Tuesday June 16, 2026
Lost Coast Outpost —
The Karuk Tribe today emphasized that Klamath River dam removal remains a historic and necessary step toward salmon recovery, while cautioning that recent detections of fish disease among juvenile salmon show that the river is still in the early stages of healing.
Following dam removal, the Klamath has shown encouraging signs, including strong adult salmon returns and significant juvenile salmon outmigration from river reaches that had been devoid of salmon for a century. At the same time, monitoring has detected elevated levels of Ceratonova shasta (C. shasta), a fish parasite that can cause serious disease in juvenile salmon.
Tribal fisheries staff note that the disease detections are occurring during a difficult water year marked by low snowpack, early snowmelt, low flows, and high water temperatures. These conditions can increase stress on juvenile salmon and create more favorable conditions for disease transmission.
“Dam removal gave the Klamath River and our fish a fighting chance,” said Karuk Vice Chairman Kenneth Brink. “But no one should confuse dam removal with an instant cure. The river was damaged for more than a century. It will take time, strong winter flows, habitat restoration, and continued care to bring it back to health.”