Iron Gate Dam is an earthfill
hydroelectric dam on the
Klamath River in northern
California, outside
Hornbrook, California, opened in 1964. The dam blocks the Klamath River to create the Iron Gate Lake Reservoir. It is the lowermost of a series of
power dams on the river, the
Klamath River Hydroelectric Project, operated by
PacifiCorp. It also poses the first barrier to migrating
salmon in the Klamath. The Iron Gate Fish Hatchery was placed just after the dam, hatching salmon and steelhead that are released back into the river.
[1] The Iron Gate Dam (National ID CN 001223)
[2] along with the
John C. Boyle Dam are two of four on the Klamath River that would be removed under the Klamath Economic Restoration Act.
[3] As of February 2016, the states of Oregon and California, the dam owners, federal regulators and other parties reached an agreement to remove all four dams by the year 2020, pending approval by the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
[4] As of February 25, 2022, the FERC released their final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the dam's removal. The Iron Gate Dam is expected to be removed sometime in 2023 or 2024.
[5] A movement to
Un-Dam the Klamath has been ongoing for 20 years to remove the dams.
[6][7]
