OSU, Yurok Tribe partner to study Klamath River after dam removal

Removal of the four dams is expected to open 400 miles of upstream spawning habitat for endangered salmon. It will also dramatically alter parts of the river system, impacting water quality, water use and the aquatic food web.

Desiree Tullos, professor of water resources engineering at OSU, is leading a multi-year study to assess these changes and help inform future management decisions in the basin.

“We want to fill in gaps in the Western science, as well as gaps in how we make equitable decisions based on both ecological science and Indigenous knowledge,” Tullos said.

To address the latter, OSU is working with the Yurok Tribe, which has fished for salmon in the Klamath River for centuries.

Barry McCovey Jr., director of the Yurok Tribal Fisheries Program, said the tribe has been fighting to remove the four Klamath River dams since they were built between 1903 and 1967. He estimated the river has lost 90% of its historical fish runs, which once numbered in the millions.

“We’re trying to fix the ecosystem,” McCovey said. “We want to restore it so that it’s intact for future generations, and for all the people to come.”

The collaboration with OSU, McCovey said, will help chart a future for the river after the dams are gone.

Tullos said the project was recently awarded $870,000 from Oregon Sea Grant to conduct the research, including outreach among five key stakeholder groups — tribes, irrigators, commercial fishing, recreation and conservation organizations.

“The idea is really getting a very comprehensive view of how these stakeholders understand the system, and what their tools are to respond to these changes,” she said.

A big piece of the puzzle is learning how dam removal will affect water quality in the river. Reservoirs behind the dams have caused problems in the past with increasing water temperature and trapping nutrients such as phosphorous and nitrogen, resulting in harmful algal blooms.

From there, Tullos said researchers will be able to develop new ecological and cultural models for the river based on interviews with stakeholders. Those models can then inform management decisions to maximize the river’s social and economic benefits.

“By working with the tribe and stakeholders in the basin’ we’ll capture a really comprehensive set of perspectives,” Tullos said. “And the more perspectives we have, the better decisions we’ll make.”

In addition to the Yurok Tribe, the research team includes Bryan Tilt, Julie Alexander, James Peterson and Guillermo Giannico of OSU, and Laurel Genzoli of the University of Montana. Tullos said she expects outreach in the basin will begin next year.

McCovey, with the tribe’s fisheries department, said the project is “a really great opportunity to get this right, and include Indigenous people in the decision-making process.”

“We can make smart management decisions accordingly, based on those modeled projections, so we don’t endanger anybody’s livelihood or any species,” McCovey said. “We definitely don’t want to go backwards.”