The Largest Dam Removal in U.S. History: What Repair Really Looks Like

The battle to restore the Klamath River lasted generations. When the dams finally came down, salmon returned within three days - far faster than scientists expected, marking a turning point for Indigenous rights, ecological restoration and cultural survival.

Meet Amy Bowers Cordalis - attorney, activist and member of the Yurok Tribe - who helped lead one of the most significant river restoration efforts in modern history. Amy shares the story behind America’s largest dam removal project: from growing up alongside the Klamath River and witnessing the devastating 2002 salmon die-off, to becoming the first General Counsel for the Yurok Tribe and helping navigate a long fight against political, legal and corporate interests that many believed was impossible to win.

This isn’t just a conversation about dams or conservation. It’s about what comes after victory - and what repair truly means for ecosystems, communities, culture and our collective future.

In this episode:

How Amy blew up a dam on her birthdayWhy salmon returned to the Klamath River in just three daysThe cultural and spiritual connection between the Yurok people, the river and salmonWhat the 2002 mass death of 70,000 salmon meant for Indigenous communitiesHow grief and anger led Amy to law school and environmental advocacyWarren Buffett - and why his team ended up on the banks of the Klamath RiverThe surprising economics of dam removal and river restorationFinding the joy in advocacyWhat the Klamath story teaches us about hope, persistence and ability of nature and communities to healTimestamps:

00:54 - Introduction to the Klamath River story

02:26 - Meet Amy Bowers Cordalis

03:59 - The Yurok's relationship with the Klamath and the salmon

07:05 - The turning point in 2002

10:59 - How Amy's great-grandmother told her to take action

12:53 -  80,000 salmon died, no media showed up

13:38 - What a decades-long battle felt like on the inside?