The rewilding of the Elwha River: 12 years after dam removal | Oregon Field Guide

[@deannamadrigal7503]

Thank you for showing us what will come with the reclaiming of the Klamath River. 🙏

[@fredhayward1350]

Good point

[@joshuaisrael2494]

Don’t forget the North Umpqua River and hopefully the eventual removal of the “Winchester Dam.” This would go along way for recovery of fishery stocks on North Umpqua as well.

[@jimsomerville3924]

Maybe. This seems like pristine habitat upstream of the old dams, whereas upstream Klamath has much more mixed habitat. Regardless, will be exciting to see.

[@williamlowe5852]

What if salmon never migrated up the Klamath?

[@BeautifuLakesStreamsBiologists]

Time will tell on the Klamath. It is much more complex and challenging, especially due to the geochemistry of the basin. There are no guarantees due to this.

[@lightningdriver81]

Personally, seeing the river restored this way heals the heart. The fish coming back is glorious.

[@Jeremyho439]

I hope they will do the same in Columbia River. Remove all the dams so people from Idaho to Canada can enjoy fresh salmons

[@stephanpittman9001]

Born and raised on the Olympic peninsula Washington state the Elwha the rest coming back to life brings me deep happiness! Excited to see what the fisheries look like in the future. Thank you to everyone who fought for this! Thank you to those who continue to work at hard to keep this river on its path back to its native glory!

[@richarddevoe5871]

Great to see that River restored to its natural beauty, will take more time but it’s begun a process I never thought I’d witness. I camped on the Elwa 30 years ago and remember the places to donate for the removal process. It puts a smile on my face knowing it’s finally happened 👏👏👏

[@astronorthwet636]

I watched these dams come down back in 2012 thru 2014 and was amazed to see the river and fish respond so well. I could sense the joy of the fish to be able to follow their instincts and travel up the river. I couldn’t be happier for the tribe and the wildlife that now uses the area.

[@Jeremyho439]

Trump may tear down all the dams on Columbia River.

[@georgeg.7124]

What a great story for the people and for the wildlife.

[@cherylannebarillartist7453]

This just makes my heart fill with gratitude and hope.

[@L.LGodwill]

A gift for generations 🙋

[@colleeneggertson2117]

Wonderful restoration of the river, vegetation, animals, fish and birds. Thanks!

[@GrandmaBev64]

How Awesome is this? 100 years. I'm balling my eyes out with tears of joy for you all! What a happy day.

[@598victor]

Same.

[@augustingarnier4625]

"Let the river run!"-Carly Simon.

[@JeffreyKahnartist]

This is beautiful. It warms my heart.

[@SloMo2723]

Great video! LOL, I love the young man saying his fish was 4 pounds. He's learning early to exaggerate about the size of his fish! He's a true fisherman!

[@Eric-dr5bj]

This made me laugh. Lucky to break 2

[@steveperreira5850]

That was super funny. He’s just a boy, let him believe, ha ha!

[@lorenzosegote]

A wonderful story of recovery and cooperation between the tribe and bureaucracy. We need more of this in our country. Remove the Snake River dams!

[@joshuaisrael2494]

The Snake River Dams will eventually be removed. Until this day arrives we all have to turn our attention to fully removing the two dams on the Eel River and removing the “Winchester Dam” on North Umpqua River. This will go a long way in helping restore fishery stocks to the Pacific Northwest.

[@Prevailingbucket]

You can start the effort by no longer using any form of electricity or anything produced by it.

[@lorenzosegote]

@@Prevailingbucket and where is the logic in that Einstein?

[@Prevailingbucket]

@@lorenzosegote simple really, removing the most efficient/cleanest way of producing electricity without replacing the production to meet the increasing future demand is national suicide. I would like to see free flowing rivers, but intelligently not removing any hydroelectric production before additional clean electricity production ability is in place. So far, no such replacement production is seriously even being considered. So, contribute to the solution and or stop using electricity and the products produced by it. Including your KZbin playing device.

[@Prevailingbucket]

@@lorenzosegote Removing power generation during an age of ever increasing demand for electricity is not smart move. Better use of time would be to engineer better fish ladders etc. Additionally removing water that can be used for fire suppression is also a really bad idea. “See California “

[@MtHoodMikeZ]

Huge gratitude to all the peoples who have worked so hard to restore our natural lands.

[@Andy-vt7sl]

“I feel like our culture is coming back to life”. Justice Wells makes a profound statement here in this excellent video. Congratulations to the tribe and everyone else for their stewardship and commitment to bettering the Olympic Peninsula by removing these dams.

[@Bearyey]

So cool to see how successful this has been. Hope stories like these can continue to teach and inspire future generations that it's never too late to fight for environmental restoration and justice.

[@outdoorswithjustin]

i am really glad to see this amazed, one day i want to see all rivers running free

[@ScreamingThunder]

Man I love seeing stuff like this, thanks for sharing. :)

[@tomg.4287]

The rivers and creeks of the NW are amazing! I grew up in the southwest and midwest. The rivers there are not nearly as beautiful and clean.

[@michaelgabriel7919]

Thank you for showing the rest of us the changes made to the Elwha River. Amazing results! Congratulations!

[@steveperreira5850]

Yes it’s heartwarming

[@JosephPetrie-ud2wh]

Thank you, so cool to see it returning.

[@alwaysfourfun1671]

Beautiful images of life! Very happy for the people. Cheers, from the Netherlands

[@louisegogel7973]

Blessings on this river journey… may it inspire similar restorations around the whole world.

[@theck672]

So much gratitude for all the hard work of the indigenous peoples and anyone who helped make this happen❣️ This is a huge accomplishment❣️ Thank you for help saving the salmon and their habitat. The salmon give and give and give so much to us all.

[@mojoriden]

what hard work? they literally did nothing but ask for it

[@FishandHunt]

@@mojoriden There's always one in the comments and today you are him.

[@bristleconepinus2378]

My wife and I camped and fished there in 1979, plenty steelhead w/ no place to go. It's a wonderful comeback for a very rich and productive place...good to see it happen, along w/ the Rogue.

[@laurareutter6928]

Thanks for sharing this inspiring story.

[@annhay4572]

This is a miracle. And yet it's not, because people purposefully made this happen. This kind of positive result happens when people work together for the health of the planet and for the health of each other. Thank you to everyone who made this happen for all of us!

[@fredhayward1350]

Nice production and wonderful story.

[@durskoenig]

A well told story. Thank you.

[@lashadi1445]

I’m so excited to push for damn dam removal in my lifetime ❤ the falls have been like a fable told by my late family and I want to bring them back.

[@ActionNumbers]

Well done all! Lots of Love from the sunny bottom of the southwest Pacific, NZ Aotearoa 😄

[@lazaruslazuli6130]

The boy in the light blue shirt is a true fisherman. He holds up a two-pound fish and says, 'its about four pounds'. I'm glad he could catch this fish in the Elwha, it's something he can tell his grandchildren about.

[@barneymiller6204]

The Elwha is a very beautiful and pristine river.

[@susansisk4950]

I am weeping with joy and gratitude at the deep compassion of nature to heal for your people. Blessings, always.

[@damienmcleod2622]

Bless your people and the beautiful river.❤

[@DC-ux1dt]

Wonderful. I hope many more rivers can be returned to their natural states.

[@CoopMauKona]

This is my place. Look forward to seeing how it evolves in the future.

[@kevangarner9659]

Fantastic -this was the right thing to to do for nature and the klallam Tribe .

[@tsbjelland]

There are 3 recognized "klallam" tribes. This is the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe. There are also the Jamestown S'Klallam & the Port Gamble S'Klallam tribes.

[@RacingFlamingo]

Appreciate the follow up stories on this

[@TheGriffstone]

Congratulations to the Lower Elwha Klallam tribal members for taking charge of the reclamation of this beautiful river! This is progress at its best!

[@drinny26]

So beautiful thank you for sharing.

[@chrisprystupa8728]

I am so inspired to have seen the beautiful pictures & rejuvenation of both landscape & culture. In awe from Australia!

[@mikefetterman6782]

I love this story (I live 200 yards from the Elwha river. Plus, I know the voice of the narrator. Smooth sailing.

[@davidcox8961]

About 50 years ago I met a indigenous woman on the trail to the hot springs. She told me that for sure that dam is going to come down. So it has !!

[@johncopeland2324]

Thank you to the tribes of this land for showing way of protecting nature and the joy it bestows.

[@josebaez7116]

I can’t believe it’s been so long already!!!! It looks fantastic! Congratulations!

[@knobbynah]

This is WONDERFUL

[@SorenAlba54]

Outstanding. To think that we were hearing about the restoration effort that was happening down at the Klamath River; only to hear this another piece of great news of nature conservation. It is very fascinating to see that for the first time in over a century, the indigenous community for this region in particular were able to fish in these waters after the population reach in great numbers. It was also impressive to see the land that was once submerged since it was a reservoir be filled with many kinds of flora and fauna. This is living proof showing what man destroys, nature can restore itself when it is left alone. One day, I will visit such regions; alongside those that remain untouched by our influence. Thank you, Oregon Field Guide, for sharing this with us nature enthusiast.

[@ritamariekelley4077]

So happy to see this and what it means to the indigenous peoples all the way up and down the Elwha. It fills me with hope.

[@sophiareygrace6656]

Please do more videos like this!!!

[@davidgrech4574]

Thank you for sharing this story and I hope you know how much I appreciate you 💪🌎

[@fleshandglory]

this made me cry

[@Ody-up6kg]

This story brings joy to my heart.

[@V3ND10L4]

Amazing!! Thank you and good work Elwha!!

[@Mrbfgray]

Love that big cat swipe at the cam intruding on his space. 😄 Thank The Great Spirt for return of indigenous culture, pride and tradition.

[@kerrygrim7934]

Awesome!!

[@HeavyZeppelin68]

Wonderful! Thanks!

[@littlerayofsunshine69]

Man, that place is looking good. Right now, that's a fantastic stage of recovery for wildlife. Lots of food and cover. It'll only get better from there.

[@jenniferwatt5209]

A sign humanity is coming back to life for the earth and we are connected. All one, all connected.. Y ..

[@Peter_S_]

This is a beautiful story. I hope to see it repeated more and more.

[@paulmcnamara6325]

Fantastic!! Great to sea theses dams coming down and nature getting back to normal!!proud of all works dat gone on,,,from uk!!! All around the world shud all get grip!!👌😉😉😉😋😉♥️♥️♥️♥️

[@FreedomToRoam86]

That was beautiful, to see the fish, animals, and people able to come back to a way of life so much deeper because of restoring the natural way of things. Just like my tribe got 43000 acres back now. Good things happening in Indian Country!

[@RosemaryDorrington-dn8sw]

Such an inspiring story. We can do it if we want to. Nothing is impossible.

[@SpecialSP]

FYI: Brazil has started a project to build SIXTY dams on the Amazon. The Kaiapo People will lose the majority of their lands if this happens. I don't know if y'all can do anything, but I'm trying to spread awareness. Thank you PBS .

[@donaldwarriner1640]

So inspiring seeing nature overtake asphalt and barren land.

[@ryanmattson9997]

Excellent, naturally!

[@adamyoung480]

Aloha. Great story of success. There’s already salmon migrating up the Klamath and the last damn only came down a couple months ago.

[@paulselig4074]

It warms my heart that all of this good has happened since the dams were removed on the Elwah.

[@craigmitchell905]

love it, thank you for your work, good job

[@timhaigh2484]

I thank you for the report. I’ve been following this story for a long time and I’m glad to see that the life in the river is returning. “If you build it, they will come”. “River of Dreams”

[@AmericatheBeautiful-p4z]

Actually they won't. Puget Sound runs, even Fraser River runs are a mere shadow of the past, genetically weakened from hatchery fish. They need to fly in king eggs from Karluk River on Kodiak, and silver eggs from Valdez, that are strong and viable salmon breeds. All of Eastern Washington's runs were rebuilt from Mad RIver salmon eggs from N California. People have forgotten their history and tribal knowledge. WAF&W is not the way to go.

[@CamMcCameraface]

Beautiful!

[@tiredagain6722]

Amazing

[@woodbox50]

thank you!

[@paulkartsyart4415]

A joy to watch this video!

[@TrotterSoccer]

Really nice video. Well put together.

[@SpaceDustStuff]

Nice story. Thanks for sharing.

[@MichaelWallace-g9r]

Great story great success

[@forestbracht5278]

So inspiring!! Incredible.

[@danielroque8504]

I feel like my cultural is coming back to life...Powerful statement from a young man~~

[@sammarchant4786]

Absolutely beautiful. Damn the man release the rivers

[@dwightmcfee9521]

Fabulous. Been following. Keep them coming.

[@martinelongum9921]

Lovely , thankyou

[@Prober61]

Beautiful story.

[@reggierico]

Well done! BTW I live on Fox Island and our street is Elwah View Drive. The guys that put in our neighborhood in 1995 didn't even know how to spell Elwha correctly. And I guess neither did Pierce county, because they approved the street names on the platt map!

[@manwray]

Love this! Love rewilding. Love seeing Native populations get proper access to their native lands.

[@rustandrot1633]

So interesting and so awesome to see

[@blackawana]

Fantastic!!!🎉

[@barkeyes8592]

❤❤❤I am so pleased to see this life rebuilding our health within . ❤❤

[@felipericketts]

Love this story! Awesome to see nature recover and indigenous people recovering some of what was lost. The Klamath is next for recovery. Thanks! 🙂

[@deej9367]

Yeah I fished the elwa years ago when it was open to fishing. The natives were down there snagging and snorting oxys. Beautiful culture

[@Tyler-xe6zj]

This is awesome!!!

[@melodystewart8857]

What a great, positive story. Nature will take over as soon as we let her. Just took out the lower Klamath dams. Hopefully more dams, looking at you, Snake Canyon, will come down soon.

[@peterparsons7141]

As a kid from a very small town in Canada I saw all the rivers in my home town loosing all the trout and salmon to dams and pulp driving in the rivers. It broke my heart, and discouraged me because the area that I grew up in was Wilderness, and watched the adults and government spend millions on salmon ladders and fishing restrictions, and there was always less and less fish. I knew that the only way to remedy the problem was to remove the dams. I knew it was unlikely to happen. All the rivers running in the oceans had andromonus fish at one time, today there are very few. The Elwha river is a beacon of light for me. Thank you. The generation of people before me built the dams, and the generation after me will be the ones that remove the dams.

[@idaho_girl]

Great news!

[@r8chlletters]

Beautiful 🤍

[@marianbuller265]

Wonderful!

[@mauricebrown9094]

You have all done a wonderful job, now lets hope all of those fish will have a chance to spawn, while the rewilding of it's banks, low lying lands recover fully. I do worry about over fishing as I do everywhere in the world.

[@tessamacdonald-s7p]

Absolutely wonderful you must all be SO proud to be able at last to pass your traditions on to the next generation .To wait 10y ears seems amazing but after 100 worth it joy to you all.i am just an ordinary English woman who lives by the sea on land reclaimed over many 100,s of years not as spectacular as yours but we respect the water channels ,bless you.

[@intolerant_left]

Can we remove the four lower Snake River dams now? #FreeTheSnake

[@ikeus685]

The Trump presidency, will he prove to be a natural conservationist? Or will his greed for more be his lasting legacy? Drill Baby Drill.

[@sdmc1972]

@@ikeus685 are you obsessed with trump?

[@kfl611]

What a nice little movie.

[@ernestperkins4394]

Power to the people! Save our resources!