This article is part of the ’24-’25 Donor Yearbook & Annual Report. Click here to download the full report (PDF).
The keystone effort of the world’s largest salmon restoration project was the successful removal of the lower four dams on the Klamath River. Despite the enormous benefits of dam removal, many more restoration actions are necessary to take full advantage of the opportunity to recover fisheries, improve water quality, and benefit the Basin’s diverse rural communities. The Klamath River Fund was established here at HAF+WRCF to support these community-led efforts throughout the watershed.
The fund was launched with $10 million in seed funding from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, with additional support from John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Meyer Memorial Trust, Roundhouse Foundation, Tamalpais Trust, The California Endowment, The James Irvine Foundation, The Jubitz Family Foundation, and an anonymous funder. The pooled fund now totals nearly $14 million and counting. Through the Klamath Philanthropic Funder Collaborative, the fund also brings together aligned funders to increase our collective impact in the basin.
Our Approach
The Klamath River Fund embraces a community-based approach in its work. By traveling throughout the basin, building and deepening relationships, and spending time listening to community leaders, we’re honored to have supported several organizations with over $1.57 million in grants last year, and $1.9 million since the fund’s inception.
Through the innovative Klamath Philanthropic Funder Collaborative, we invite additional funders to join us in supporting the health and healing of the Klamath Basin. By helping all funders work together to understand the region’s needs, the Collaborative maximizes the impact of our shared philanthropic support.
Our Work
We support Tribes, nonprofits, and community organizations throughout the Klamath Basin through relationship building, grantmaking, technical assistance, fundraising, and storytelling. The fund offers two types of grant opportunities. Catalyst Grants are designed to be responsive to community needs that would not otherwise be fulfilled by a traditional grant. They are smaller ($10,000 or less) and can be applied for at any time. Community Impact Grants are larger in scope and focus on areas like community-led climate resilience, restorative justice work, and more. Following the unprecedented dam removal in 2023 and 2024, the Foundation has been using these grants to amplify restoration and revitalization efforts in the entire Klamath River Basin throughout the next decade.
Our Impact
In the last year, the fund supported community efforts with more than $1.57 million in grants and sponsorships. The funding went toward locally driven restoration projects that make the region more resilient in the face of climate change, collaborations between agricultural- and fish-dependent communities, and community education. The fund also supported youth-focused organizations, Tribes, and community celebrations.
Our Reach
The Upper Klamath Basin Ag Collaborative (UKBAC) is a community-led effort to address water quality and quantity challenges in the upper reaches of the Klamath Basin. Formed in 2022, UKBAC is a voluntary coalition of ranchers, Tribal members, conservationists, and community leaders located on the Sprague River in Southern Oregon. Before the dams, the Sprague provided spawning and rearing habitats for salmon. In the mid-20th century, the Army Corps of Engineers made matters worse when it straightened and diked much of the Sprague, disconnecting it from wetlands and floodplains, with the result that today, it is a primary source of phosphorus pollution in the Upper Klamath Lake. UKBAC’s mission is to forge sustainable solutions that bolster agricultural resilience while restoring the ecological integrity of the Sprague and provide habitat for endangered suckers and newly arriving salmon.
This collaborative approach acknowledges that the health of the land, water, and our communities are all deeply interconnected. UKBAC’s initiatives are not just about environmental restoration; they’re also about community empowerment. By fostering partnerships and facilitating access to resources, UKBAC is helping local ranchers and farmers adapt to environmental challenges, ensuring that agricultural traditions can continue sustainably for generations to come. The fund proudly supports UKBAC’s efforts.
“Sustainable agriculture is one of our focus areas,” says Senior Program Officer Holly Hensher. “UKBAC is addressing fundamental ecological issues while supporting more resilient farming and ranching practices.”
GRANTEE PROFILE: Save California Salmon
Save California Salmon (SCS) was awarded a general operating grant to help the organization expand its work with Klamath River Communities as they address climate change, restore and reconnect watersheds and lands, advocate for land return, host community youth events and field trips, and train and mentor Native youth and families to create policy change.
“We focus on fighting for a healthy environment and empowering education systems, because they are related,” explains Regina Chichizola, executive director of SCS. “Our families and youth are responsible for fixing a world they did not damage and fighting harmful projects that will not benefit them. This is why it is exciting to have an example to share of what communities can accomplish when they work together across generations and divides.”
Most importantly, SCS has shown a generation of young people what can happen when you show up, organize, and advocate—in this case, it’s resulted in the largest river restoration project in the world!
“It’s really powerful for Indigenous youth to have been there during deconstruction and all the way to post-dam removal and return of the salmon,” says Senior Program Officer Holly Hensher. “Exposure to this type of work provides them with a model for achieving extraordinary things.”
The team will continue to work with Klamath Basin communities from the headwaters to the sea to help connect the Klamath.
Learn more about the Klamath River Fund by visiting hafoundation.org/klamath-fund/
Support the Klamath River Fund by clicking here.