Author

Sam Davidson

  • Dam Removal

    First of the Klamath dams comes down

    Areal view of cranes breaking a dam apart

    All four dams of the Lower Klamath Project will be gone by the end of 2024. The Copco II dam on the Klamath River was only 35 feet high. With the three other dams of the Lower Klamath Hydroelectric Project, however, it completely blocked fish passage and effectively cut the Klamath River in half, decimating…

  • Dam Removal Conservation

    Extraordinary measures

    Black and white photo of man with a rod looking at a river

    TU and partners sue Pacific Gas and Electric to restore California’s third largest river and its legendary salmon and steelhead fisheries. The Eel River, the beating heart of California’s Lost Coast, was historically one of the most productive rivers for salmon and steelhead in America. Today, however, the Eel’s anadromous fish populations are severely depressed…

  • From the field

    Sampling the southern Sierra

    River in forrest with mountains in Sequoia National Park

    A TU chapter partners with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to search for pure Kern River rainbow trout in its spectacular native range  In the summer of 2022, Jim Correa, president of TU’s Central Sierra Chapter, backpacked 30 miles with a 35-pound pack into one of the most remote places in the Lower…

  • Science

    Science Guides Native Trout Restoration

    CA’s science staff utilize low-tech processes for restoration in the remote native range of the golden trout There are several drivers of Trout Unlimited’s coldwater conservation work, but science is its beating heart. Many TU staff and volunteers — including the leading fish biologists, entomologists, hydrologists, ecologists, and mapping experts of our Science Program —…

  • Conservation Advocacy

    Reconnecting the Klamath

    FERC’s license surrender order clears the path to remove four old dams on the Lower Klamath River The decades-long campaign Trout Unlimited and our Tribal and conservation partners have waged to restore the third most productive river for salmon and steelhead on the West Coast has taken a dramatic leap forward. Today, the Federal Energy…

  • From the field Dam Removal

    Freeing the Eel

    TU and partners sue to protect endangered salmon and steelhead as California dams await decommissioning The Eel River is the last, best hope for recovery of wild salmon and steelhead in California. But two old, fish-killing dams on the Eel block access to over 200 miles of high-quality spawning and nursery habitat in the headwaters…

  • Fishing

    Striper hunting in steelhead country

    TU’s Wild Steelhead Initiative shifts into turbocharge—and takes on a voracious predator Oregon’s Umpqua River features some of the most famous salmon and steelhead waters in America. It’s an amazingly productive watershed by almost any measure. Trout Unlimited volunteers and staff have worked hard to keep it that way. I tested this productivity on a…