Dam removal begins, and soon the fish will flow
Saturday, September 17, 2011 - 22:00
in Earth & Climate
The destruction of Washington state's Elwha Dam gets underway. The removal of the dam and a companion will allow salmon to swim upriver for the first time in a century.In a deep turquoise pool in a gorge of steep granite and thick Douglas fir, dozens of salmon swam fitfully. Swirling and slow, they made their way up one side of the riverbed, only to run into the steep concrete face of Elwha Dam — the formidable barrier that for nearly 100 years has cut off most of the Elwha River from the salmon that traditionally populated it.