River of Renewal: Myth and History in the Klamath Basin

River of Renewal tells the remarkable story of the Klamath Basin, a region of the Pacific Northwest spanning the Oregon-California border. Indian reservations are at the headwaters, along the estuary, and across the major tributary of the Klamath River. In this place that has witnessed, since the Gold Rush, genocide, war, and conflicts over resources, myths of the West loom large, amplifying differences among inhabitants of a land united by water and divided by people. Yet when faced with ecological catastrophe, farmers, tribes, and other regional stakeholders forged a consensus that led to the largest dam removal and watershed restoration project in history. The only history of the entire Klamath Basin, River of Renewal tells the stories of the region's diverse communities and stakeholders, including the government agencies that manage most of its land. Based on author Stephen Most's original research and interviews with tribal leaders, ranchers, farmers, fishermen, forest managers,