Bird Response to Dam Removal and Revegetation in the Klamath River Basin

Presentation Year

2026

College or Department

College of Natural Resources & Sciences

Short Description of your Research or Creative Project (700 characters or less)

Monitoring wildlife species during ecological restoration can provide insight to ecosystem recovery. In 2023 and 2024 the four lower dams on the Klamath River were removed, marking the largest dam removal project in the US to date. Following the removals, restoration, led by Resource Environmental Solutions (RES), in the former reservoir footprints has been underway. Several restoration techniques were used, which provided the opportunity to examine the effect treatments have on ecosystem recovery. In May 2025, RES installed audio recording devices across sites in the footprints, allowing us to monitor birds, which are considered good indicators of ecosystem recovery. We compared species richness across sites in varying habitats and treatment types to look at how restoration influenced bird communities.

Permission to Publish Work

Yes

Presentation File Upload

wildlife-harrison-izzy-203486-3x2.pdf (9.84 KB)

Primary Contact: First Name

Izzy

Primary Contact: Last Name

Harrison

Primary Contact: Email

ih46@humboldt.edu

Primary Contact: I am a

Undergraduate Student

Primary Contact: Phone Number

9254049344

Indicate File Dimensions

3'x2'