A needed feel good story: These Native kids were first to witness the mighty Klamath River's rebirth

A project of this scale had never been attempted before Klamath’s dams came down, and even with an abundance of hope and extensive modeling, there was uncertainty about how the river would rebound.

Even with years of work left to do, the speed of recovery has surprised everyone.

Without the large reservoirs that kept waters stagnant and warm during the summers, toxic markers that used to consistently spike outside healthy ranges have stayed at safe levels through the seasons. Water temperatures too have returned to their natural regimes, providing the coolness fish need to migrate.

“The river seemed to come alive right after dam removal,” said Damon Goodman, the Mount Shasta-Klamath regional director for CalTrout during a meeting on the one-year anniversary. “There’s just fish jumping all over the place, bald eagles, all sorts of wildlife.”