Elwha Dam Comes Down, Wild Fish Advocates Block Hatchery

Kim Murphy writes for The Los Angeles Times about the historical and environmental significance of the removal of Washington state’s Elwha Dam, noting that conservationists now have their sites set on a new target, the big hydropower dams on the Lower Snake River.  “Though many species of Pacific salmon are now listed as threatened or endangered, the old stories handed down by Lower Elwha Klallam elders tell a much different story — of a time when pink salmon were so abundant in Idaho Creek, an Elwha tributary, that horses ‘shied and refused to cross the channel,’ one elder told a researcher.”

Meanwhile the Wild Fish Conservancy, Wild Steelhead Coalition and others are suing to block the construction of a fish hatchery that is part of the $325 million Elwha restoration program, saying it will prevent the recovery of wild fish in the watershed.  (Thanks to Brian Bennett for this link.)