The nation’s largest dam removal project begins in California, but new concerns arise

The 33-foot-tall dam known as Copco 2 in Siskiyou County, about a six-hour drive from San Francisco, is the smallest of four structures that will be demolished. But it represents a monumental step for conservationists, Native Americans and commercial fishermen who have been pushing for the unlikely renaturalization of the 250-mile river for decades.

The inevitability of this project is now fully visible, said Mark Bransom, chief executive officer of Klamath River Renewal Corp., the non-profit cooperative set up to handle the demolition. It’s a turning point.

Removing dams will ultimately bring countless benefits to fish and wildlife. For salmon, the primary beneficiary, hundreds of miles of now blocked waterways will open up, providing whole new worlds for fish and a sort of reconciliation for communities where salmon are critical to life and livelihoods, including the tribes up and down the river.

For one tribe, however, the demolition of Copco 2 is not so much a cause for celebration as it is a reckoning with a painful past.

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The heart of the Shasta Indian Nation’s ancestral lands, and the site of one of the largest historic villages on the Klamath River, is the exact spot where the dam and its counterpart, Copco 1, were built.

The tribe was pushed out of the area when the hydroelectric project was built and long-time residents were forced to leave sacred places and cemeteries as well as part of their cultural identity.

It’s like a piece of yourself is missing, said Sami Jo Difuntorum, tribal member and culture conservation manager for the Shasta Indian Nation. Our people have not had our traditional (salmon) ceremony as a result of this project.

As the dam’s removal progresses, many of the tribe fear relics of their past could be swept away by the free-flowing river, further eroding their spiritual and physical ties to their homeland.

One of the tribe’s most important locations is Kasas, a rock outcrop near Copco 2 that is seen as the center of the world.

We are doing our best not to get in the way of the important (removal) work they are doing, said Difuntorum. But there will be damage to our cultural sites, to our burials. There has already been damage, but this will add to it.

Tribal representatives are monitoring the demolition of Copco 2 for items that may be unearthed, and state and federal laws require documentation and safekeeping of artifacts. Additionally, Klamath River Renewal Corp. is committed to doing what is necessary to respect the remains of native villages and spiritual sites. The nonprofit also has plans to prevent potential looting and vandalism.

Prior to European settlement, the Shasta Indian people lived throughout Northern California and Southern Oregon. For thousands of years they survived by hunting, fishing and gathering and resided in small clapboard house communities, many along the Klamath.

Exactly what remains of the village around Copco 1 and 2 is not known because the area was fenced off when the energy project went into operation, said Brian Daniels, director of research and programs at the Penn Cultural Heritage Center of the. University of Pennsylvania, who has worked extensively with the Shasta Indian people. The Copco 1 Dam also created a reservoir which submerged the ancestral land.

Still, Daniels said, it became increasingly clear that the area was rich in cultural touchstones.

The extent of settlement up there is greater than we expected, he said. I think this will be especially important when we get to actual (tank) drainage.

The Shasta Indian nation, which today includes between 300 and 350 descendants of the historic Shasta Indian people, remains mixed in its feelings about the demolition work. Their enthusiasm for the long-awaited return of the salmon, unlike the neighboring Yurok, Karuk and Hoopa Valley tribes, is overshadowed by the disruption of their home.

The removal of the dam in general has been complicated for the Shasta people and the Shasta Indian nation, Difuntorum said.

The tribe hopes eventually to take ownership, or at least have a say, in the portions of land along the river where they once lived.

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While the three largest dams on the Klamath won’t be razed until next year, the sinking of Copco 2, due for completion in September, will provide a taste of what a restored river is all about.