Endangered Species Law & Policy

On October 20, 2024, I published a post on the Center for California Water Resources Policy and Management’s DeltaCurrents blog discussing early lessons from the Klamath Dam Removal Project. The removal of four hydroelectric dams on the lower Klamath River is the most ambitious dam removal effort in the history of the United States.

While the jury is still out with respect to the effort’s success when measured in terms of increased salmonid abundance, there are lessons to be learned now regarding characterization of science pertaining to policy both by scientists in the decision-making process and by the press when reporting the costs and benefits of dam removal and other major water infrastructure projects.

Key lessons learned I highlight are:

• be mindful of and resist the natural tendency to embrace clean narratives;
• identify and acknowledge uncertainties that accompany the reliable knowledge available to decision-makers;
• differentiate between statements and conclusions directly supported by findings from research, modeling, and monitoring from the opinions or intuition of experts; and
• clearly distinguish scientific information and value judgements.

Many stakeholders value the removal of the lower Klamath River dams irrespective of the extent to which it results in the recovery of salmonid populations at levels that were present a century ago—before the dams were built. But the principle stated impetus for the effort was the belief that it would lead to more abundant salmonid populations. The results of this grand experiment remain uncertain, but early lessons learned can be applied now in the context of other water infrastructure projects.