Win for the Indigenous: Largest River Restoration Project in the World

Four dams on a California river are set to be demolished, ultimately opening up more than 300 miles of salmon habitat in the world’s largest river restoration project.

Ultimately, the dams produced less than 2 percent of PacifiCorp’s power generation. A spokesperson for the utility, Bob Gravely, explains that “you can make up that power by the way you operate the rest of your facilities or having energy efficiency savings so your customers are using less.” Energy from wind farms will likely be used as a replacement.

Indigenous peoples rely on the Klamath River and its salmon and were a major champion of the project. The removal of the dams will allow for the lower half of the river to return to its free-flowing state for the first time in over a century. The historic decision is particularly important for these Native Americans as the river is at the heart of the culture of many tribes in the region.