Dam destruction a total mistake

The fantastic ecosystem  that Copco produced  for fish down stream from the dam I recognized as a boy and later in life when I acquired a degree in biology it confirmed my observations.   I can best describe how it worked by explaining what I saw as a boy onward for the next few years until Iron Gate dam was built  and led to the destruction of the awesome "walk across the river on their backs" fish runs.  Iron Gate was finished in 1962  from this point on the fish  habitat was destroyed quickly and consequently the fish and all the other aquatic life.  Oh sure we have a drop in the bucket left and nothing more.

I easily remember my first cast into the Klamath River.  Both hands gripping the long willow stick shaking badly.  I had no idea what I was doing except my family had but a small amount of food and if I caught a fish we would have a bit more food. 

Dad, after doing quite well in business leveling land and dike building in Klamath Falls, went bankrupt.  Bankruptcy in 1952 was a very, very, serious business.  Friends moved us from Klamath Falls to the upper Klamath River about 30 miles below Copco dam into a one walled minors' cabin.   All the family had was a hundred pounds of flour, a hundred pounds of sugar and some bullets.   No car, no money, and no refrigeration. From this point on the family started living off the river and land. 

At six years old my job was to catch the young salmon and steelhead.  I learned how and at warp speed,  you do when hunger constantly threatens you.  But it was easy,  I learned that the young fish became very excited just before the ramped water arrived in the afternoon;  they knew the water rushing up the banks would dislodge some juicy salmon flies and other dinners for them.  I also learned that I could put on two hooks and catch two fish at a time almost every cast. 

The explanation for ramped water---each afternoon;  Copco,  the power company at the time, would  release a huge head of water to spin up the generators and meet the families afternoon  power demand.  That head of water when it arrived at the town of Klamath River was about four feet high. That means all the way down the river from the dam the water ran up both the near and far banks something like ten to eighty feet depending on bank steepness.   This happened every afternoon, the river raised and lowered for over forty miles.  This created once a day tidal areas on both sides of the river. 

All this food was present when the young salmon and steel head were returning to the ocean.  When you caught one their tummies were totally stretched full.  Now days, when you catch one and you will witness fish starvation on the upper Klamath.  All the plants that grew up the banks of the river filtered pollutants out of the water.   When the head of water would subside back to the main water body of the river in about three hours that returning water was hyper-oxygenated and would destroy bacteria and parasites.  The  evaporating water along each tidal area cooled the river canyon and water during each evening, night, and morning.  This is how the upper Klamath stayed in a healthy condition.