Wild Salmon Matter

On Tuesday, I went to see a preview of a documentary of the restoration of an ecosystem ~ Return of the River. A film shot and directed by John Gussman and produced by Jessica Plumb, about the largest dam removal project in history.

The film chronicles the removal of the Elwha Dam in Washington state. After decades of effort and 20 years after Congress authorized its removal, the countless citizens and organizations who have worked to remove the Elwha Dam on the Olympic Peninsula saw their vision realized. Work began on the lower Elwha Dam in September with a blast of dynamite.

Why open the Elwha River? Why restore this ecosystem?

The Great Wild Salmon have run the streams of the Pacific Northwest for millions of years. Their cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth has tied us to the sea. Their remarkable journey has nourished the forest, fed its wild life and for the last 12,000 years defined the cultural heritage of our region. The Great Wild Salmon have graphically shown us the fragility of our planet and given voice to the old saying, “we all live downstream” as everything finds its way to the ocean.

Over the last 100 years, the Wild Salmon runs on the Elwha River have dwindled from over 400,000 fish to under 3000. In the Pacific Northwest, we know everything about this region we love is directly related to healthy Wild Salmon runs bringing micro-nutrients from the sea to the mountains. Over 400 species benefit from Wild Salmon's heroic migration.

On Tuesday, I heard about the fundraising efforts through Kickstarter.com for Return of the River. I was heartened to hear people from all over the world have donated to support this documentary. People know ~ Wild Salmon matter.

In the Puget Sound, we know Wild Salmon is a cultural cornerstone. The health of Wild Salmon is directly tied to clean water, healthy forests, habitat protection and species diversity. Wild Salmon are abundant when all of these are in place.

This is a time of great hope; a time of great opportunity. With the removal of the Elwha Dam and the restoration of a free flowing river, we are seeing the changing understanding of the importance of protecting clean food sources and wild rivers.

Governor John Kitzhaber of Oregon may have said it best ~

"What is at stake here goes far beyond the issue of salmon recovery. To me, it raises the question of whether we have the courage and the will to reconcile the growing contradiction between the world we say we want to leave our children and the one we are actually creating through the decisions we make today.

And, it calls into question our capacity to take explicit and intentional action to shape our own future rather than to simply react to circumstances, allowing by default our future to become a matter of chance. It's time to fight for Wild Salmon. It's time to fight for us. It's time to fight for our future."

For more information about the Elwha Dam removal ~

Elwha Dam removal illustrates growing movement - The WA Post

Elwha Dam Removal - Elwha River Restoration

For more information about groups working on wild salmon issues in the Pacific Northwest ~
www.greatwildsalmonrun.org click on links

To donate to the documentary ~
 www.kickstarter.com enter Return of the River in the search box.