SH20,

The Elwha EIS was completed and dam removal authorized in 1992 by Bush senior. The National Park Service now estimates that removal will begin in 2004 or 2005.

The sediment accumulation is a bogyman used by some of the dam removal opponents. Reasonable estimates are that over 80% of the unstable material will be washed out of the system within the first two "normal" water years, that is, not counting drought years.

The best brood stock sources for restoration are the fish that are there now. If some of those fish, like the chinook, no longer exist, then the nearest similar stock is most likely to be successful. Transplanting Kenai stock to Puget Sound was tried in the 1970s, and it didn't work. Although some people refuse to accept it, there really is something to this genetics and local adaptation stuff. Long distance transplants usually don't work, although there are always exceptions, like Pacific salmon and steelhead transplants to the Great Lakes and South America, etc.

The upshot is that restoration of the Elwha salmon and steelhead is likely, and once begun, will probably occur more rapidly than many have estimated. However, beginning is the tripstone. The wheels of government projects like this turn at the speed of a glacier. You and I may not fish for these restored fish populations, but our children will.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.