In 2002, one of the year’s biggest national headlines was the death of 68,000 Klamath River salmon. That year, federal agencies faced a dilemma: When there is not enough water for both fish and farmers, who gets the water? Agencies chose farmers.

We are celebrating this week because Klamath dam removal is proceeding as expected and ahead of schedule! All of the planning and engineering by Kiewit Corporation, Resource Environmental Solutions (RES), and the Klamath River Renewal Corporation is proving to be accurate and well thought out.

One dam has been removed on the Klamath River. The remaining three outdated hydrodams are one step closer to removal, as the reservoirs behind them begin to be drawn down.

Resource Environmental Solutions (RES) is leading a massive restoration effort integral to the largest dam removal and river renewal project in US history – a task vital to the future of several imperiled salmon populations on the West Coast.

Check out the latest blog post from EnergyTrust of Oregon, sharing Cameron and Garrett Duncan's efforts at making their ranching and farming operations in the Upper Klamath Basin as sustainable as possible.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) recommending the approval of the proposed license surrender, decommissioning, and removal of the Lower Four Klamath Dams.

The Pacific Northwest showcases exceptional land stewards, spanning from the southern coast of Oregon to the Olympic Peninsula and north to the foothills of Mount Baker.

Learning from these forests and the local communities participating in alternative forest management has been my pleasure.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) recommending the approval of the proposed license surrender, decommissioning, and removal of the Lower Four Klamath Dams.

Sustainable Northwest board members, staff, and partners gathered in Joseph, Oregon for a deep dive into our new Regenerative Ranching program.

After two years of lockdown, social distancing, and Zoom happy hours, Sustainable Northwest was eager to kickoff summer 2022 with our first in-person board meeting and field tour since 2019.

The Arch Cape Domestic Water Supply District realized the vision of connecting the community to its drinking-water source on June 9th, 2022.

Purchasing the watershed will permanently protect the source of Arch Cape’s drinking water from the headwaters to the tap.

On June 19th, 2022, the Oregon Water Resources Commission formally recognized the Lower John Day Integrated Water Resource Plan.

On February 25, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) took a major step toward dam removal by releasing its draft Environmental Impact Statement (dEIS) on the proposed removal of four Klamath River dams, concluding that dam removal will benefit fish recovery efforts, water quality and habitat, as well as generating substantial economic benefits for the region.

Drought was once an anomalous event in the Klamath Basin and throughout the West. Typically, the impacts from a drought would last for one or two tough years, then we could breathe a sigh of relief when the rains and snows would return. The moisture would saturate dry soils, replenish our water supply, and wash away any motivation to change long-standing water management practices along with it.

The John Day Basin is one of the most important undammed river systems in the West and home to native aquatic fish species, small rural communities, and exceptional historical and cultural riches.