Middle Klamath River

[John H]

I just crossed it at I-5 and it looks very brown. I gave some thought to going at the end of the month but I don’t think so.

[MThompson]

Wish I had started going up there earlier in life. That river is toast...

[JayDubP]

Are there any webcams along the Klamath River? None of the webcams I've found online show the river. Seems to me that those organizations that will track the water clarity, new riverbed, and the state of the river would have webcams.

Hope for a rainy winter and spring and a huge runoff that stays just below flood stage... but again what will happen to the mouth at Requa when all that silt arrives- will it break open to the ocean or create a giant sandbar like the Russian River?

[BumpBailey]

This river isn't toast! Not by a long shot! We've already received a report of the first salmon above the Iron Gate Dam location in over 100 years! That is freaking amazing! What, two weeks-ish after the last coffer dam came out? Through all that turbid water. I highly doubt that it will be the last.

Naysayers only need to look north to The Elwha dam removals to see that this too can be a success. Summer Steelhead which they thought they had lost, are coming back strong. Chinook are also coming back strong and they are starting to see an uptick with Coho's.

It just takes time. The rains are coming(hopefully) and with them the flush. It isn't going to happen overnight, but it is the start of the healing process. Regarding all of the silt, I imagine, in time, like The Elwha, the mouth will become a new and vibrant estuary. Creating more habitat for all sorts of flora and fauna.

We are on the right track. Dead beat dams gotta go! The Eel is next!

https://www.sfchronicle.com/californ...d-19816572.php

[Bob Smith]

Siskiyou County resident here and the Klamath has been my home river for the 30 plus years. There aren't any web cams that I am aware of which would give real time information. As I stated in an earlier post, Marble Mountain Ranch posts weekly water condition updates on Facebook. If you have access or know someone that does, you can search "Klamath River Fishing Report at Marble Mountain Ranch". The last report was October 3rd - 3" of visibility. They are located a few miles up river from Somes Bar where the Salmon River enters so quite a ways downriver from Iron Gate.


For those thinking it will clear up and be fishable this fall/winter, I'm not holding my breath. That said, I wholeheartedly agree with Bump that all is not lost. The Klamath River is so much different than the Elwha as the upper watershed is essentially in Great Basin desert. It will take time, maybe several years depending on what precipitation and snow pack. Water temperatures are already much cooler than they have been when the dams were in place so change is happening.

[mogaru]

The Elwha river is in Washington state were every year have plenty of snow and rain. The klamath doesn't,t carry that much water not even on wet years, therefore is not comparable and it will take a lot longer to see optimal results. California is a dry state and it it wasn't for some dams some of the rivers will dry up during the hot summers and that is the sad reality.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

This river isn't toast! Not by a long shot! We've already received a report of the first salmon above the Iron Gate Dam location in over 100 years! That is freaking amazing! What, two weeks-ish after the last coffer dam came out? Through all that turbid water. I highly doubt that it will be the last.

Naysayers only need to look north to The Elwha dam removals to see that this too can be a success. Summer Steelhead which they thought they had lost, are coming back strong. Chinook are also coming back strong and they are starting to see an uptick with Coho's.

It just takes time. The rains are coming(hopefully) and with them the flush. It isn't going to happen overnight, but it is the start of the healing process. Regarding all of the silt, I imagine, in time, like The Elwha, the mouth will become a new and vibrant estuary. Creating more habitat for all sorts of flora and fauna.

We are on the right track. Dead beat dams gotta go! The Eel is next!

https://www.sfchronicle.com/californ...d-19816572.php

Thanks BB, the river has been saved, just be patient.

In time this will be the biggest thing to happen to an anadromous river in modern history.

I am jealous and happy for the younger crowd who will fly fish that river for many more years.

[tcorfey]

I stopped under the I5 bridge this weekend to have lunch and although the water is quite brown I did see the backs of three salmon go up through the riffle there. That was a good sign.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

All we need is some really big winters.

Can you imagine that in 5 to 10 years the Klamath River could be like it was 100 years ago.

[BumpBailey]

The Elwha river is in Washington state were every year have plenty of snow and rain. The klamath doesn't,t carry that much water not even on wet years, therefore is not comparable and it will take a lot longer to see optimal results. California is a dry state and it it wasn't for some dams some of the rivers will dry up during the hot summers and that is the sad reality.

You are right Mo. They are two different rivers, yet they aren't. Mother Nature has proven herself capable of repairing herself when given the chance. And yes, The O.P. definitely gets more rain and snow than the Klamath region, and yes, California is a "dry state." But it has always been an arid state. Further, the state has experienced mega-droughts in the past, pre-dams, and the fish survived. The fish are capable, we just have to give them a chance.

Who knows how quickly they will come back? Only time will tell. So let's give them that before we go claiming this a failure or a success. At the very least, we know that the fish won't get cooked by the warm water being released from those cesspools any longer. No more green algae starving the river of nutrients. I do feel a little sorry for the people that had lakefront property. But, I wonder, how much does one covet those lakes come July, August and September when the Algae Bloom is in full affect? At least they have riverfront property(I'm in the market by the way) with eventually cleaner water flowing by. Seems to me a win-win. I’m sure they don’t see it that way though. The bottom line, they were deadbeat dams that needed to come out.

#FreetheEel!