When will we free the Elwha River?

It’s said that the Elwha River once sustained impressive runs of Spring Chinook salmon:

“Elwha chinook are one of the Puget Sound chinook stocks listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act and are also legendary in that they typically reached over 100 pounds at maturity…. Prior to the dams, the Elwha River was famous for producing healthy runs of all five salmon species…” (Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe Fights for Existence of Sol Duc Hatchery)

Chinook appear to be the favorite food of our endangered southern residents. So, why aren’t we moving faster to remove the two dams on the lower Elwha and free up ~200 square kilometers of pristine habitat within Olympic National Park?

Check out my post on the Beam Reach blog about an Oregon dam removal video that should inspire us all to accelerate the Elwha dam removal process.

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