What it takes to take down a dam Desiree Tullos, Miranda Bour

Francis Gill and Danny Fontaine, two local landowners at Copco Lake, share their perspectives on the impacts of the dam removals on local residents, as well as the threats facing rural communities in the American West more broadly.   

Since the construction of JC Boyle, whitewater recreation occurs via
scheduled releases from the dam. Known colloquially as the “Upper
Klamath,” this reach of the river has legendary rapids with big waves and
exciting drops. With the dams gone, flows will be much more variable and
less predictable, eliminating the reach as a reliable option for guiding
businesses. This will be a loss for outfitters and recreational users of the
river, but as you’ll hear, dam removal also creates some new opportunities.
This episode was recorded on the banks of the Upper Klamath with guides
from Indigo Creek Outfitters

Want to know what scientists think could happen with all of that sediment (13
million cubic yards!) stored behind the dams? Or how the temperature,
nutrients, and algae in the river could change? Chauncey Anderson, recently
retired from the US Geological Survey, helps unpack what we think we know
about the water quality changes ahead for the Klamath and where the gaps in
our knowledge are

Environmental permitting isn’t at the forefront of everyone’s mind, but it
certainly was for project partners on the Klamath. Long known for being tedious
and lacking in transparency, environmental permitting is often considered a
barrier to getting projects completed, rather than an opportunity to collaborate
and improve projects. But as the environment around us changes, so should
environmental permitting, right? Chris Stine with ODEQ walks us through how
the states (CA and OR) worked the permitting process to support the projects,
setting an important precedence for how environmental permitting can adapt
along with the environment

Miranda gets into the fishy details with Dr. Tommy Williams from NOAA’s
Southwest Fisheries Science Center. Tommy provides a clear overview of why
the dam removal is so important for the Klamath River fish as the system faces
climate change and other threats. The conversation covers what why restoration

actions need to focus on resetting processes at large scales and collaborating
until it hurts.

Gwen Santos with Resource Environmental Solutions (RES) walks us through how
the many contractors are orchestrating such a large project, and why constant
communication and the right expertise are essential. She explains some of the
vast scale of site restoration, a large and often underappreciated aspect of all
dam removals. She also talks us through how RES owns and manages the
restoration risk, from wildfires to elk browsing.