After years of protests, court battles and even picketing, Klamath tribes are able to return to a restored river.

The recently completed removal of dams on the Klamath River is raising hopes of rebuilding the population of threatened spring-run chinook salmon.

For the first time in more than a century, salmon are swimming freely along the Klamath River and its tributaries — a major watershed near the California-Oregon border — just days after the largest dam removal project in U.

The Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2, J.C. Boyle, and Iron Gate Dams have been removed from the Klamath River, and restoration and recovery will follow.

Over 16 months, four dams built between 1903 and 1962 came down as part of a monumental effort to clear 35 river miles in Oregon and California.

Oregon U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley attended the Dam removal celebration and the site of the former Iron Gate Dam, marking a significant milestone in the Klamath River restoration project.

For the first time in more than a century, salmon are swimming freely along the Klamath River and its tributaries near the California-Oregon line