at the Iron Gate Narrows, April 15, 2024
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- Опубліковано 27 кві 2024
- On the early morning of January 11th, 2024, the Iron Gate Dam [1] on the Klamath River, California was intentionally breached, initiating a long planned drawdown to empty the reservoir as part of the Klamath River Renewal Project. [2]
Shoreline replanting began soon after breaching with hand scattered seeds, as well as by helicopter. These seeds have now sprouted in abundance and are taking root. Soon the poppies, sunflowers, and lupine will bloom and the native grasses will spread their wild seeds. [3]
Not only is river restoration in full swing but as the reservoir empties it’s revealed a world from another era. One such place, the Iron Gate Narrows, is an age old confluence of a river and its people. For thousands of years, the riverside trails were used by the Shasta and Modoc. What now remains is the old county road and the stone abutments to the Pokegama Railroad crossing. The railroad, also known as the Klamath Lake Railroad was completed in 1903 with 24.27 miles of rail. [4]
The railroad was first built by the Pokegama Sugar Pine Company to haul logs from the Pokegama Plateau in Oregon to its sawmill at Klamathon, California. Unfortunately for the railroad’s prospects, the Klamathon mill burned down before the railroad was completed. In 1905, the railroad was sold to Weyerhaeuser and in 1907 was re-named the Oregon Southern Railroad. [4]
In 1914, to aid in the building and maintaining of the Copco Powerhouses, the Siskiyou Electric Power & Light Company purchased and maintained the line to Copco Dam 1 and 2 until 1942. [5]
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Notes:
1 klamathrenewal.org/the-project/
2 Iron Gate Dam on the Klamath River, in Northern California was completed in 1962 to produce 18,000 kilowatts of hydroelectric power. The 173 foot tall earth-filled dam “marked the end of fish migration from the Pacific Ocean”. Boyle, J. C. (1976). 50 years on the Klamath. Self-published. pg. 57.
3 Also see “Seeding Renewal on the Klamath River” by Lily Rothrock for River Partners (riverpartners.org/news/seedin...) and “After the dams: Restoring the Klamath River will take billions of native seeds” by Juliet Grable for Jefferson Public Radio. (www.opb.org/article/2023/03/2....
4 Beckham, S. D. (2006). Historical Landscape Overview of the Upper Klamath River Canyon of Oregon and California. U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management. pg. 127-128.
5 Beckham, S. D. (2006). Historical Landscape Overview of the Upper Klamath River Canyon of Oregon and California. U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management. pg. 131. (digital.osl.state.or.us/islan...) - Наука та технологія
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Given time nature will reclame, and restore the river and banks, you can see the process has already started.
Great to see nature regenerating that river habitat. 🙂
The rebirth of a river has begun! I look forward to seeing it grow.
great to also see that the water quality has improved quite a bit now that the dredging (simply dumping sediment into the river) seems to be over. thanks for the great video!
Earlier when the water was thick and black it was horribly sad to see. It felt suffocating. That was the hard part on the heart. It is uplifting to see big improvement since then. Hopefully the river can handle the coming summer without much dismay.
Your drone choreography is simply amazing.
Thank you. To fly is a dance with the moment and when recorded it becomes a sharable meditation. I'm glad that others also enjoy it.
I'm glad those geese didn't collide with your drone but that was an amazing flyby with them. Thanks for the updates on the Klamath River.
It was a lucky moment for us. Thankfully they're excellent flyers without harmful intent.
@@meridianphoto Yes, indeed. I can't help but wonder if they were being curious.
@@meridianphoto sea gull or crows could be a dif story the are mischievous
@@marumiyuhime thank you for watching. gulls and crows are smart too and thankfully, it’s rare to meet malice from any bird. It’s not uncommon to be escorted or mobbed, especially by swallows but geese just honk. When amongst animals it’s important to move slow and stay away from any bird’s nesting site. Eagles can be of real concern.By no excuse chase wild animals - that’s harassment.
In this case, I was surprised by the one that veered with a bit of drama but the luck here is in having been at the right place at the right time in the midst of an unplanned long shot (no cuts).
Beautiful. Imagine if man never diverted rivers what our country would look like. It would have more beautiful places.
uhm....it would have never developed to where it is now (debatable if that is good or not) and a lot of what you take for granted would not exist. That said, now that better options are available, let's get these rivers back to their normal state as fast as feasibly possible.
Thank you for the careful documentation!
the volcanic columns at that narrow path are amazing... very cool geological formation maybe someone can comment on it.
Not enough resting boulders. Salmon love big boulders in a river like that. Gives them a place to pause and catch their oxygen up. And downed big trees that naturally fall into the river with their big roots half in the water.
Gorgeous!
This is where I use to fish as a child in COP0CO
So iron gate reservoir is also gone…..I didn’t know that..when I posted on another video
Reminds me of that song, "Just Breathe".
What were those? Geese? That was a near miss. Cool video, thanks again, you got some really good shots.
Canada Geese. Yes, they flew close. Birds are always a worry. Thankfully by remaining still they knew the safest way around.
How about some video at the mouth of the river, so we can see the transformation like The Elwha River?!
I'm working on that. The problem with the Klamath River is access to airspace. The parks and national forests are off limits.
Regarding reservation land, it's polite to obtain permission. I just haven't had time to make those contacts. I can say from observation that the river is looking good considering everything it is going through.
Of all man’s inventions the complete disregard that dams have wrought on the natural habitat is unequaled. Yep, we like our creature comforts, but our life styles have devastated so much.
She has been reborn, time will mature to a beautiful woman, with love.
We are nature's stewards, and we are slowly doing better. There is hope. With time and understanding our economy will become more cyclic like nature's, perhaps evolving a little more slowly, but far more correctly, and in balance.
👍🎣👏
When will the first Hatchery fish. Come Back, and will we never get fish the Klamath River again?
Probably not in my lifetime. Maybe in a couple of decades.
Someone will be able to Fish it again.
Roll on big river.
Do you hope to replicate these flights in the future for side by side comparison?
Yes, these familiar locations will be revisited and rephotographed over many years. Change over time is sublime.
Has planted seed taken root or is that starthistle in the video. It will hold the banks but a horrible invasive in the western states.
I’ve caught lots of great perch from the narrows especially on the back eddy behind the outcropping.
Most of what you see sprouting are native seeds intentionally distributed. Soon the poppies, sunflowers and lupine will bloom and the native bunch grasses will reseed.
The star thistle is an undesirable invasive that will be challenging for sure. Its especially problematic for ranching and recreational interests but the birds like their seeds and the butterflies feed off their nectar.
I imagine the narrows will become a popular fishing spot once again. That will be fun to see.
@@meridianphotooh good I was wondering if seeding would take over before starthistle took over as it thrives in the dry disturbed dirt.
Starthistle honey is pretty good actuallly. I managed the Blue heron in 2006- 08 winters when owners were in Hawaii. Lived in Hornbrook , Montague and family property in Horse Creek.
100 year flood like 2006 will change everything to “ the way it should be “ for the good flushing the basins and rapids. Thought the Irongate dam would fail during that event. Moved all the equipment up the mountain or on the Ager property across the bridge and river.
I used to water the wild horses back then had several tamed enough to walk around them (100 yards ) without spooking especially at night when they came to the park for the clover and grasses.
Its great to hear the stories from folks who experienced it. Thank you.
@@meridianphoto if you want great history of every hamlet and town in Siskiyou county the library has a series of books written every year highlighting a different town / area and first hand accounts of life and times from 1800’s . Incredible knowledge and insight of the area. I’ve read them all several times. Ask the librarians at county library in Yreka.
Europe removed 500 dams last year. Progress is coming.
The first good rain next winter and it will be pumping mud again.
The mud will be but a small fraction of what came down from the reservoir draw downs.
The water quality still looks terrible unfortunately
It looks worse than it is. I've seen Osprey with fish, healthy otters, the usual bald eagles and mergansers. The waterbirds aren't drenched in muddy water like they were.
The process of sediment evacuation has actually ceased and things are clearing up.
Show one in October when the salmon are spawning
In time, I will try. The challenge is that the fish spawn in the side streams that are difficult to access with a camera. Perhaps the bridges will provide good views.
I can hardly imagine the delight in being at the Jenny Creek or Camp Creek bridge and seeing big fish. I do hope we get to see that.
@@meridianphotoCan your drone’s camera accept a polarized lens?
@@billsmith5109 yes, most good ones do. I only use them when specifically peering for piscis and even then it's generally unsatisfactory. Otherwise, I fly to photograph the landscape and prioritize still photography over video where faster shutter speeds and unpolarized color are more desirable.
There should be added rocks and old tree roots and native grasses and plants and old lumber along the edges! This is not how to restore a natural fish migration area.
It's work in progress, native bunch grass is part of the seed mix and root balls and and such have been stockpiled for placement. My guess, we'll see what you're saying this fall.
all I see is tons of silt and mud that will wash down the river and kill any fish that try to return up the river, it may never recover at all--
In the midst of disaster its common for people with empathy to express support through the expression of thoughts and prayers. In thinking about this, I choose prayers of optimism.
I love the river and will not bet against it. I've read the data and I will not bet against that either but only time will teach us what went right and what didn't. There's both for sure.
May the river recover quicker than the skeptics suggest. At Requa today, I caught a glimpse of eden. The Klamath River basin top to bottom is paradise.
All you see is a return to a natural condition that existed for tens of thousands of years. Cough up some more hydropower lobby FUD.
Destroyed all the fish and other life in the river. Nice work!
That's sort of true. The killing of the lakes were horrible to witness. But life is returning and it's not as bad on the river as it was. Near the dams I've seen osprey with fish, river otters and signs of beaver too. It will take awhile but nature hates a vacuum and the ecosystem will recover. I look forward to seeing it happen.There will be surprises along the way.
The dams were never going to stay. Companies that owned them said they are cheaper to remove then to bring them up to standard. The Almighty dollar will always win.
Where did all the sludge come from "Debbie Downer" ?
Not destroyed. Just like flushing the toilet. Bad water will be replaced with clean clear water.
@@user-ps7yj1ir6b Most of it grew in the lakes. Decomposed algae that sank to the bottom for decades.
What happens with all the animals and people depending on that lake water.
That was safety for dry days and years.
People are getting more and more stupid. We need more fresh water in the world, not less. It looks nice, but now there is no safety for people, birds, animals and fish
The water in the lakes was anything but fresh. Green and stagnant.
Absolutely nothing is 'depending on' that diseased, overheated green reservoir fill.
Tell us more about "more and more stupid".
Drone work was great but music ruined it. Exiting out. blocking this cvhannel
I must add that just the sound of the rushing water would have been more impressive. I hate music in nature videos as nature sounds better.
You have a volume control?
@@SWRural-fk2ub Drone noise is far better.
I agree, adding music is problematic. It adds emotional bias and it's expensive. For those who prefer not to have music the mute button is handy.
@@meridianphoto The music did not drown out the scene audio completely. Was not obnoxious music, not a deal breaker. Thanks for the video, really glad you made it.