Four dams removal nearing completion, allowing Klamath River to flow freely

Crews excavate near the Iron Gate dam. The river is free-flowing after the four dams, Copco 1 and 2, Iron Gate and J.C. Boyle were all but removed. As of Aug. 28, the river was flowing freely for the first time since 1918 when the Copco 1 was built for the Klamath Hydroelectric Project, which blocked 300 miles of salmon and steelhead habitat. The full removal of the four dams is expected to be completed at the end of September. (Photos by Klamath Tribes Chairman William Ray Jr.)