Salmon return as Indigenous nations from the Klamath to the Okanagan lead restoration

Indigenous-led efforts helped reconnect the Klamath River and rebuild Okanagan sockeye runs, with dam removals on the Klamath and an Indigenous-run hatchery and restoration work in the Okanagan supporting recent salmon returns.

Salmon are returning to parts of the Klamath watershed in California and the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia after long declines. Indigenous nations led much of the work to restore river connections and fish populations in both regions. On the Klamath, decades of advocacy by Yurok, Karuk, Hoopa and others culminated in agreements and the removal of dams that had blocked passage for more than a century. In the Okanagan, the Okanagan Nation Alliance and partners operate an Indigenous-led hatchery and coordinated restoration measures to re-seed and rebuild sockeye runs. Key facts: - In 2002 tens of thousands of adult salmon died on the lower Klamath River, an event the Yurok tribe described as ecocide. - Four hydroelectric dams had blocked fish passage along the Klamath for over a century; the final dam breach occurred in 2024 and reconnected river habitat. - Within a week of the Klamath reconnection, salmon returned to newly opened habitat for the first time in about a century. - In the Okanagan, sockeye returns had fallen to roughly 3,000–5,000 spawners by the 1990s after dams, channelization, habitat loss and other changes. - The Okanagan Nation Alliance runs an Indigenous-owned hatchery on the Penticton reserve that collects broodstock, raises fry and conducts ceremonial releases as part of cultural and biological restoration. Summary: Early signs across both regions indicate improving salmon numbers and ecological responses, with colder water and stronger flows on the Klamath and rising juvenile survival and natural returns in the Okanagan. Both leaders say continuing momentum is needed, including rebuilding wetlands, reconnecting channels, removing remaining barriers and deepening partnerships between Indigenous nations and neighbouring communities.