WATCH THE FULL FILM NOW: Bases-loaded home runs are few and far between in the river restoration game. But for summer run steelhead, those mysterious and long-distance traveling cousins to winter run O. mykiss, that’s what happened when two dams on Washington’s Elwha River were removed over the past decade. While the rebound of salmon and winter run steelhead in …
The Elwha Files: My oh my, what have we found
By John McMillan Should we invest in dam removal? It’s a question that many communities, businesses and policy-makers are facing these days — partly because of aging infrastructure and financial liabilities, and partly because of legal obligations to protect water quality and recover declining salmon and steelhead populations. To that, I say: let the fish tell us what works. One …
Science Friday: Who’s who in the Elwha after dam removal
By John McMillan We should not be surprised by steelhead and salmon rushing upstream to pass former dams. That is their nature — to push boundaries, access new habitat. Unbuild it, and they will come. And come they have in Washington’s Elwha River, where in 2014 two old dams were taken down. Not only have we observed hundreds …
Rise of the Phoenix: wild summer steelhead in the Elwha River
By John McMillan, science director, Trout Unlimited Wild Steelhead Initiative A few years back, while working on the Elwha dam removal project, I donned a wetsuit for one of many snorkel surveys I conducted that summer. I had been snorkeling the main-stem Elwha, but that day – a crisp cool day in mid-October – I found myself drawn to …
Science Friday: Lessons for recovery from Intensively Monitored Watersheds
In this week’s Science Friday we take a close look at the lessons provided by a recent report on the PNW’s network of Intensely Monitored Watersheds.
New Podcast: Klamath dam removal updates
TU’s Brian Johnson and filmmaker Shane Anderson join The River Rambler podcast to share observations from the biggest river reconnection project in history.
Fishing the Olympic Peninsula
After a recent trip to steelhead country, one angler reflects on why Washington’s Olympic Peninsula steelhead deserve protection.
Klamath Reservoir Drawdowns: Short-term Costs for much larger long-term gains
The Klamath dam removal process is well underway and has received a lot of attention – both positive and negative. In some cases, outright misinformation has been spread by opponents of dam removal.
Lessons from Declines in Chinook Productivity
In this month’s Science Friday, we look at the loss of fecundity in Washington Chinook populations.
Science Friday: Rapid diversification in Salmon and Steelhead Populations Following Dam Removal
In this week’s Science Friday post, John McMillan is back with a breakdown of a recent study looking at how steelhead, chinook, and coho are re-establshing their populations and diversity, on a pair of Elwha River tributaries between the former dam sites.