ODFW identifies first salmon to return to Oregon's Klamath Basin in more than a century

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Oregon wildlife officials have identified one of the first salmon to migrate back to the state’s Klamath Basin in more than a century.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife reported that its fish biologists found a full-run Chinook salmon on Wednesday, in a tributary above the former J.C. Boyle Dam that was removed this summer. Experts saw the large fish swim to the surface the day before, but was initially unsure if it was salmon or a large rainbow trout.

ODFW said the creature is the first anadromous fish to return to the basin since 1912. According to the agency, the first of four hydroelectric dams was constructed that year and fish were blocked from migrating any further.

The department estimates the salmon and other fish likely swam 230 miles from the Pacific Ocean to the tributary. This comes months after four Klamath River dams were demolished so fish could travel freely from California to Oregon.

“This is an exciting and historic development in the Klamath Basin that demonstrates the resiliency of salmon and steelhead,” ODFW Director Debbie Colbert said in a statement. “It also inspires us to continue restoration work in the upper basin.”

The dam removal project concluded on Oct. 2, according to the Associated Press. The outlet added that tribes have advocated for dam removal for decades with protests, legal action and testimonies.

Klamath Tribes Secretary Roberta Frost told ODFW the return of the tribe’s “relatives,” also known as c’iyaal’s, has been overwhelming.

“This is what our members worked for and believed in for so many decades,” Frost added. “I want to honor that work and thank them for their persistence in the face of what felt like an unmovable obstacle. The salmon are just like our tribal people, and they know where home is and returned as soon as they were able.”