In november 2022, the federal energy regulatory commission issued a license surrender order for the lower klamath river hydroelectric project

This $670,134 Cooperative Agreement award from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Partners for Fish and Wildlife program (CFDA 15.631) will support Trout Unlimited, Inc. in installing a riparian buffer fence along the high-water marks of the J.C. Boyle Reservoir and Iron Gate Reservoir in Keno, Oregon. The fencing will exclude grazing and recreational use to protect the newly exposed sediment and riverbanks as dam removal activities commence in 2023-2024. This will facilitate the successful establishment of native vegetation following the drawdown of these reservoirs. The project will also include coordination with partners such as the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, Bureau of Land Management, and state agencies to ensure the protection of historical and cultural sites within the reservoir footprints during the restoration process.

DAM removal will start with copco 2 DAM in 2023 and copco 1 DAM, iron gate DAM and J.C. Boyle DAM in 2024. Water levels on J.C. Boyle reservoir and iron gate reservoir will be drawn down in the spring of 2024 and expose the lake bottoms for the first time since DAM construction. Iron gate DAM was completed in 1964 and J.C. Boyle DAM was completed in 1958. The newly exposed sediment and riverbanks needs to be protected in order to successfully establish native vegetation. This project will install a riparian buffer fence on J.C. Boyle reservoir and iron gate reservoir at the high-water mark to exclude range cattle, feral horse grazing, deleterious ATV use, and protect historical and cultural sites in the reservoir footprint. On J.C. Boyle reservoir, fencing will protect the mouth of spencer creek and on iron gate reservoir, fencing will protect the mouth of jenny creek, long creek, dutch creek and scotch creek, which will be restored as part of the reservoir drawdown process. The fence will have walkthrough areas to allow access for recreational activities. Native planting and seeding in the reservoir footprint will be completed by project partners as part of the DAM removal restoration process. Project partners include klamath river renewal corporation (KRRC), resource environmental solutions (RES), bureau of land management (BLM), oregon department of fish and wildlife (ODFW), modoc nation, and green diamond resource company.