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On the Elwha, dams came down, steelhead came back.
Wild summer-run steelhead, once prolific in the Elwha, were functionally extinct before the dams were removed. Six years later, they were back.
Life After Dams Part 1 of a series. This week, we’re telling stories about what happens when dams come out and life flows back in. It’s a vision of what could be on the lower Snake: a free-flowing river and wild fisheries staging a remarkable comeback. It is not always possible to restore wild places…
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Are there “good” dams and “bad” dams?
We just released an issue of TROUT magazine that focuses most of its 100 pages on the need to remove four dams from the Lower Snake River. That was an easy call for me as editor because I think removal of the Lower Snake dams, thus giving a huge percentage of steelhead and salmon in the…
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Sprint to the finish on Klamath River dam removal
Signatories to the Klamath Basin Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement, including Trout Unlimited, held a press briefing on November 12 and said they are in a “sprint to the finish” to achieve the pact's principal goal of removing four old dams on the Klamath River. The signatories, including Tribal leaders, a representative of the ranching community, and…
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Returning rapids
Dams will forever change a river. Sometimes I sit and wonder what certain rivers must have been like prior to a dam’s construction. That typically brings about more questions than answers. What was the river like years before? Were there bigger rapids? What was the fishing like? What did the native cultures lose when we…
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Success breeds success when it comes to conservation on the Gunnison
At Trout Unlimited, we aren’t always about checking all the boxes when it comes to restoration projects, but one that just happened on the Gunnison River in central Colorado does just that. It all started with a couple skeptical ranchers agreeing to partner with TU on a diversion rehabilitation project on a small tributary to…
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Hope and resilience in the Garden State
Imagine that, a native brook trout stream within sight of New York City.
Hope and resilience. Those were the two words that stuck with me as I walked the miles-long trail with Chris Henrickson, the chapter president of the East Jersey chapter of TU. Eventually, we made our way to a small deteriorating dam. Behind the dam, water collects into a small reservoir, where it warms up under…
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Vedavoo stands with TU on Lower Snake proposal
“Our lives are full of problems that have no clear answers. Often, the simple solution is hard to find, and the black and white is hidden somewhere in all the gray areas. This isn’t one of those situations. If we want to have wild salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin, the Snake River is the place. These fish are now at only 1 to 2 percent of their historic populations. Why? Dams. Vedavoo is proud to stand with our partners at Trout Unlimited in support of the proposal to Remove the Lower Four.”
I’ve never made any secret about the fact that I’m a big fan of Vedavoo – the small company from Leominster, MA that makes great gear for fly anglers – and lots of other outdoor enthusiasts. If you see me on the river, chances are I’m going to be wearing one of their sling packs.…
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