The Klamath river's dams, owned by PacifiCorp, a former subsidiary (remarkably enough) of Scottish Power, date back to 1918, and were built without fish ladders to help salmon returning to their natal waters.

ECONOMIST: Saving the fish of the Klamath river

Historically, the Klamath was the third-most important salmon river in the West, after the Columbia and the Sacramento.

ECONOMIST: Saving the fish of the Klamath river

And because there is no way to tell a Klamath-spawned salmon from one from any other river once the fish reach the ocean, the fishery council says it has no choice but to restrict all salmon fishing along 700 miles of coast.

ECONOMIST: Saving the fish of the Klamath river

But dams, diversions and recent drought have combined to push the spawning salmon population in the Klamath well below the 35, 000-fish threshold deemed necessary for the river to maintain a sustainable salmon population.

ECONOMIST: Saving the fish of the Klamath river