I spent the day today on the Elwha River, hiking in to this spectacular gorge, which lies less than a mile upstream from one of the two lakes - and dams - slated for removal next year, restoring the river to something like its natural state. Dam removal will take three years to complete - and untold years to evolve after that. I hope I live to see the river reborn - and salmon once again moving upstream for the first time in 100 years.
In the meantime, I'm off tomorrow for the high Arctic and will likely not be able to post anything for up to three weeks. Hopefully, I'll have a few pictures to share when I get home, however...
Nikon D3, 17-35mm lens
Just saw your post at Outdoor Photographer about the dam removal project at Elwha, how exciting! Although I work in the environmental restoration field, here on the east coast the Chesapeake Bay is so much the focus that I confess I don't know much about the challenges being wrestled with over on the other coast. Thanks for the heads up on this project; I will be following it.
ReplyDeleteThere has been some discussion about a much smaller dam removal project in the DC area, but I think it has been tabled for now. It sounds like the Elwha project could absolutely be the impetus that gets other projects finally off the table.
Hi Carolyn,
ReplyDeleteI have been out of town for several weeks and only just found your comment. Yes, it is an exciting project - a major re-tooling of our attitudes about rivers, dams and power. And although the review and planning process - and the legal wrangling - has taken 20 years, I agree that it could help make similar projects easier in future.
Let's hope so!
Kevin