Why We Blew Up Four Dams — and Saved a River | Amy Bowers Cordalis | TED

Summary

Amy Bowers Cordalis describes how Yurok creation teachings—care for the natural world, take only what is needed, give thanks, and protect what sustains life—guided efforts to restore the Klamath River.

For generations, the river supported one of the largest salmon runs in the continental United States. Dams, habitat loss, water diversions, and warming, polluted water disrupted that system. The dams lacked fish passage and blocked salmon from more than 400 miles of historic spawning grounds. Salmon numbers fell to about 5 percent of their former abundance. The reservoirs also emitted methane, which Cordalis compares to the annual emissions of 64,000 cars. In 2002, more than 70,000 adult salmon died in the river within the Yurok Reservation.

Cordalis became the Yurok Tribe’s first tribal-member and female general counsel, then cofounded the Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group with Karuk activist Molly Myers. Indigenous advocates led the call to remove the dams, organizing with other tribes and allies and using tribal reserved rights alongside environmental and energy law. A $500 million settlement made dam removal possible; removing the dams was cheaper than installing fish ladders.

Four dams were removed in 2023 and 2024, beginning a large-scale river and ecosystem restoration effort. Salmon returned to historic spawning areas within days of the river’s reconnection. About 7,000 salmon passed a former dam site in the first year, followed by 13,000 in 2025. Restoration work, expected to continue through 2028, includes planting native seeds and restoring land and habitat. Cordalis says the recovering ecosystems may eventually prevent 800,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

The talk’s central message is that ecological recovery is possible, and that respecting Indigenous rights and knowledge can be essential to solving environmental problems.

Approach and Restoration Measures

• Protest and build coalitions among Indigenous nations, commercial fishers, environmental organizations, states, and farmers.
• Use litigation and assert tribes’ reserved rights alongside environmental and energy law.
• Negotiate a shared settlement that accounts for Indigenous rights, business interests, and nature.
• Remove the dams and restore the river and surrounding land.
• Employ tribal and non-tribal workers in restoration, including planting native seeds and supporting the return of native ecosystems.

Researchers and Sources Featured

• Amy Bowers Cordalis — Speaker; Yurok attorney and Indigenous advocate.
• Molly Myers — Karuk activist and cofounder of the Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group.
• Yurok creation story and traditional teachings — The “original instructions” Cordalis describes.
• Indigenous knowledge and tribal reserved rights — Particularly those of the Yurok and other Klamath River tribes.
• Organizations and groups mentioned: Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group; Karuk, Hoopa, and Klamath tribes; tribal fisheries; commercial fishermen; NGOs; states; and farmers.

No scientific researchers are named in the subtitles.