The Largest Dam Removal in U.S. History: What Repair Really Looks Like
The battle to restore the Klamath River lasted generations. When the dams finally came down, salmon returned within three days - far faster than scientists expected, marking a turning point for Indigenous rights, ecological restoration and cultural survival.
Meet Amy Bowers Cordalis - attorney, activist and member of the Yurok Tribe - who helped lead one of the most significant river restoration efforts in modern history. Amy shares the story behind America’s largest dam removal project: from growing up alongside the Klamath River and witnessing the devastating 2002 salmon die-off, to becoming the first General Counsel for the Yurok Tribe and helping navigate a long fight against political, legal and corporate interests that many believed was impossible to win.
This isn’t just a conversation about dams or conservation. It’s about what comes after victory - and what repair truly means for ecosystems, communities, culture and our collective future.
In this episode:
- How Amy blew up a dam on her birthday
- Why salmon returned to the Klamath River in just three days
- The cultural and spiritual connection between the Yurok people, the river and salmon
- What the 2002 mass death of 70,000 salmon meant for Indigenous communities
- How grief and anger led Amy to law school and environmental advocacy
- Warren Buffett - and why his team ended up on the banks of the Klamath River
- The surprising economics of dam removal and river restoration
- Finding the joy in advocacy
- What the Klamath story teaches us about hope, persistence and ability of nature and communities to heal
02:26 - Meet Amy Bowers Cordalis
03:59 - The Yurok's relationship with the Klamath and the salmon
07:05 - The turning point in 2002
10:59 - How Amy's great-grandmother told her to take action
12:53 - 80,000 salmon died, no media showed up
13:38 - What a decades-long battle felt like on the inside?
15:13 - When Warren Buffet's team came out to the Klamath
19:02 - Midpoint reflections
20:43 - How the Klamath restoration changes the story of environmental activism
22:55 - Why restoration and economics can go hand in hand
23:49 - What it's like to blow up a dam, on your birthday
25:04 - How the elders have responded to the Klamath flowing again
27:32 - How salon beat scientific predication and returned after three days
29:23 - The myth of the lone hero
32:11 - Other river restoration projects happening in America
34:26 - What comes after victory? Healing.
38:21 - What the Klamath story tells us about what's possible
40:22 - Final reflections
Want to dive deeper?
About Fix The News:
Fix The News is a solutions-focused media platform sharing stories from the frontlines of progress - exploring what’s working in the world and the people making it happen.
Fix The News is a solutions-focused media platform sharing stories from the frontlines of progress - exploring what’s working in the world and the people making it happen.
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Production credits:
Hosted by Angus Hervey and Amy Davoren-Rose
Produced by Fix The News
Audio production: Anthony Badolato, Hear That!
Hosted by Angus Hervey and Amy Davoren-Rose
Produced by Fix The News
Audio production: Anthony Badolato, Hear That!
This episode was produced in Australia on the lands of the Gadigal, Wurundjeri and Woi Wurrung peoples.
