March Nature Night: The Water Remembers

Join the Deschutes Land Trust and Amy Bowers Cordalis (Yurok)—attorney, author of The Water Remembers, and Executive Director/Co-Founder of Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group—for a talk on the largest dam removal and river restoration project in world history. Amy will share the story of the Klamath River, from its creation teachings and Indigenous stewardship to the devastation caused by colonization, hydropower dams, and the 2002 fish kill. She’ll reveal how generations of Klamath Basin Indigenous Peoples combined ceremony, legal advocacy, grassroots action, and strategic partnerships to win a historic $515 million settlement, leading to the removal of four dams and the return of more than 400 miles of salmon habitat. Amy will explore how Indigenous rights, cultural values, and ecosystem restoration can reshape policy, strengthen democracy, and deliver real climate solutions. Her message is one of resilience and hope: the water remembers, the fish remember, and together, we can renew the world.

Amy Bowers Cordalis is a mother, fisherwoman, attorney, and member and former General Counsel of the Yurok Nation—the largest Indigenous Nation in California. She is currently the cofounder and executive director of the Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group, a nonprofit advancing Indigenous sovereignty through the protection of cultural and natural resources, including the undamming of the Klamath River. She is the recipient of the UN’s highest environmental honor, Champions of the World Laureate, and has been named to the second annual TIME100 Climate List (2024), featuring the one hundred most influential leaders driving business to real climate action. She is the author of The Water Remembers (Hachette, 2025).

All Nature Nights are free, but a ticket is required. Ticket sales open one month prior to the Nature Night at deschuteslandtrust.org.

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