Copco 2 Dam Site (Removed in 2023)

At 33' high, Copco 2 Dam was the smallest of the four Klamath River hydropower dams. It was constructed in 1925 and served as a diversion dam that sent the entire flow of the Klamath River through two tunnels and a wood stavepipe to the Copco 2 Powerhouse that was at the downstream end of Wards Canyon (the building still stands). Consequently, the natural river bed below Copco 2 Dam was dewatered throughout the remainder of Wards Canyon. In the 99 years that Wards Canyon was deprived of its river, an alder and cottonwood forest took root in the middle of the nearly dry riverbed. To restore the river to its pre-dam condition and to reduce the hazard potential of a Class IV whitewater run full of standing dead (flooded) trees, nearly 1,000 of these trees were removed from the river channel and helicoptered out of the canyon before Copco 2 Dam was removed and river flows restored. This work was the direct result of American Whitewater's advocacy and was done in collaboration and consulation of the Shasta Indian Nation, Klamath Tribes, state and federal agencies, and other partners. The Yurok Tribe's construction crew performed the tree removal work in early summer 2023. Copco 2 Dam was fully removed from the river between July and October 2023.