Theodora Johnson is a cattle rancher and mom of three, born, raised, and still ranching in Siskiyou County, California. She’s also an award-winning journalist; one of the few who covered the reality of the infamous Klamath Dam removals that California governor Gavin Newsom has touted as a major victory.
WATCH ON YOUTUBE:
We talk about what’s happened since the Klamath River dams were pulled in 2024. From destroying salmon to watersheds to small towns, pulling the dams has harmed Siskiyou County in profound ways, and the worst may be yet to come for ranchers. Theo warns that agriculture is being set up to take the fall for this man-made catastrophe.
We talk about what appears to be the intentional targeting of small, independent producers in California. We talk about the intrusion of wolves in the Siskiyou County area, how the Endangered Species Act and “emergency drought declarations” have been used to control agriculture, and so much more.
This episode is powerful and I’m so grateful for Theo’s voice as a journalist speaking truth to power in rural California.
Read Theodora’s exposé on the Klamath Dam disaster here:
Dam removals devastated the Klamath. Will agriculture take the fall?
I am a rancher in Siskiyou County, California, home to three of the four hydroelectric dams that were recently destroyed on the Klamath River. I’m also a freelance journalist who has written about prospective Klamath Dam removal for 10 years.
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