The recently completed removal of dams on the Klamath River is raising hopes of rebuilding the population of threatened spring-run chinook salmon.

Over 16 months, four dams built between 1903 and 1962 came down as part of a monumental effort to clear 35 river miles in Oregon and California.

The largest dam removal project in U.S. history was completed Wednesday, marking a major victory for tribes in the region who fought for decades to free hundreds of miles of the Klamath River near the California-Oregon border.

The Klamath River Renewal Corporation (KRRC) is announcing the completion of the Klamath Dam Removal project Wednesday. According to KRRC, the contractor Kiewit has finished removing all four of the lower Klamath hydroelectric dams within the purview of the project and completed all work in the river.

KLAMATH RIVER, Calif. -- Work has wrapped up on the world's largest dam removal project. The Klamath River Renewal Corporation announced today that the four hydroelectric dams in the Klamath River have been completely removed.

Indigenous tribal nations along the California-Oregon border have campaigned for decades to tear down four hydroelectric dams they say destroyed the river’s ecosystem and upended their way of life.

Advocates see their work as far from finished, with some already focusing efforts on revegetation and restoration on the Klamath River and surrounding land.

The largest dam removal project in U.S. history was completed Wednesday, marking a major victory for tribes in the region who fought for decades to free hundreds of miles of the Klamath River near the California-Oregon border.

The move Wednesday marks a major victory for tribes in the region who fought for decades to free hundreds of miles of the Klamath River.