snorkeling the elwha

[jackelope]

from KONP radio station...i stole this off another site...given the pending dam removal, it's a pretty cool topic:

September 21st, 2007 - 12:43pm

(Port Angeles) -- Fisheries biologists recently swam the length of the Elwha River -- from its headwaters to its mouth -- with the goal of establishing a baseline of the river's fish population before dam removal begins. Olympic National Park officials say it's one of the longest snorkel surveys ever completed in North America. The 42-mile underwater trip feature 21 biologists from various federal agencies, the Lower Elwha Tribe and Peninsula College. Biologists found the greatest diversity of fish below the two dams. But they also found what scientist termed excellent fish habitat exists above the dams, where the river is protected in Olympic National Park. In the five river miles below the dams, divers observed Chinook, pink and coho salmon, along with sculpin, bull trout, threespine sticklebacks, starry flounder and freshwater mussels. Above the dams, snorkelers encountered only rainbow trout and bull trout, species that have been physically isolated from their counterparts below the dams for more than 90 years. Rainbow trout, bull trout and one non-native brook trout were found between the two dams. Information from the survey will be used to study the process of salmon recolonization and will help guide future fish monitoring in the future.

[boneaddict]

Why in the hell can't I get a job like that.

[jackelope]

i know!!!
my neighbor does it...he is based out of rocky reach dam and spends a lot of time on the entiat and mad rivers and places in that neighborhood. occasionally i hear about fish, but usually he's talking about big deer he sees while at work.

[boneaddict]

Exactly...the guy who builds bows, or built my bow...is a biologist and counts reds and things and does springtime and summer projects for them. Seasonal..then takes the fall off hunting.  Meanwhile while hiking creek drainages and so forth he picks up mooe sheds and elk racks.   

[Dman]

 I absolutely cannot wait until they can do some fish counts 4-5 years post dam removal....
 
 Sekiu could be the best show in State again some day, if the Elwha's Kenai-sized King's can make a comeback.

[PA BEN]

I saw this topic and thought I'd add to it. I hear the river will be closed next year for fishing and they are putting Elwha Kings and Silvers in another river in case they kill off the run when they remove the dams, so they can restock it with Elwha salmon.

[Alchase]

The Elwha will become the Duwammish of the Straights with all the nets that will be taking all thos "Elwha Kings"

[huntnphool]

I remember them talking about removing thats dam in the mid 80's, are they really finally going to do it or is it a bunch more smoke being blown up our arses?

[Dmanmastertracker]

I remember them talking about removing thats dam in the mid 80's, are they really finally going to do it or is it a bunch more smoke being blown up our arses?

 Deconstruction is underway, I believe it is supposed to be complete by 2012 -2013. I read that as many as 50,000 kings and 35,000 more coho may return to the river in time. The king's of the Elwha were famous for being the biggest anywhere, unofficially they reached 100lbs before the dams were built.

[deaddog]

From everthing I have ever heard growing up in P.A., the original king strain from the Elwha has been extinct for a very long time, just hatchery fish left. There are reports of Captian cook trading the Elwha Indians for fish, some of the kings went over 120lbs. Funny, there where plenty of fish back then. Now remind me again, why did the Indians built those damns.

[Dmanmastertracker]

 The bio for the Elwha system just did a study on the chinook in the river system that are hatchery reared, he stated (this week) that the fish are 100% match genetically, still the original strain of chinook found in the river and have not been diluted by other stock's yet.

[deaddog]

Not trying to start an argument here, but do you realy think that original strain is still here? After spawning with hatch fish for how long? I dont belive its even remotely possible. It would be like telling us that if you let two hatch fish spawn you get wild fish out of the deal. I suppose we will see in a few years.

[Dmanmastertracker]

 I believe it only because it was an exact DNA match, that's supposed to be 100%, so they say anyways.

[swanny]

That would be one awesome job!

Here is an article that talks about the project a little bit.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/othersports/2009995940_outn04.html

[Alchase]

From everthing I have ever heard growing up in P.A., the original king strain from the Elwha has been extinct for a very long time, just hatchery fish left. There are reports of Captian cook trading the Elwha Indians for fish, some of the kings went over 120lbs. Funny, there where plenty of fish back then. Now remind me again, why did the Indians built those damns.

I was under the impression it was built to power the pulp mill?

[TeacherMan]

Why in the hell can't I get a job like that.

that sounds like a blast, I agree...

[Red Dawg]

It would be a shame if they somehow ruined the Elwa river. I have caught and released many, many kings on the river and have landed a few very nice winter run steelies on the fly. Would be a crying shame to try to make up for our past mistakes and totally ruin a fishery. AND that would be a bad ass job to have.

[SkookumHntr]

--This river did once have the Biggest kings in the world. Will be very interesting to see what this run does in a couple decades, who knows, maybe the smolts will grow huge with the minerals and the shear power that only the huge Kings have to make it to the upper stretches of the Elwha, No salmon has been there in 90 years but they will be soon!

[huntnphool]

They should talk to the bio's in Canada to see if they could get some smolt from the Rivers Inlet tyees, those things have the genetic makeup to be monsters.

[Dmanmastertracker]

They should talk to the bio's in Canada to see if they could get some smolt from the Rivers Inlet tyees, those things have the genetic makeup to be monsters.

 I like this idea, should put some in the Puyallup, Green and Nisqually also.