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at Topsy and the John C. Boyle Dam, Klamath River, Oregon, May 19, 2024

The John C. Boyle Dam was completed in 1958. Originally named the Big Bend Plant, the Pacific Power & Light Company renamed it as the John C. Boyle Hydroelectric Project on June 21, 1961 to honor Boyle’s 52 years of distinguished contribution to the electric utility industry. [Boyle 58] John C. Boyle was the engineer who harnessed the Klamath River for electric power generation. Not just with the building of dams at Big Bend (1956-1958) and Iron Gate (1960-1962), but beginning with Copco 1 (1911-1918) and Copco 2 (1911-1925) of Wards Canyon and upriver to Oregon at the Link River Dam (1920-21). [Boyle] The Link River Dam sits between Upper Klamath Lake and the Klamath River and regulates water for both industrial and ecological needs. It’s a tricky job, as water resources are frequently over-allocated, often putting farmers and fish at odds with each other’s survival needs. Once the planned dam removal is complete, the Klamath River will still be regulated by dams at Link River and Keno but from there the river is free to flow to the Pacific Ocean. Regardless of one’s position on the right to farm, fish, to build dams or to remove them, managing the Klamath for hydroelectric power and regional irrigation likely prevented proposed plans by the Army Corps of Engineers to divert Klamath water into the Sacramento Valley. [Boyle 48] It’s difficult to imagine the consequences for the Klamath watershed had that kind of diversion happened. The value in the power generated by the Klamath dams and an eye on future capacity quite possibly saved the Klamath Basin from an impoverished fate similar to that of the Owens Valley at the hands of the Los Angeles City Water Company. Part of that eye on the future may also have helped save the Klamath from diversion into the Central Valley of California. With the exception of the John C. Boyle and Iron Gate Dams, that “future capacity” remained undeveloped but included plans for a dam at the confluence of the Klamath and Salmon Rivers – Ishi Pishi. For those familiar with Ishi Pishi, the idea of a dam is nearly unfathomable yet remarkably similar to the Copco dams in Wards Canyon. How does one justify such a thing? For an engineer, to design a damming system is a fun and challenging project where it might become a bit easy to disregard the impact on others by thinking the greater good needs their service. Engineers may excel at applied mechanics and Newtonian physics but are not so in tune with those who endure the negative consequences. Their’s is an essential service that often aims for the greater good. But it often requires teamwork, political leadership, and government policy that helps guide opposing needs toward collaborative solutions. Despite hydroelectric’s reputation as low carbon and eco-groovy, the lower Klamath dams and their reservoirs asserted their dominion only to illustrate how “harnessing” a river requires more than an engineer’s clever reworking of water flow. Rather than build more dams as planned, a century of experience has lead the way toward removing them in order to renew a natural system that all life depends upon. Author's Note: The source for references of fact come from John C. Boyle's memoir, 50 Years On The Klamath, self published in 1976 and 1982. Additionally, the sources of opinion and sentiment are influenced by Marc Reisner's, Cadillac Desert, The American West and its Disappearing Water as well as the book Dreamt Land by Mark Ajax. Updated June 7, 2024 to correct a misstatement regarding Keno Dam.