The Klamath River is free to flow through Wards Canyon for the first time in a century. Copco 2 and its headgate were fully removed in fall of 2023. Three more dams will be removed in 2024.

---

Slide Show – Twenty Four Photographs

---

In Retrospect

It’s been eight months since last posting. Despite the apparent hiatus, my fieldwork and research has continued with unabashed enthusiasm. Dam removal and river renewal are well underway. It’s been big news with significant ramifications for the environment and for the people of Northern California and Southern Oregon. It’s been a challenging social landscape in which to photograph.

My mission has been to create a series of images that highlight and record interesting aspects from all phases of removal and renewal as it pertains to the changing landscape. This is not just a physical place that will respond to an epic environmental effort, but it’s also a deeply cultural one that touches diverse lives with differing world views.

For some, there is much jubilation on the deepest of levels. For others, there is suspicion and worry regarding intent and outcome. I do have empathy for the loss of the “lakes,” but agree with the science and the Indigenous knowledge that says removal is a necessary step in helping prevent extinction of wild salmon.

It’s not all about the fish. For some it’s more personal and the loss is painful. Lake views and country living are nice, but the rebuilding of links in a broken food chain is a noble effort for the greater good. Salmon are an essential part of a resilient landscape.

There was significant resistance before the dams were built, but Manifest Destiny and the desire to build big to power and irrigate the West ruled the day. What could go wrong when there was power and money to be made?

A lot has been learned in the last hundred years. Unless one believes in a completely anthropocentric world where natural processes are unimportant, the science is clear. The river needs to be freed.

As 2023 comes to a close, the question is no longer whether one is for or against removal. With removal underway, the question or belief becomes centered on the success or failure behind the intent of river restoration. Success will be measured in the long run; perhaps it will take a generation or more. Only from that future point will we truly understand what we’ve done.

There will be bad moments and inevitable surprises this coming year, with plenty to dislike. Countless fish will not survive the turbid river waters of immediate drawdown. The yellow perch in particular will have a bad time of it. Downstream of Iron Gate, especially in the first seven miles, even native fish will suffer. To increase their chances of survival, some juvenile salmonids have been caught, tagged, and relocated to off-channel pools, hopefully avoiding death as the river temporarily loses oxygen.

Regardless of mitigating factors, restoration will have ugly moments. Those moments will be part of a process best judged over time.

As for me, I imagine that, instead of a seasonally stagnant lake, a free-flowing, beautiful, and healthy river will once again grace this forever sublime landscape. I look forward to seeing it happen and believe the future will be wiser from the process. Until then, it’s all work in progress and these are a few of my photographs.

The following views feature each dam and their related powerhouse: Iron Gate, Copco 2 Powerhouse, Copco 2, Copco 1 Powerhouse and Dam, J. C. Boyle Powerhouse and Canal, and J. C. Boyle Dam. All but the Copco 2 Powerhouse will be dismantled by end of 2024.

– These photographs, Klamath River Project 2023 are part of a multi-year photo documentary effort by Joseph Wilhelm called the Klamath River Project.