost consumers? I’ll give you a hint. It would be incredibly expensive to tax payers, you wouldnt have a way to reserve water during drought, and energy costs would rise significantly. If you want to assert dams cost more than they output, that’s your burden of proof.
Our energy future is on very shaky ground. Demand keeps going up for many reasons. And problems associated with other renewable sources are beginning to show their ugly head. Humans have a propensity to cheer on the growth of technology and population without figuring out how to sustainably support it first.
Nothing was said about sediments washed down by poor farming practices.This is why buffalo never developed their water front. TOXIC SEDIMENTS, opening pandoras box.
And the government used our tax money to build and then rented it out and then to charge us to operate it... Warren Buffett I think owned the rights to operate. Cheaper to take down than to maintenance, concrete in today's cost
@@GeorgeWHaydukeIII6396 Well, the first rate increase was for tree trimming, the 2nd was to underground the lines. So... I guess it depends on what you consider a "mistake" and a "fix".
8:44 I feel like she used a lot of really big words, but didn’t say anything. "Thoroughly studied, thoroughly addressed by independent parties. They've done a ton of analysis and a ton of modeling with expertise in the river and have been able to conclusively show that many of these fears are unfounded."
@@funnybeingme It seems like you're up for a challenge. If you'd like to test your intelligence in a different way, feel free to ask a question or give a topic, and we can explore it together.
@buckdaman8493 Oh, your Google-fu is truly unparalleled! I tip my hat to your profound wisdom. However, I must remind you that while I appreciate your insistence on independent research, it's equally essential to distinguish between actual skepticism and blind sheepishness. After all, it's a well-established fact that critical thinking goes beyond mere keyword searches. Happy Googling!
@@funnybeingme Your wit is truly astounding. I can only dream of reaching the depths of your intellectual prowess. However, let's not forget that while TH-cam is an encyclopedia of wisdom, sometimes, it's beneficial to critique the quality of the sources we rely on. After all, we wouldn't want to accidentally become black sheep, would we? Thank your buddy for the ending snagged that punch line 😂
"For thousands of years, native tribes in California fished the Klamath River for salmon" ... California is a big place 99% of it is no where near the Klamath river , salmon don't naturally occur in rivers south of the Klamath though you can catch them off shore when they are running , most tribes in the state with river access fished steel head coastally or native cut throat trout as big as salmon if they were inland.
You are absolutely incorrect sir! Salmon runs occured all the way down the California coast to the Santa Clara and even the San Diego rivers. Do a little research before you make such inaccurate claims.
Damn removal should not impede farming operations. If theres nothing to eat all your brilliant values and wonderful thoughts go out the door. The fish just need a place to lay their eggs, make them a nice place closer downstream so they don't have to struggle. There are no more grizzly bears that need to be fed. Dont impede farming. Farmers feed everyone.
Too late, and now short sighted. The salmon are already being affected by the sea water temperature changes of global warming. They will not survive too much longer. And we are really in need of the hydro power.
My biggest concern is that we have a climate epidemic on our hands so that power could have been used or diverted where it would be useful……🤷♂️ but hey if the world expires at least the salmon population will be back a few years before then 😂
Hydro power is garbage dude. There are only 2 solutions to climate change, either we stop being so wasteful of energy with things like car dependent cities, or we build nuclear reactors, the cleanest and cheapest energy ever created. "Noooo!!!! We have to destroy this ecosystem so that I can run my bitcoin mine!!!" What are you on about dude
I used to live in Humboldt county. The economy runs on tourism and finishing. We need a healthy river for that. I don’t get why people think that because they bought a house that they can expect nothing to change or go bad for them. I’m told to suck it up and piss off when something doesn’t go my way, why does someone with a vacation home get a pass?
We're trying get dams taken down along the Penobscot River in Maine to restore endangered Atlantic salmon. Hope we can bring about positive results such as you have there.
Appreciate these tribes respecting and acknowledging the tribes where their land is!
Really shows the collaboration and love put into this! I respect how these are being done. Keep it up - Aho!
The Klamath River restoration will never be complete without also restoring streams and beaver habitat. The beavers will store water that will replenish groundwater supplies, create ideal habitat for birds, fish, and other animals, and will provide clean, cool water to the river in the hot and dry summer months. The removal of dams without that stream restoration will fail to improve water quality or to decrease water temperatures and algae blooms in the summertime because there will not be enough freshwater flow. The beavers are a keystone species. The rivers need them to survive.
I also worry that by not removing all the dams there won't be much of a water quality improvement. Klamath Lake is routinely closed to swimming from the toxic algae. That will continue to poison the river.
That’s because there’s 6 dams on the river.
Yes the beavers! More keystone species restoration projects tied into this one for holistic restoration!
@@bigfish222the algae is a result of the dams…
The rights of the tribal communities and wildlife that have existed for thousands of years should come before a few lake residents that only moved in relatively recently. It's tough but it's for the greater good.
The Greater Good
I do not weep for anyone’s lakefront property.
Edit: how many tribal folks have waterfront property in their ancient historic lands? Even less sympathy.
It was the same sky is falling rhetoric when they took the Condit dam out on the White Salmon river but that process was simpler since the power company owned all the land and the residents were lessees. It's true they no longer have lakefront property, instead they now have gorgeous riverfront property. I weep for them every day.
Which tribal community? The current one, or the ones before them, that the current tribe killed or drove off the land in question.
But it's not tough at all is it? It's just hard to due to to the power those few residents have. It's not a complicated solution, it's in fact quite simple. The rich just make it more difficult.
Very good episode. To those who might worry about losing their lake front property. Listen to the ghosts of those who lost their land when the waters came.
These videos are quickly becoming some of my favorites on PBS!
I think the river's recovery will be drastic and rapid and shock everyone.
When the Elwha digested a century of sediment in like 1 moderate storm, build several new miles of estuary, and populations quickly bounced back, that was stupendous and marvelous.
Seriously, such a huge boost the ecosystem. And its going to keep improving =D
Populations are still not adequate enough to hold fisheries on the Elwah even after a 10 year moratorium on fishing. The Tribe held a C&S fishery but common fisheries such as those that take place on Puget Sound river's with dams will not take place until the numbers of upriver natural spawners reaches a healthy level.
The rebound is not quick and is one of the many lies removal proponents use to gain favor for their cause.
Grew up in seattle, and we raised Salmon in elementary school as part of a unit on ecology and native cultures. Our teachers really stressed how important salmon are for both the environment and people
You have the Elwha, which is a great success story.
I can honestly say I am glad to hear this. Removal of most dams in america is a great thing. Between return of the under ground water souces and the return to wild life I am not really concerned about a few home owners who will be impacted. Its time we make serious headway in restoring the country as much as possible back to what it looked like prior to all the human intervention
Ecosystems are rooted to energy flow. Water provides energy flow. You wouldn't dam a vain in your body to provide a few cells on one side a boost in oxygen at the cost of the rest of your bodies health. Yes a lake front home is nice. Not at the cost of everyone else, and the ecosystem. Find a natural lake.
Seriously! Fish from the ocean bring nutrients back upstream which gets spread throughout the entire river valley.
Beavers?
You definitely need to do a story on the Elwha Dam and its removal, and the remarkable recovery of the Elwha valley and its salmon. The recovery exceeded expectations, and it's strong support for removing more dams.
Really an incedible project. This was at the time, the largest dam removal in the US. In Olympic national park, it allowed all 5 species of Pacific salmon to return to their spawning and rearing habitat.
The 4 Lower Snake River Dams are the worst. They need to come down.
What about the electrical power that these dams generate? What about irrigation water for the farmers? What about river transportation that relies on deep water for passage? Has anyone thought about any of these things in their to get rid of all of the "horrible" dams? There wete some good reasons for building these dams!
@@DeanFWolff There is too much electrical generation because of all the wind power in the Columbia River Gorge. The price of electricity actually goes negative in the spring when hydro and wind generation peak at the same time. Rail is used to move the goods now days. There is more economic benefits to removing the 4 lower dams than letting them stay.
What about irrigation water for the farmers? I have an issue about that too much electricity statement. There is the big push to get rid of fossil fuel and run everything on electricity. Where is that power going to come from?
I care more about the salmon and the orca that eat the salmon than I do about humans that planted their crops in a place that naturally doesn't get enough water.
I bet people would be more interested in destroying those awful dams if it were their babies starving to death. But since it's only Orca that are suffering humans don't care.
@@DeanFWolff Maybe you are familiar with the area. There is a surplus amount of electricity production because of the combination of wind, solar and hydro. The 4 lower Snake River Dams generate very little and they generate it the wrong time of the year.
We need more healthy rivers!
It's not the dams.
@@rodeye2Removing these dams has shown time and time again to improve river and ecosystem health.
@@gubermon5903 you are wrong, I explained it to you and you still want to go through life blind. A lot of the dams have been there 100 years and you think removing will restore the ecosystem to that time, not.q
Give the natives full power, resources to managed the land for the benefit of all.
A casino will pop up on the river somewhere. Do not let them decide what to do. They will kick you off the land or charge you money to use the resource.
I'm sorry but the people who live on the lake borders have ONE concern and that's the loss of their beachfront property. They then create the other POSSIBLE scenarios just as has been done with global warming, smoking and EVERY cause that affects people. You throw a whole bunch of doubt into a scenario and you don't have to prove anything. Simply having the doubt there makes it harder to get anything done.
And this is called "Merchants of Doubt". You don't have to actually win any debate, but truthful, use facts, etc.... you just have to spread doubt.
And it's always driven by self interest not a common good.
So short of showing REAL data that suggests REAL harm caused by removing dams I don't believe it.
I've seen many interviews with some of these people shot on location. The verdant green color of these "lakes" in the background is a more authoritative statement than anything the people are saying.
They’re also real people with real concerns. They all should be compensated.
was serching for such a comment. It feels like false balancing on the medias part... also how the f* are they concerned about the loss of wildlife...
My guess is, that the overall wildlife diversity of the area might improve due to changed and more natural habitat.
I would rather have the sound and ecosystem of a river (albiet a little farther away) than have a pea green toxic lake (in summer).
Indigenous people are the ONLY ones to lead the country on this. They ALWAYS respect and fight for Mother Earth to flourish. #NativeWisdom
There are a lot of non-profits involved and science going on outside of indigenous tribes that advocate as well.
@@Firefenex1996 True. BUT who has more experience at it? Indigenous peoples have been LIVING it for thousands of years!
@@SpecialSP my point is not to argue who is doing it right or longer. My point is that we should acknowledge the fact that it's not just indigenous people fighting or doing research.
@@Firefenex1996This isn't presented all that well here. In reality, it's been a negotiation of scientists, engineers, indigenous people, and farmers. The project has been under discussion and design for over 10 years. There are also some property owners who do support the restoration project.
@@eh3477 agreed, it's a mix and sometimes not everyone has a hand in the process everytime. I don't assign credit to any one group either because I know some non profits that like to tote that they were the driving force in getting a species or multiple species on endangered list in their states. Those orgs still work with indigenous people on large scale efforts abd local areas they own. They will also work with individuals land owners.
Up here in the PNW we’re working on the removal of the lower four dams on the Snake. Very important to the lives of the indigenous Nez Perce. Hoping to get it going soon before extinction of the pacific salmon species.
The ecosystem and the tribes came first.
Do the right thing!!!
I assume those folks who live at Copco Lake will benefit big time since their properties boundaries will now extend down to the river's edge....?? That for some will be a huge increase in value and they should prepare now by planning to build vacation units right along the river and rent them out or sell them?? People view change as a threat but smart people can find a way to benefit from it.
Klamath river is my dad's favorite river to fish. I have good memories of going up there with him. We've been looking forward to this.
We went to Copco in March of this year. Just after the lake disappeared. It was ugly and smelly. There were some dead fish we could see. It is important for me to see this. My son was in Klamath Falls in 2002. I saw the fish die off and began to understand the problems that human intervention can cause. I hope to go back up the River from I-5 sometime this summer. This is the most amazing thing I can imagine. To see the salmon come back. I know it can take many years. Fish that left this year will not return for four or five years. Will ocean conditions be good so most of those salmon live. There are so many factors. Just look to the removal of the Elwah River dams and you can see what the future might hold for the Klamath. For me there is no downside. This dam removal is a blessing for all, even if you own a house in Copco.
river habitat restauration might have rarely if ever been done on this scale, but they're not completely unheard of, and every time a natural habitat has been restored it's been an overall boon for the communities affected.
Back in the day, I did a sea kayak trip starting in the Okefenokee swamp in S. GA down the Swanee R. to the Gulf ICW to the Okeechobee canal across FL to the Atlantic ICW and finally back up the St Mary's R. to within 20 miles of my starting point in the Okefenokee. Nice wintertime paddle.
Wow this episode was amazing, keep up the good work 😀
I've camped and backpacked around the Klamath for decades. The forests around the river are the most diverse conifer forests on the planet. I've been following this since it was a ridiculous suggestion and I'll believe it when the dams are actually down.
Well CopCo 2 has literally been removed so the project is happening
Get rid of the dams and the river will recover. People will recover. The life cycle of the river must recover.
Klamath & Yurok tribes et al have fished the river for THOUSANDS of years, not hundreds of years. The writer & researcher of this story need to understand this going forward.
I expected better accuracy in factual reporting from PBS. But PBS has aired worse ignorance regarding Indian fishing rights in Puget's Sound before this story. PBS let non-Indian farmers in a Skagit river valley farm claim their right to farm in former salmon spawning beds was the result of the plains Indians fighting in the midwest and losing. Total ignorance of USA history & ignorance of the Point Elliott Treaty. Also blatant ignorance that treaties are the Supreme Law of the Lands of the USA. Do better PBS. Read a constitution. Read a treaty. Stop reporting your ignorance for all the World to see & hear.
How do you know the Yurok were there for thousands of years? Maybe another group of people were there first.
@@TiredAmerican247 Put it this way, the yurok tribe has been here on turtle Island before the Spanish invaded in the 1400s. as a modoc/Klamath tribal member I can definitely confirm we have been river neighbors with the yurok tribe very long time Let alone all the other tribes up and down the Klamath river. Idk what you were trying to do with your comment but yeah, yurok has been here just as long as the modoc/Klamath and predate European arrival
8:30 Maps of the area before the dam exist, so that should be knowable... 🤔
Also, if the dams are less than a century old, the homes they love aren't settled since the land and lake are new. 🤔
I wonder when reservoirs became "lakes." It almost makes them sound like natural features of the land.
Nah these resident feel a threat? 😂 look at the native people. If they happen to remove all dams it will become a river. A river that used to be there. On regards to the resident "we are guinea pigs" ... no you dont. The lake will become a river .. it wont become massive and engulf your house near the river... it become like it was before - again if they remove all dams- these neighbors need to be informes more
Every river but one is dammed in my state (NM). And they are trying to dam it. Even though it is so small it is unlikely to have much benefit.
People need to adapt. Period. Not the environment. Find a new business, dream a new dream. 🤔
Imagine thinking your lakefront dreams are more important than the survival of others.
Next project should be removing some of the smaller dams on the San Joaquin River.
Truly to save ourselves we must heal our environment.
I don’t feel bad for the lake people. Thousands of generations of indigenous peoples and animals were used to the river and the benefits of it running free, three or four generations of lake people got used to having an artificial lake that’s terrible for the environment, the ecosystem, and the people. I know change is hard but it needs to be put into perspective. They need to get over it
Boohoo some people may lose lake front property. Meanwhile the environment and the wildlife will have a chance to recover and hopefully thrive. ❤
This is fantastic, well done everyone
Thank you for caring...
Saying that you, as an individual, are going to lose your property values, is ludicrous. The ecosystem being restored is so much more important that it’s insane to even talk to these TWO guys!!
It's not about lakes in California, it's about saving water for summer and fall
Don't people recognize what is upstream of these Klamath River dams? Klamath Lake! A huge, shallow lake that acts like a heat sink, warming up during summer to a point well beyond what any salmonid can tolerate. For a trout to survive, it must migrate above the lake during summer. But the outflow forms the Klamath River. The lake suffers from algae blooms as well. Someone please tell me how the removal of the dams downstream of Klamath Lake will resolve the water quality issues associated with the lake. Or do we simply choose to ignore this inconvenient truth among others. Like overfishing the ocean and climate change.
Thats why they need to work on re-watering the Shasta River, Scott River and Trinity River in tandem with the dam removal. Some are heavily irrigated and others piped down into Central California. These streams can give the Klamath a shot of cold so it doesn't end up being too warm by the time it gets to the ocean. The Klamath will never be a cold and clear type river because it never was, but it will need healthy tributaries to make this project successful.
I fish Klamath lake regularly. Some of the biggest trout in North America live in Klamath lake and its tributaries (The Sprague, Williamson, Wood, and Sycan rivers). You are either ignorant or misinformed. Take it from a fish biologist that lives near the headwaters and fishes there regularily. There is a healthy population of trout in and above klamath lake!
that was a very sad day, renewal has started, I see hope for a new day for Klamath salmon starting now
My house wont be water front. Oh no, cry me a river
@ 0:44 sec ...... "is it possible to make a river wild again?" ..... yep, been going on for a hot minute PBS
lake fronts are nice ........................ I prefer river access.
I live about 45 minutes away from Copco reservoir and I cant wait for some of those cabins to go up for sale. It would be my dream to live on the banks of the un-damed Klamath and watch the river recover from my back porch!
Dont underestimate the power of salmon. There will be huge salmon runs in two or three years. Nature is very good at regaining its old territory, if allowed.
What about the Elwha?
It gets so old hearing people complain about losing their unnecessary vanity, convenience, and comfort, and acting as if it’s more important than the environment that’s around them. This being something that has existed for so much longer than they can even comprehend and that will exist long after they are gone hopefully. Boo-hoo. I am sympathetic But they are living somewhere unnatural that should’ve never been that way in the first place.
The homeowners and business owners, it's not a lake it's a reservoir when the dam goes yes the reservoir goes with it. Next time do better do diligence on the property you buy!
i just cisited klamath during the pandemic and just am in awe how beautiful it is! i was sad about how hard it is for the indigenous people to have their salmon run when salmon is really having a hard time in our dry state. yes yes yes to damn removal! thank you scientist. honestly i think this is only happening because we want to eat salmon. but im happy this is happening!
This gave me chills and then tears came to my eyes. Thank you!
Your property value is going to skyrocket. You will have a front row seat to the biggest dam removal project. People will come to see that. Your store will be busy and rivers attract more tourists than man made lakes.
8:13 yes shitty water increases land value..
A lot of money has been spent on dam removals, culvert removals, river restoration!!! Time will tell if it’s working!!! We have to concentrate on beaver restoration and bio-swales for storm water runoff. Cities must start removing abandoned asphalt parking lots to let rain water soak into ground again!!! Good luck out there!!!
My only worry with removing these dams is that because of declining snowpack, the rivers could run dry in the summer and kill all the remaining fish
Won't happen. Many tributaries feed the Klamath.
Damn these damns!
I have sympathy for the folks who's homes are going to be impacted, but like...obviously the benefits outweigh the cons by miles.
They need to remove more dams and slow down the commercial fission
This is great news. Remove the dams and go solar. And it's bizarre the narrator said "they depended on the salmon for 100's of years." What a stupid statement.
I'm a little surprised the video didn't talk about the impact of dam removal on power generation for the areas affected. 7 hydroelectric dams is a lot of power. What is the new source for electricity for the areas previously served by those dams?
These dams are comparatively small and don't produce much power. More important, upgrades to the infrastructure are required periodically. The dam owners didn't want to invest funds to make the required upgrades, and then made the dams available for removal. There's some backstory missing here.
I sincerely hope PBS does a follow up say 5 and 10 years after removal. Let's get a look at the bigger picture ... 😅
I'm sure there's a great deal more complexity to the entire issue than you can cram into a ten minute video. That said, it would make the most sense for everyone to work together on restoring the river, because the river enriches and supports everyone living along it, as has been true for most every river on Earth since - well, forever. A short sighted view that prioritizes lakefront property (or profit, or general privilege of one group over another) is a fool's dream. The kind of thing we've seen prove out, over and over in our nation's history, to be a Bad Decision for Everyone. I'd encourage folks who've watched this to go and dig deeper, read the research if you can, check into the dams themselves. If I understand right, not ALL the dams are hydro plants, some of them were for flood control or redirection. So removal of power generation might not be at issue at all - AND if it is at issue, I would be willing to bet that the removal people are already planning ways to mitigate or replace that, because that's not a non-profit performing the removal, y'all. It's not a bunch of starry eyed teenagers without experience and know-how, either.
The engineers working on the dam removal, and most certainly the several tribes that live along the river, have been thinking long and hard about this problem. Imagine if they'd just blown up the dams, hm? Not a good way to go about it. So the slower pace already indicates that care is being taken at least to SOME extent. And any benefit to the wildlife along the river IS a benefit to the humans, or do you think we're not wildlife? Given the shenanigans us humans get up to I'd say we're the wildest life on earth!
Please no waterfront casinos
oh boo hoo, " we want a lake house, screw the people and environment "
Ooohh boo hoo not the property values!
It will not have a huge improvement unless we can stop all the giant commercial boats draging the ocean and killing millions of bycatch fish, including salmon.
Funny how the dam removal proponents never mention the effects of overfishing in the oceans. Plus other inconvenient truths. The Klamath River doesn't exist in a vacuum. Let's also consider climate change effects on both salt and fresh water.
That’s not happening in California.
Though the commercial fishery has over fished salmon the last several years because of poor fish management
Good people are working hard on that issue too. This is about dams.
Off the mouth of the Klamath is a huge no fish zone in the ocean.
Hey, I’m glad they are removing dams and trying to restore salmon and Steelhead the the Klamath. But will the Tribe stop placing nets halfway across the river? The 20 feet later another net halfway across the river on the other side?
You think they give a shit what you have to say? They have the right to take every fish outta that river.
Way too little way too late😢!
Been waiting & hoping the one thing I would love to do...catch salmon on the Williamson & Sprague rivers... salmon will make it here the first time the run off hits without the dams...the first year...but I honestly don't think I will ever see it.
As the glaciers melt is the water in this river going to rise as well?
What glaciers?
Not many glaciers left in California dude!
It does seem odd to me that now, in the days where we are struggling to replace fossil fuels with renewables, that we would choose to tear down all the dams. I too think that we need to be aware of the impact of damns on biomes. I just wonder if there could be a middle ground? Keep smaller dams, adding power generation while making them safer for salmon in whatever way possible, while removing the more problematic ones. I think too, power generation should be added to every irrigation canal and diversion dam.
Nobody is talking about tearing down all 91,800 dams in the US. Just the most detrimental, harmful dams. Don't fall prey to hyperbole!
You just aren't familiar with this area in California. It's not comparable to other places you know about.
Who said anything about tearing down ALL dams?
- WHAT IS THAT CORN MASA IN A FOLDED UP
SINGLE CORN SHUCK - INTO A SQUARE, IN A LITE CHILE. ..??
It absolutely kills me that most of the green movement proponents want to get rid of dams.
Many dams produce relatively clean energy, reserve water, and irrigate farm lands.
They could modify dams to help accommodate the salmon run at a tremendous expense.
California won’t learn their lesson when so much of the Central Valley agriculture water got shut down because of a fish. Absurdity.
Wrong. These dams cost more to maintain than they do producing energy. They are also used to divert water to Big AG. Sending sending more water to corporate farms and warming the river. That’s how salmon get gill rot.
@@TiredAmerican247 fake news.
What would happen to energy prices if you took away 15 percent of renewable energy? They would over inflate even more than the radically overinflated energy prices in CA.
What energy sources would be relied upon to recoup the lost hydro energy? How about those drought years off and on the last decade? Where do you expect to get your water for drinking and irrigation? A hope and a prayer? Leach off of other states like they already do?
Dams are 100 percent necessary.
@@misterjaayy6156 show me proof the dams would cost less to maintain versus their energy output.
You have zero idea what you're talking about.
@@TiredAmerican247 you didn’t answer any of my questions.
You made the assertion that it would be more costly to maintain than their energy output, not me.
My main questions are, if you take 15 percent of energy production away tomorrow…
A. How would you replace it?
B. At what cost?
C. How would you store water?
D. How much would that cost consumers?
I’ll give you a hint. It would be incredibly expensive to tax payers, you wouldnt have a way to reserve water during drought, and energy costs would rise significantly.
If you want to assert dams cost more than they output, that’s your burden of proof.
Nice store. What is he selling? Empty shelves?
Not helpful or relevant in any way, shape, or form.
Everything in the ocean is in danger
Nature as a whole is in danger.
yo is that geordi laforge?
Great. Now Stop the Netting.
Only a fool can think of this in a drought or with a increasing demand.
Wow so cool
What about all the renewable energy that will be lost when the dams are removed?
Articles say it generates less than 2 percent of power for Pacificorp so it's not hard to supplement that power from other infrastructure.
Our energy future is on very shaky ground. Demand keeps going up for many reasons. And problems associated with other renewable sources are beginning to show their ugly head. Humans have a propensity to cheer on the growth of technology and population without figuring out how to sustainably support it first.
What about google?
"MAKE" it wild? try, LEAVE IT ALONE and let it "make" itself.
Nothing was said about sediments washed down by poor farming practices.This is why buffalo never developed their water front. TOXIC SEDIMENTS, opening pandoras box.
The Problem is that PG&Evil is charging us the citzens to fix their mistakes.
And the government used our tax money to build and then rented it out and then to charge us to operate it... Warren Buffett I think owned the rights to operate. Cheaper to take down than to maintenance, concrete in today's cost
I'd rather see my $$$ going to fixing mistakes, rather than making more of them!
@@GeorgeWHaydukeIII6396 Well, the first rate increase was for tree trimming, the 2nd was to underground the lines. So... I guess it depends on what you consider a "mistake" and a "fix".
So they’re un-dammin to save the salmon?
Property owners on the lakes ,it’s all about money , hey ,to bad mate ,get rid of the dams ,
KEEP THE SALMON
How to Be River
8:44 I feel like she used a lot of really big words, but didn’t say anything. "Thoroughly studied, thoroughly addressed by independent parties. They've done a ton of analysis and a ton of modeling with expertise in the river and have been able to conclusively show that many of these fears are unfounded."
Well if you want more information, you have to go beyond just a youtube video. Public information is easily accessible nowadays.
@@funnybeingme It seems like you're up for a challenge. If you'd like to test your intelligence in a different way, feel free to ask a question or give a topic, and we can explore it together.
she wasn't here to explain the research, just to say its been done. Its a 10 minute video.
@buckdaman8493 Oh, your Google-fu is truly unparalleled! I tip my hat to your profound wisdom. However, I must remind you that while I appreciate your insistence on independent research, it's equally essential to distinguish between actual skepticism and blind sheepishness. After all, it's a well-established fact that critical thinking goes beyond mere keyword searches. Happy Googling!
@@funnybeingme Your wit is truly astounding. I can only dream of reaching the depths of your intellectual prowess. However, let's not forget that while TH-cam is an encyclopedia of wisdom, sometimes, it's beneficial to critique the quality of the sources we rely on. After all, we wouldn't want to accidentally become black sheep, would we?
Thank your buddy for the ending snagged that punch line 😂
💚💚💚
❤❤❤
Ah yes, cut the dam so more electricity from coal and natural gas. Totally protects the environment.
6:50 Well, boo-fucking-hoo
"For thousands of years, native tribes in California fished the Klamath River for salmon" ... California is a big place 99% of it is no where near the Klamath river , salmon don't naturally occur in rivers south of the Klamath though you can catch them off shore when they are running , most tribes in the state with river access fished steel head coastally or native cut throat trout as big as salmon if they were inland.
So the Sacramento system never had native runs of salmon? You should try researching.
You are absolutely incorrect sir! Salmon runs occured all the way down the California coast to the Santa Clara and even the San Diego rivers. Do a little research before you make such inaccurate claims.
😊😊😊😊😊
or damolition, in short
Damn removal should not impede farming operations. If theres nothing to eat all your brilliant values and wonderful thoughts go out the door.
The fish just need a place to lay their eggs, make them a nice place closer downstream so they don't have to struggle. There are no more grizzly bears that need to be fed.
Dont impede farming. Farmers feed everyone.
Too late, and now short sighted. The salmon are already being affected by the sea water temperature changes of global warming. They will not survive too much longer. And we are really in need of the hydro power.
My biggest concern is that we have a climate epidemic on our hands so that power could have been used or diverted where it would be useful……🤷♂️ but hey if the world expires at least the salmon population will be back a few years before then 😂
Hydro power is garbage dude. There are only 2 solutions to climate change, either we stop being so wasteful of energy with things like car dependent cities, or we build nuclear reactors, the cleanest and cheapest energy ever created. "Noooo!!!! We have to destroy this ecosystem so that I can run my bitcoin mine!!!" What are you on about dude