“We understood and knew that if we didn’t fight this fight, we could lose all of our resources. Everything needs water. And all we wanted was enough water.”
— Klamath Tribal leader Jeff Mitchell
The spotlightLast year, Indigenous tribes in California and Oregon realized a longstanding dream: the removal of four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River. It was the largest such environmental restoration project in U.S. history, opening the way for salmon to return home to the Klamath and for tribes and other advocates to begin restoring the ecosystem that once flourished there.
And last week, Grist’s Jake Bittle and Anita Hofschneider published a five-part, 14,000-word feature delving into the decades-long history of how it all happened. In their story, they describe the dam removal as “the result of an improbable campaign that spanned close to half a century, roped in thousands of people, and came within an inch of collapse several times. Interviews with dozens of people on all sides of the dam removal fight, some of whom have never spoken publicly about their roles, reveal a ... Read more
