The Conservation Angler and California Trout are pleased to announce a partnership that brings together important stakeholders to support research, science, and meaningful conservation for salmon and steelhead on the Klamath River. With the removal of the four Klamath dams comes a monumental opportunity to restore a river and its fish while discovering best practices for future restoration efforts.
In an almost unprecedented event, the removal of the Klamath dams reopens more than 400 miles of historic habitat to salmon and steelhead for the first time in over a century. Decades of work to remove the dams have now led to a moment that is just the beginning for salmonid recovery on this river and in its tributaries — and it is an opportunity not only for the fish but also for scientists, conservationists, and anglers.
Figure 1. Map of the Klamath River basin in Oregon and California, USA. (A) Locations of the former Iron Gate, Copco 1, Copco 2, and J.C. Boyle dams. (B) Removal of these dams restored access to more than 640 km of historical migration corridor for anadromous fishes, including the Keno, Bypass, and Peaking reaches. Tap to enlarge.
With many hopes as well as unknowns ahead for the fish, a new report, Steelhead Recovery After Large-Scale Dam Removal: A Biology-Driven Monitoring Framework for the Klamath River, takes on a variety of questions about what fish recovery looks like and how to measure success. Co-authored by scientists and fisheries experts from The Conservation Angler, California Trout, Tribal partners, state agencies, and universities across the region, the report highlights a critical reality: steelhead recovery cannot be measured simply by counting the number of adults that return upstream. Recovery may occur through multiple pathways, including resident rainbow trout re-expressing anadromy, shifts in life-history diversity, and changes in genetic structure that emerge long before increases in abundance become apparent. To truly understand whether restoration is working, scientists need to track how steelhead move through the watershed, where they spawn, how they grow, and which life-history strategies persist over time.
"The Klamath River dam removals created an extraordinary opportunity — not just to restore access to habitat, but to fundamentally improve our understanding of steelhead recovery. By partnering with The Conservation Angler, we're bringing together complementary expertise to ensure that this historic moment generates the science needed to guide steelhead conservation for generations to come." — Damon Goodman, Regional Director, California Trout
As many well know, getting good data on steelhead and salmon takes an abundance of resources, and for The Conservation Angler, anglers and guides are vital to helping conduct the important research that scientists depend on for their work. It is for this reason that the report includes an emphasis on angler-science. By collecting scale samples, tissue samples, and observations from across the watershed, trained anglers can help scientists better understand fish movements, identify life-history patterns, and expand monitoring into places and seasons that traditional field crews may struggle to reach.
Table 4. Hypothesis-driven monitoring framework for O. mykiss in the Klamath River, linking parameters, life stages, and methods to core recovery questions — with angler-science sampling woven through run timing, origin, and fitness monitoring. Tap to enlarge.
"Anglers have always been among the first people to notice when something changes on a river. The opportunity in the Klamath is to pair that deep, place-based knowledge with rigorous scientific methods. Angler-science allows us to expand our reach across this enormous watershed while creating a meaningful role for people who care deeply about the future of wild steelhead." — George Pess, COO and Director of Science, The Conservation Angler
For decades, CalTrout has worked to restore California's freshwater ecosystems and reconnect rivers critical to salmon and steelhead, and The Conservation Angler has championed science-based conservation strategies to protect wild steelhead throughout the world. Together, these organizations recognize that the future of steelhead conservation depends on combining restoration, advocacy, and applied science, and they look forward to continuing their partnership for the benefit of steelhead and salmon.
"This partnership reflects the idea that no single organization can answer questions of this magnitude alone. The Klamath is one of the most important opportunities we've ever had to understand how steelhead recover following large-scale habitat reconnection. The lessons we learn here will have implications for rivers across the West." — George Pess, The Conservation Angler
"We're witnessing the beginning of a new chapter for the Klamath. The decisions we make now about how we study and support recovery will shape not only the future of this river, but our broader understanding of how wild steelhead respond when we give them the opportunity to come home." — Damon Goodman, California Trout
Read the full report: Steelhead Recovery After Large-Scale Dam Removal: A Biology-Driven Monitoring Framework for the Klamath River.
About The Conservation Angler
The Conservation Angler (TCA) protects the best remaining populations of wild steelhead across the Pacific Rim. Through "The Northern Crown" — a global network of sentinel rivers spanning from California to Kamchatka — TCA turns the act of fishing into a rigorous scientific endeavor. By empowering guides and anglers to collect actionable data, TCA fills critical monitoring gaps that traditional agencies cannot, safeguarding our most resilient wild fish populations for future generations.
For more information about The Conservation Angler, please visit their website and follow TCA on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, and YouTube.
About California Trout
California Trout (CalTrout) is a nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to revitalizing waters for resilient wild fish and a better California. Through science-based advocacy, restoration, and community engagement, CalTrout has been working to protect and restore the state's freshwater ecosystems for fish and people alike for over 50 years.
For more information about California Trout, please visit their website, and follow CalTrout on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
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