Karuk Tribal Council member Aaron "Troy" Hockaday watches salmon swimming upstream near the confluence of the Klamath River and the Scott River tributary on Oct. “It’s been a long, long journey to get to where we are today.” “It’s gonna be one of the best things for our fish and our fisheries,” Hockaday said. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval of removing those four dams should set free a huge stretch of one of the West’s most important coastal rivers for salmon and reopen 400 miles of habitat - much of which salmon have been unable to reach for more than a century. That’s because hundreds of miles of salmon spawning habitat are blocked by four dams on the lower Klamath River.īut an historic decision made on Thursday in Washington, D.C. Right now, there aren’t many salmon for the Karuk and other area tribes to catch. Hockaday comes here often to check on the salmon that are vital to his people and their culture. It’s a spot at the confluence of the Klamath and Scott rivers near the Northern California town of Yreka. “They had a long journey from the mouth of the Klamath coming up here, so right now what they’re doing is resting a little bit.” “These fish right here give me hope,” he said. Looking down at a pool filled with Klamath River salmon swimming back to their spawning grounds, Karuk Tribal Councilor Aaron “Troy” Hockaday says he can’t wait to see what the future holds for them.
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