New art exhibit displays devastating effects of 2002 Klamath River fish kill, declining salmon population

EUREKA, Calif. — A new exhibit at the Morris Graves Museum of Art in Eureka aims to provide a visualization of the devastating Fish Kill of 2002, as well as a celebration of the work currently being done to restore the continuously-declining salmon population in California rivers.

The art exhibit comes as the California salmon populations are one of the lowest on record for the state. Earlier this year, both the commercial and recreational salmon seasons were canceled due to extremely low fish stock.

According to officials, these low numbers are a result of various factors, including climate change and the presence of dams in many California rivers.

"We're also beginning to round a corner. We're taking out five, obsolete hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River. The first of them is coming out this summer, and so, I think it's an opportunity to celebrate how far we've come," Rep. Jared Huffman said.

In 2022, the federal government approved a landmark plan to remove four dams along the lower Klamath River as part of the world's largest restoration project to date. That process is now underway, but Huffman said it will be years before all four fams are completely removed.