Condit dam removal video and fact archive

This is an excellent overview of the Condit Dam history with a focus on salmon recovery and preparations for the removal (from the dam owner PacifiCorp by Narrative Lab).

One interesting point made in the video is that the reservoir was expected to drain in 6 hours (it drained in only 1 hour). And here are some quotes that have implications for how the recovery of the Elwha Chinook…

“Most of these fish are 25, 30 — we moved a 45 pound fish…. Tule fall Chinook are also known as White Salmon. They’re big because they had to move big cobble and big gravel.”

Perhaps we should be considering stocking the Elwha with such monsters instead of hoping the scarce or extinct spring run is replaced slowly by the hatchery-maintained fall run?

This coverage by Sally Showman of KOINLOCAL6 does a nice job of adding sound to the PacifiCorp and American Rivers breach footage, and also captures the wide range of emotional responses from local people.

And some nice footage of the rapid erosion of the reservoir sediments from Josh Epstein:

And time lapse videos by the University of Montana geomorphology lab and the USGS:

Other recent press:

http://www.columbian.com/news/2011/oct/27/condit-dam-projections-reality-studied-following-b/

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