If it wasn’t dammed, overirrigated and degraded by habitat loss, the Klamath would be a very different place. Under balanced conditions, anadromous fish disseminate marine-derived nutrients throughout the basin to create thriving networks of interconnected life.
B. ‘Toastie’ Oaster (they/them) is an award-winning journalist and a staff writer for High Country News writing from the Pacific Northwest. They’re a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Email them at b.toastie@hcn.org or submit a letter to the editor. See our letters to the editor policy.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline What would a healthy Klamath River look like?.