KLAMATH, Calif. (AP) — A group of several dozen Indigenous youth from across the Klamath Basin recently emerged victorious after a month-long journey paddling the Klamath River. The river is newly navigable after a decades-long fight to remove its four dams to restore the salmon run — an ancient source of life, food and culture for local tribes for millennia long before miners, farmers and cities moved in and built dams. The dam removal is part of a movement among tribes and environmental groups to restore the natural flow of rivers and the wildlife they support. Through the Rios to Rivers program, these youth had spent several years learning to navigate white water and training with Indigenous people across the Americas, all in preparation for the journey.
Reporting by Brittany Peterson, Assocated Press
Banner image: Young native paddlers hold hands and cheer as they walk across a sandy stretch that separates the Klamath River from the Pacific Ocean on Friday July 11, 2025, in Klamath, Calif. (AP Photo/Brittany Peterson)
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