During a virtual press conference Oct. 9, Klamath River scientists announced that a year after the last of the dams were removed, river health has begun to bounce back.

With salmon swimming upstream, bald eagles flying overhead, and increased bear, beaver, otter and osprey activity, the ecosystem is booming thanks to the completion of the world’s largest dam-removal effort.

“The rivers seem to come alive almost instantly after dam removal, and fish returned in greater numbers than I expected and maybe anyone expected,” said Damon Goodman, Mount Shasta-Klamath regional director for California Trout, a conservation nonprofit that works to keep waterways and wild fish healthy.

According to Goodman, the fish-monitoring effort done by California Trout is likely the most comprehensive science

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