The largest dam removal project in U.S. history was completed Wednesday, marking a major victory for tribes in the region who fought for decades to free hundreds of miles of the Klamath River near the California-Oregon border.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Wednesday announced the completion of final efforts to remove the state’s massive and controversial Klamath dams. The elimination of these barricades —

The recently completed removal of dams on the Klamath River is raising hopes of rebuilding the population of threatened spring-run Chinook salmon.

Over 16 months, four dams built between 1903 and 1962 came down as part of a monumental effort to clear 35 river miles in Oregon and California.

Indigenous tribal nations along the California-Oregon border have campaigned for decades to tear down four hydroelectric dams they say destroyed the river’s ecosystem and upended their way of life.

The largest dam removal project in American history is nearing completion on the Klamath River, which straddles the California-Oregon border, according to the Guardian.

Advocates see their work as far from finished, with some already focusing efforts on revegetation and restoration on the Klamath River and surrounding land.

Rivers don’t fix themselves and heal overnight from 100 years of degradation and damage," one expert said. "This is a process, and the healing process is