At the mouth of the Klamath where the river jets cool, fresh water into the Pacific Ocean, several carved wooden salmon were dipped into the waters and ceremoniously blessed before beginning their symbolic journey upriver, carried with prayer by runners on foot.

Runners passed the carved salmon batons for more than three days and 350 miles up the Klamath and Trinity rivers as part of The Great Salmon Relay Run, as it was originally named decades ago, when founded by several Hoopa Valley High School students in response to the 2002 Klamath River Fish Kill — a catalyst for aggressive river restoration efforts led by local tribes.

"When we started this run 20 years ago, I know I never thought it would continue 20 years," one of the run's original founders, Tasha James, said when runners met at the confluence of the Klamath and Trinity rivers on May 19. "It's amazing to see everybody here — everybody from the very beginning. Everybody who has grown this Salmon Run to what it is today. And, we're continuing to grow. While we're running and while we're gathering, we are in prayer and with our best intentions."

Joined by co-founders Erika Tracy, Kayla Begay and Chelsea Reed, James, who is now the assistant director of the nonprofit organization Save California Salmon, thanked everybody in both the Yurok and Hupa languages before the group parted, some to continue up the Klamath River to the headwaters in Oregon, and others up the Trinity River to its confluence with the South Fork of the Trinity.

Along the way, the run passed through Yurok, Hoopa, Karuk territories in California and Klamath Tribes' territory in Oregon. Hundreds of community members and students joined in, while even more supported with food, water, a cheerful honking of their horn, roadside music, signs and artwork.

Annelia Hillman, lead coordinator on the Klamath River leg of the run, said, "The Salmon Run has always been an opportunity for our river communities to actively participate in collective consciousness regarding the health of the river and the salmon. It's really beautiful to see the people of the Klamath watershed uniting and sharing a common passion to uphold the strength of this ecosystem."

The annual run coincides with the start of the spring salmon run on the Klamath River, the fish having just begun their yearly journey up the Klamath and its tributaries, signaling the arrival of a ceremonious time for local tribes, all of which rely on the salmon's return to the rivers for subsistence and ceremony.

Ryan Reed, a youth intern with Save California Salmon, who helped coordinate the stretch of the run spanning from Somes Bar to Iron Gate Dam, said the run brings tribes together in a special way.

"The intertribal unity that comes out of this run, for a single purpose, in the form of activism for our salmon is truly significant," Reed said. "We all come from different communities and sometimes have different beliefs, but we all come together for a single purpose that is to take care of our ecosystem and our salmon."

Although this year's relay run was celebratory after 20 years and major milestones in Klamath River dam removal efforts have been reached, salmon runs are in trouble. A combination of poor river conditions, poor ocean conditions, overfishing and parasite outbreaks continue to decimate fall run Chinook populations. Even though the entire California ocean fall run salmon fishery has been closed this season, a mere 26,000 adult spawning salmon are expected to return to the Klamath. Many of the adult salmon expected to return this year didn't survive infancy. Conditions on the Klamath in spring of 2021 allowed the parasite Ceratonova shasta to spike. In April of that year, C. shasta infection rates in juvenile salmon went from 0 percent to 78 percent. By mid-May of 2021, the infection rate was at 98 percent, signaling one of the largest juvenile fish kills on record on the Klamath River.

Recurring toxic algae blooms that produce the neurotoxin microcystin have become prevalent during summer and early fall months for decades. Stagnant, warm water and nutrient runoff fuel the harmful cyanobacteria blooms, which can cause serious illness and even death if ingested.

Many hope dam removal on the Klamath and subsequent restoration efforts will mark a huge step toward healing the river's ailments.

This year's Salmon Run will be the last that travels past the four dams on the lower Klamath River, which are slated for removal in what's been billed as the largest dam removal and restoration effort in United States history. In August of 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released its final Environmental Impact Statement for dam removal. Three months later, in November, FERC unanimously approved electric utility PacifiCorp's surrender of the Lower Klamath Project License and the decommissioning of the four dams.

The Klamath River Renewal Corporation, a private nonprofit organized for the purpose of overseeing removal of the dams, announced in March that it had begun dam removal activities, starting with Copco 2, which is expected to be removed by September of this year. The three larger dams, Copco 1, J.C. Boyle and Iron Gate, are expected to be removed by the end of 2024. Major restoration efforts are underway simultaneously and will continue for several years after the dams come down.

Reed said he recalls when dam removal was the unpopular opinion.

"Dams are coming down as we speak," he said. "It's a revolutionary time. It's nothing less than phenomenal — the time, sacrifice and commitment from all of the communities to do what's right and get these dams removed. It goes to show how strong we are in this region and what can be done when we unify."

On the Trinity River, after running a combined 16 miles in Yurok and Hoopa territories, Tori McConnell, who was recently named Miss Indian World, said that leg of the run has a personal significance for her.

"Thinking about the damming and fish kills that have occurred on the river — one of the main problems has been the temperature on the Klamath has been too high, allowing disease to proliferate and the salmon suffer," she said. "The Trinity River has provided cold water to the Klamath for all of these years that the dams have been in place. That's something we need to acknowledge and think about."

Danielle Frank, the lead coordinator on the Trinity River section of the relay run, said it was inspiring to see so many young people involved in the Salmon Run and learning from its significance.

"It was inspirational to see how many awesome youth came together to get this 30-mile section done today," Frank said. "We do this to honor the salmon and run the way they should be running [but can't] because of all of the obstacles they face on their journey."

Allie Hostler (she/her) is the editor of the Two Rivers Tribune.