Dams Out: Klamath Dams

Wild and Scenic Mokelumne River

Update: Potter Valley Project on the Eel River

A statement prepared by Redgie Collins (CalTrout’s Legal and Policy Director) and Curtis Knight (CalTrout’s Executive Director) A New Path Forward for Potter Valley Project Restoring Eel and Russian Rivers for the benefit of people and wildlife. In response to a recent decision from federal regulators, California Trout sees a clear path towards the removal […]

Infrastructure Bill and Improvements to Fish Passage

On November 15, 2021, President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a more than $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill into law before a bipartisan, celebratory crowd on the White House lawn. Sandra Jacobson, CalTrout’s South Coast and Sierra Director, and Chair of California’s Fish Passage Forum, took a detailed look at the […]

Holistic Approach to Water Management for Trinity River

A new water management program is being proposed for the Trinity River to help dwindling salmon populations. The Yurok Tribe helped develop the plan through its participation in the Trinity River Restoration Program (TRRP), which is comprised of tribal, state, and federal agencies, and then submitted it to the Bureau of Reclamation for approval where […]

A Victory for Clean Water

We are thrilled to announce that we experienced a major litigation victory on the evening of Thursday, October 21, 2021. The District Court for the Northern District of California ruled in our (fishing and recreation advocates) favor and vacated a Trump-era 401 rule. This rule will no longer be in effect while the EPA goes […]

Major Milestone Met to Protect Mono Basin Ecosystem

A major milestone in the effort to protect the Mono Basin ecosystem was reached last week. On October 1, 2021, the California State Water Board approved a comprehensive program to restore four key tributaries to Mono Lake, located in the Eastern Sierra near Yosemite. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) will implement […]

Federal Act Introduced to Invest in Dam Safety and Removal

We are excited to share that the Twenty-First Century Dams Act was introduced this month on July 15, 2021. This bill would invest $21.1 billion to enhance the safety, grid resilience benefits, and power generating capacity of America’s dams and provide historic funding to remove dams that are no longer necessary. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), […]

Poor Klamath River Conditions Unable to Support Young Salmon

For the first time in its 59-year-history, CDFW’s Iron Gate Fish Hatchery in Siskiyou County will not release its young salmon into the Klamath River as a result of the drought, disease, and other poor river conditions that would most likely doom the fish. The baby salmon, about seven months old and about three inches […]

Klamath Salmon Now Listed On California Endangered Species List

On June 16, after hours of debate and public testimony, the California Fish and Game Commission voted unanimously to approve the petition from the Karuk Tribe to list the Klamath-Trinity River Spring Chinook as an endangered species under the California Endangered Species Act. The Karuk Tribe and the Salmon River Restoration Council (SRRC) jointly filed […]

Big News for the Klamath!

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) today approved the transfer of the license for the Lower Klamath Hydroelectric Project (Project) from PacifiCorp to the Klamath River Renewal Corporation and the states of Oregon and California, as co-licensees. This is a crucial step towards achieving a free-flowing river and getting the four lower Klamath dams removed, […]

Challenges in the Klamath Basin

The Klamath Basin is currently suffering from a water and fish crisis, and tensions are rising among the community. The severe drought the West is in is devastating farmland, wildlife, and fish that are deemed sacred to native tribes. This area, along the Oregon-California border, has a complex history. Drought and fights over water are […]