Promising Signs of Recovery on Undammed Elwha River

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  • čas přidán 27. 08. 2024
  • With the planned demolition of dams on California’s Klamath River, plans for restoring that ecosystem benefit from what has been learned since dams were removed along Washington State’s Elwha River eight years ago.
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Komentáře • 152

  • @stonew1927
    @stonew1927 Před rokem +73

    It's amazing to hear the biologist at the end explain how the salmon also enrich the forest when bears and other animals that eat them carry them into the forest or defecate them there. Just goes to the point that everything is connected and in balance in natural ecosystems.

    • @jujitsujew23
      @jujitsujew23 Před rokem +2

      It’s big reason why the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia have such rich healthy forests. If California had more salmon, bald eagles and bear their forests would be much more lush

    • @cjsoutdoors4412
      @cjsoutdoors4412 Před rokem +4

      Hopefully there will be plenty of Bears to shit in the woods. 🌳 🐻

    • @elizabethhoeppner8881
      @elizabethhoeppner8881 Před rokem +3

      Bring in some beavers

    • @cjsoutdoors4412
      @cjsoutdoors4412 Před rokem

      @@elizabethhoeppner8881 Exactly hon, cause a Wet Beaver is a Happy Beaver! 🦫

    • @matthewdufur5489
      @matthewdufur5489 Před rokem +1

      The 7,500 year old trees in the Stanislaus and Inyo forests are bonsai in rocks at nine to ten thousand feet in elevation. Squirrel poop provided most of the fertilizer these amazing trees needed to survive. We should go forth and fifth generation nuke and loose all of the west coast dams. I love wild Pacific Salmon. Mmmm.

  • @tomwaller6893
    @tomwaller6893 Před rokem +13

    it is so wonderful to see. Thank you all from the people of Scotland.

  • @marilynyoung9477
    @marilynyoung9477 Před rokem +74

    This is so encouraging.

  • @drinny26
    @drinny26 Před rokem +13

    I would love to see a longer documentary on this.

    • @mono635
      @mono635 Před rokem

      There is some interesting of stuff out there...
      czcams.com/video/2yM5m5-1-I0/video.html
      or this presentation:
      czcams.com/video/PAHBr6yPPdU/video.html

    • @rvuli1985
      @rvuli1985 Před 11 měsíci +3

      “The Beautiful Undammed” on PBS

  • @andrewhansen4179
    @andrewhansen4179 Před rokem +8

    Very nice, great work. We visited that area a number of times in the last 5 years and the changes are remarkable. Keep it up folks.

  • @stevebutler812
    @stevebutler812 Před rokem +25

    Very cool.
    Good for the Native American tribes that fought for this.

  • @jimlong527
    @jimlong527 Před rokem +8

    This is real progress. People and the environment must coincide.

  • @billcarruth8122
    @billcarruth8122 Před rokem +3

    Finally answers the age old question about a bear shitting in the woods.

  • @skypieper
    @skypieper Před rokem +28

    Looking forward to the Klamath dam removal!

    • @howardagnew8471
      @howardagnew8471 Před rokem +6

      Klamath Falls will have falls again! The name of the town will be ironic no more.

    • @dundonrl
      @dundonrl Před rokem

      Me too, we need to remove all dams from rivers world wide, same with all other signs of human technology!

  • @tylergarb
    @tylergarb Před rokem +8

    Things like the Elwha being undammed and the Pebble mine being denied permits give me hope for the future. I think we need a full stop moratorium on old growth logging and development projects that impact salmon habitat in the PNW. In fact old growth logging should be banned outright across the world imo.

  • @barneymiller6204
    @barneymiller6204 Před rokem +3

    I would like to hear someone comment on how the sediments from the former Elwah river lakes (Mills and Aldwell) will now be again added to the rebuilding of Ediz hook.

  • @alwaysfourfun1671
    @alwaysfourfun1671 Před rokem +36

    Very good news! Hope that sustainable levels of fish will soon be the result with further enrichment for the natural environment and the native people.

  • @barrysnow6993
    @barrysnow6993 Před rokem +3

    Well done update! Thank you!

  • @sdub300
    @sdub300 Před rokem +3

    The healing power of nature he says.

  • @lavrentichudakoff2519
    @lavrentichudakoff2519 Před 6 měsíci +2

    Give thirty years and nobody would know the dams ever existed.

  • @helend222
    @helend222 Před rokem +3

    Very positive story. Thank you.

  • @spockspock
    @spockspock Před rokem +6

    Now for the Klamath River.

  • @williamchamberlain2263
    @williamchamberlain2263 Před rokem +3

    My question would be whether small partial flow weirs could generate decent power without taking more than 30% of the flow at any given location.

    • @jebbo-c1l
      @jebbo-c1l Před rokem +2

      probably not, wind and solar is so much cheaper nowadays anyway

  • @damonchampion823
    @damonchampion823 Před rokem +4

    This is such great news 👏🏻

  • @mickeybailey1108
    @mickeybailey1108 Před rokem +5

    I am so excited to see the Elwah one day. I watched as a barrier was removed on the Eel River that brought back different fish species. I am hoping to get time this year to watch as the Klamath River dams begin their new journey to open up the river again. It is such an inspiration to see people come together to make these dam removal projects end and free our rivers.

  • @Lindleyferchel
    @Lindleyferchel Před měsícem

    Thank you for all the work🎉🎉

  • @michaelguerin56
    @michaelguerin56 Před rokem +2

    Good video and good news. Thank you.

  • @bristleconepinus2378
    @bristleconepinus2378 Před rokem

    I remember fishing there in the late 70's and the steelhead were huge.

  • @jeffchang3362
    @jeffchang3362 Před rokem +4

    Definitely taking a trip 🚗 too see this looks amazing to see an environment recover and see in real time what it will be like before the damn.

    • @AFMR0420
      @AFMR0420 Před rokem +1

      Don’t delude yourself. It is nothing like before the dam. There used to be enough salmon they say you could walk across the river on their backs. Also, wrong spelling of dam. Also, you should watch the documentary about this from the people who actually spend their time in the river counting the fish. The fish populations are still devastated.

  • @beverlyreiner-baillargeon6205

    Leave Mother Nature alone and she can do anything. Mother Nature is amazing

  • @kidmohair8151
    @kidmohair8151 Před rokem +3

    imagine what undaming the Colorado or the Columbia might do...
    other than plunging Cali and the left coast into darkness, I mean

    • @dundonrl
      @dundonrl Před rokem

      So? Who cares if untold millions of humans die, nature will be once again FREE!

  • @reagend1841
    @reagend1841 Před rokem +15

    Great news that there are more dam removals planned this year!!

    • @CaptainBreny
      @CaptainBreny Před rokem

      Why? are dams a problem? As a norwegian wich have 91,5% of electricity made by dams they barely impact anything

  • @malcolmrose3361
    @malcolmrose3361 Před rokem +4

    So lots of discussion about the benefit to local habitats, and animals but none whatsoever about alternatives - construction of fish ladders to allow the salmon to bypass the dams, and renewal of the generating equipment at the dams to provide continuing green energy to the area.

    • @Pipsqwak
      @Pipsqwak Před rokem +11

      Fish ladders were impossible to build in the steep, rugged canyon and have not proven terribly successful in any river where ladders have been used anyway. Also these dams were in serious disrepair, the reservoirs nearly completely silted up, and were no longer needed. They were strictly power sources for one single business, not for the whole community, and the community has other power sources now. The cost of revamping the dams and the negligible returns made destroying these dams a good economical decision as well as an environmental decision. The Elwha River was home to all five species of Pacific salmon before it was dammed, an incredibly rich ecosystem like no other. These two dams destroyed these unique fish runs and the local Native American tribes' entire way of life, and this is just a small bit of justice for them.

    • @AFMR0420
      @AFMR0420 Před rokem +4

      I’ve not seen any evidence though, that removing any dam has actually helped the fish return. Justice seems like a small consolation after everything natives have been put through, if this can even be called justice or be measured as such, as only time will tell. From what I can find online, the customer you speak of was the Naval Yard of Bremerton, and they replaced the electricity generated with a natural gas burning plant, which will greatly increase air pollution in the area.
      People need to quit deluding themselves that the natives won this battle, it was won by the gas company.

    • @Pipsqwak
      @Pipsqwak Před rokem +9

      @@AFMR0420 The two dams provided power for a single local mill in Port Angeles, not the Bremerton Naval Yard. The salmon have already returned upstream past the location of the former dams and are spawning again. Numbers of returning fish and their species is being closely monitored. I live in the area and have for 36 years and am well aware of the history and the current situation.

    • @barneyrubble4293
      @barneyrubble4293 Před rokem +3

      @@AFMR0420 They literally said in the video salmon were recorded upstream days after removal. So yes it helped fish return.

  • @FlameofDemocracy
    @FlameofDemocracy Před rokem +2

    Bring back beavers, as well. Forests would of course have to be regrown.

  • @josephbelisle5792
    @josephbelisle5792 Před 9 měsíci

    I love these videos. A part of me soars when I learn about these restoration projects. It will be a good day when all of the river blocking damns are gone and our ecology is somewhat restored.

  • @michellegiacalone1079
    @michellegiacalone1079 Před 10 měsíci +3

    Log structures, eh? Maybe hire some beavers?

  • @TheDalen2016
    @TheDalen2016 Před rokem

    Saw this in the Damnation documentary. Thanks for the update.

  • @OutsidewithTom
    @OutsidewithTom Před rokem +1

    Great to see things like this, thank you.

  • @Dogatemyhomework927
    @Dogatemyhomework927 Před 6 měsíci

    How’s the dust up at the old lake bed? I know it was an issue at first. I’d love to see some pics of that now!!

  • @spacelemur7955
    @spacelemur7955 Před rokem +2

    I hope this positive development is coordinated with replacing the lost hydroelectricity with another sustainable supply including conservation.
    Dams will silt up eventually, and much faster with soil-disturbing activities such as agriculture or logging upstream. As could be seen by the photographs, the layer of sedimentation was getting so high that they damn was losing a good hydraulic head, and thus the electricity it could produce was already in advanced decline.

  • @bjb7587
    @bjb7587 Před rokem

    So glad to see this. I live in nearby Sequim. Hope to see more salmon soon.

  • @petenikolic5244
    @petenikolic5244 Před rokem +1

    Best thing to ever happen the removal of those darn dams

  • @barbieoutabox80
    @barbieoutabox80 Před rokem

    Thank you

  • @uglyfrog7263
    @uglyfrog7263 Před 11 měsíci

    Great report!

  • @thehairywoodsman5644
    @thehairywoodsman5644 Před rokem +5

    3:39 CONFIRMATION ! yes , a bear does shit in the woods !!!!!!!!

  • @tommymaroti244
    @tommymaroti244 Před rokem +1

    Funded by the American taxpayer, not the Govt.

  • @nelskrogh3238
    @nelskrogh3238 Před rokem

    Great job!

  • @jackmcmichael3560
    @jackmcmichael3560 Před rokem

    Outstanding 👍

  • @pjotrhof2505
    @pjotrhof2505 Před rokem +2

    You should be proud of this achievement ❤

  • @douglasscott5623
    @douglasscott5623 Před rokem +1

    Just think of how many more hydro-electric dams we can remove if we relied more on clean renewable nuclear power.

  • @syncrosimon
    @syncrosimon Před rokem +1

    This river reminds me of Scotlands River Spey, where salmon are struggling to flourish. Lots of lessons to be learnt between the two.

  • @releventhurt
    @releventhurt Před rokem +2

    Tough u want power but u don't want to decimate a natural habitat. I wish we could have a 10% dam at least

    • @bradcrosier1332
      @bradcrosier1332 Před rokem +12

      The Elwha plants were very old and provided a minimal amount of power; they were marginally viable at best, and factoring in their environmental impact no longer made any sense. Additionally, they were actually illegally constructed initially BECAUSE they did not include any fish ladders - so they really shouldn’t even have existed.

    • @bustedford
      @bustedford Před rokem +3

      Some people think mankind should live in caves and eat grass. Those same people will be doing just that when only the richest can afford a chinese solar panel and a used marine battery toturn on their couple led lights😂

    • @bradcrosier1332
      @bradcrosier1332 Před rokem +3

      @@bustedford - Or we could use nuclear power, which we should.

    • @dundonrl
      @dundonrl Před rokem +2

      @@bustedford Yep.. remember, Socialism is for the people, not the socialists!

  • @grantsimpson4265
    @grantsimpson4265 Před měsícem

    Once they open the river it should just be a blue ribbon river. Aka single barbless catch and release only.

  • @chrisstover2976
    @chrisstover2976 Před 6 měsíci +1

    Are the Beaver returning?

  • @lag9765
    @lag9765 Před 10 měsíci

    The river will recover, but we must understand that this human damaged river will take years to heal...

  • @Marco-fn6kg
    @Marco-fn6kg Před rokem

    wonderful stuff beautiful !!

  • @8ferarry8
    @8ferarry8 Před rokem +1

    Great news.

  • @AbAb-th5qe
    @AbAb-th5qe Před rokem

    Cool video. Thanks

  • @drwisdom1
    @drwisdom1 Před rokem

    We don't have to wait for the salmon to go up the river. We can just stock the river and the salmon will know to return. In the 1960s Michigan did that with Pacific coast Coho salmon and now Lake Michigan is a popular salmon fishing location.

  • @wickedbird1538
    @wickedbird1538 Před rokem

    😊😊A wonderful story.

  • @billboth6572
    @billboth6572 Před rokem

    So I understand restoring natural habitats and all, BUT, where do we then get water for human consumption? Drinking and agricultural use? Water should NEVER be used for lawn or golf courses as that is wasteful?

  • @bloggalot4718
    @bloggalot4718 Před 9 měsíci

    Let’s hope other countries follow suit.

  • @davesvintageequipment5319

    I hope plans are made for replacement dams for power or water storage before current ones are destroyed, particularly in California. Without water and power, it could get rather unpleasant.

  • @TjBruce817
    @TjBruce817 Před rokem +1

    It is nice to see the revitalization of destroyed Eco systems. Hopefully in the future we are smart enough to do things with the environment top of mind in any projects moving forward.

  • @nonewherelistens1906
    @nonewherelistens1906 Před rokem +1

    If you rebuild it (habitat), they will come.

  • @alanl.simmons9726
    @alanl.simmons9726 Před rokem +4

    You did not mention that the power produced did not cover the expense of operating the dam.
    The sediment was not slowly released. Hole was blown at the based of the dam and an unbridled flood of sediment laden water sped down the river.

    • @AFMR0420
      @AFMR0420 Před rokem +6

      Honestly, this whole video is some kind of pat on the back propaganda.

    • @richardcox8409
      @richardcox8409 Před rokem +7

      That was The White Salmon River not the Elwha that blew open the tunnel at the base........dont be hard on yourself im sure you will do better next time lol

    • @davebruneau6068
      @davebruneau6068 Před rokem

      @@AFMR0420 You must be new to YT.
      Every 2nd video starts...
      "I did this" & "I did that"...and half of those are by illiterate m0r0ns.
      And speaking of Illiterate...
      Propaganda : information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.
      Nowhere was this video "biased or misleading in nature". Nowhere was it "political"
      It did, however, promote & publicize a point of view.
      Destroying fish & wildlife habitat is detrimental to the health of the planet Earth. Hardly "Propaganda"...unless you're anti-Earth

  • @barbieoutabox80
    @barbieoutabox80 Před rokem

    Thank you very much yes the fish needed but so do a lot of other animals and the Earth itself once the water to go where it wants to go

  • @philliplamoureux9489
    @philliplamoureux9489 Před rokem

    Super Cool!!

  • @CaptainBreny
    @CaptainBreny Před rokem +2

    Why not make what we norweigans would call salmon stairs

    • @michaeldeierhoi4096
      @michaeldeierhoi4096 Před rokem +1

      Sometimes it is better to remove a dam then to try and modify it. This dam was a hundred years old and likely at risk of failure which would have created serious problems downstream.

    • @bjb7587
      @bjb7587 Před rokem +1

      It's been tried many times and was not effective. They also collected the fish and transported them by trucks past the dam. Not useful either.

  • @peppertrout
    @peppertrout Před rokem

    3:33 Does a bear s-t in the woods?
    The dams that block salmon on the Columbia need to go.

  • @kertmustapha2367
    @kertmustapha2367 Před rokem +5

    Have you ever heard of fish ladders? Without hydroelectric how do you plan to run all the electric vehicles? More Cole, More Oil that has to be transported , all of which will raise the cost of your energy.

    • @dundonrl
      @dundonrl Před rokem

      Hush! Don't you realize that this just the beginning! Soon we'll be able to remove all human technology and once again start living in caves!

    • @wendyweaver8749
      @wendyweaver8749 Před rokem +1

      Kert Mustapha - Another commentator (Pipswak) provided answers to your question and concerns.
      Fish ladders were impossible to build in the steep, rugged canyon and have not proven terribly successful in any river where ladders have been used anyway. Also these dams were in serious disrepair, the reservoirs nearly completely silted up, and were no longer needed. They were strictly power sources for one single business [lumber mill in Port Angeles; was also stated in the video], not for the whole community, and the company has other power sources now.
      The cost of revamping the dams and the negligible returns made destroying these dams a good economical decision as well as an environmental decision. The Elwha River was home to all five species of Pacific salmon before it was dammed, an incredibly rich ecosystem like no other. These two dams destroyed these unique fish runs and the local Native American tribes' entire way of life, and this is just a small bit of justice for them.
      NOTE: It is "coal" that is an energy source, not "Cole."

  • @teresaoconnell4790
    @teresaoconnell4790 Před rokem

    The way forward is " Back to Nature! "

  • @allswellinendwell6957
    @allswellinendwell6957 Před rokem +1

    Does a bear poop salmon in the woods? It does now.

  • @barrypickles6546
    @barrypickles6546 Před 6 měsíci

    Nice and concise

  • @hgodfrey
    @hgodfrey Před rokem +1

    This is awesome 😊

  • @willfriar8054
    @willfriar8054 Před rokem

    it's going to be really interesting when the floods come this spring. massive amounts of snowpack going to melt not being held back by those nice old

    • @christopherhaak9824
      @christopherhaak9824 Před rokem

      That's already happened in previous years, took out the road, campground, etc...If there is a lot of runoff, you have flooding, which you didn't have before.

  • @LeE-yf3cm
    @LeE-yf3cm Před 6 měsíci

    I despise the taste of salmon, but this was needed

  • @donchonealyotheoneal5456

    Thank you Democrats and other people that love the Earth

  • @r.guerreiro140
    @r.guerreiro140 Před rokem

    Dams are planed natural disasters
    Just take Itaipu, which turned a land of Rainforests and fertile crop fields into a desertified lake and compare with the no go zone of Chernobyl
    The first done by purpose and the second by accident, about the same size and on the same time on history
    I'm glad you have evolved from this stupid and greed way of energy
    Now it's own time to evolve it too, here on the other side of the globe
    Any help will be more than welcome

  • @Pierrekira
    @Pierrekira Před rokem

    I cant wait for dams to be removed here in Quebec, for Riviere Mitis.

  • @srandyt2
    @srandyt2 Před rokem

    Yay!

  • @rugger1009
    @rugger1009 Před rokem

    NPR should have the same tag -

    • @sarahm.5356
      @sarahm.5356 Před rokem

      No, Rugger, NPR shouldn't have the same tag because only a small percentage of their funding comes from the government. It varies among affiliates, but the average is 8.2%.

    • @rugger1009
      @rugger1009 Před rokem

      @@sarahm.5356 Exactly - it gets all its money from Jewish Foundations. It thus parrots NWO propaganda and should not receive a dime from taxpayers.

  • @lightningdriver81
    @lightningdriver81 Před rokem

    Excellent.

  • @tapertim
    @tapertim Před rokem

    Where do the salmon come from

  • @philippesails4973
    @philippesails4973 Před rokem

    I am a European ecologist and a strong proponent of hydro-power

    • @bjb7587
      @bjb7587 Před rokem

      Dammed if you do, but I hope you don't.
      😂

  • @sgassocsg
    @sgassocsg Před rokem +1

    We didn’t break anything. We logged trees for homes to be built, and we dammed for energy and protection of homes, crops and harvests….we built civilization. Let us thank then, those who came before and gave us this legacy of wealth, learning, and health. Because of them we can now afford to improve the land again, correct mistakes and excesses by eliminating the dam and engineering a return to wildness/wilderness.

  • @vedrisca
    @vedrisca Před rokem +2

    While this is great news for ecological restoration, I can only imagine how much time it will take to bring fish populations back up. Perhaps it will take another flood season (12 years from now, as we should be at the tail-end of La Nina and just about ready to cycle back into El Nino) to get enough silt to expand the estuary by a substantial amount.

    • @davidanalyst671
      @davidanalyst671 Před rokem +4

      they said it took a day to get fish up the river. So it was a day. Fish populations to come back up? Fish lay millions of eggs, so it will take one spawning season. And they have to crowd out the fish that were there before, and were super successfull because the dam was built. This is the dumbest mini doc ive ever seen in my life and you took the bait, hook line and stinker.

    • @Osnosis
      @Osnosis Před rokem

      Isn’t this year a high-snow year with concomitant spring flooding?

    • @sarahm.5356
      @sarahm.5356 Před rokem

      David Analyst, and your expertise in this field is, what exactly?

  • @karstenjohansen6881
    @karstenjohansen6881 Před rokem +1

    Thank God Nature is so resistant to us Humans 😃

  • @janosik150
    @janosik150 Před rokem

    Wood will only last so much, it should be leaking rock damn

  • @Rod-bp8ow
    @Rod-bp8ow Před rokem +1

    Planted by the waters, by the word, as the waters cover the sea. KJV 1611 Preserved.

  • @m.halcyon5772
    @m.halcyon5772 Před rokem +1

    The salmon are your actual power.

  • @kevinnashskitchen3517

    Get jobs and pay for your groceries 👍

  • @jimmiller5600
    @jimmiller5600 Před rokem +1

    It took a century to mess up the environment. I hope it takes less to return these rivers to a natural state.

  • @scdrescher1
    @scdrescher1 Před rokem

    Amazing how Mother Nature can fix what we break and how quickly she does it. When the pandemic hit the Bay Area and shut it down and no one was driving every day our skies up here in Tahoe never looked so blue (in my lifetime). Perhaps Thanos was right.

  • @charlespierce3647
    @charlespierce3647 Před rokem

    It was just fine with the dam. No recovery possible.

    • @bjb7587
      @bjb7587 Před rokem

      Whut? Did you not watch the video?

  • @johnworthington2116
    @johnworthington2116 Před 3 měsíci

    czcams.com/video/kyeQ1Xwvpw4/video.html

  • @davidotness6199
    @davidotness6199 Před rokem +1

    What will likely never come back are the 100 lb king salmon that once swam this river. The Elwha was famous for its huge king salmon. Sigh.....
    Better late than never, I suppose.

  • @triedzidono
    @triedzidono Před rokem

    Well, i'll be damned.

  • @Seawolfaka
    @Seawolfaka Před rokem +1

    meanwhile there are two rivers within 15 miles of the Elwha River that were completely destroyed by state wildlife agencies along with the Native American tribes they went up the Dungeness River just below where the Dungeness River in the Grey Wolf River me and they brought big heavy machinery down drove them through the river and destroyed at 10,000 year old steelhead and salmon spawning ground on the Sol Duc riverboat they shut down a Steelhead Fish hatchery for no reason at all and now the steelhead run in that river is doomed

    • @Seawolfaka
      @Seawolfaka Před rokem

      Phuck all you hippies!!!! You’re banning fishing throughout Washington state and now you’re trying to stop hunting on the whole Pacific Coast fuck off

  • @garethernst
    @garethernst Před rokem +1

    Bring back the beavers to help the rewilding