Salmon Return to Washington's Upper Elwha River

Salmon Return to Washington's Upper Elwha River After 102 Years

Wild salmon have returned to a stretch of the Upper Elwha River where they have been absent for 102 years. The last section of the two dams blocking salmon from their historic spawning grounds was removed in August, and just two weeks later, a chinook was spotted above the old dam site.

As assistant habitat manager for the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe, Mel Elofson has been working toward the restoration effort for 20 years and was the first to notice the salmon. "I just happened to walk up to the edge of the stream about 100 meters above the dam, and there it was, sitting right next to the bank," Elofson said.

He contacted Olympic National Park officials to tell them of the sighting, and park service biologists Heidi Hugunin and Anna Geffre conducted a snorkel survey to confirm the species last week. They spotted three adult chinooks between 30 and 36 inches long. "[Anna] spotted the first one," Hugunin .... http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/fiel...after-102-years

Wild or hatchery fish (unclipped) imprinted above the dam prior to dam removal?

Just asking, as I have read several articles referencing smolt releases for several years prior to the dam removal.

Since the hatchery program was considered a "conservation program," the hatchery fish carried coded wire tags but adipose fins were not clipped so they could be released in selective fisheries. You would have to run them through a tag detector or use a wand to find out if they are hatchery fish or not. However, since the latest stock composition I could find indicated that 96% of the adult returns (BY 2009 & 2010) were hatchery-origin, I'm going to guess that they are hatchery fish.

From the WDFW Elwha Chinook HGMP:

http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01561/wdfw01561.pdf

Date program started (years in operation), or is expected to start-
Chinook releases into the Elwha River started in 1914, but consistent annual releases did not occur until 1953. The Elwha Channel, built in 1974, was originally designed to be a spawning channel, but because of difficulties in attracting adults onto the site, it was modified for use as rearing ponds.

For recent year origin estimates, see table on page 15.

Also,

3.4) Relationship to habitat protection and recovery strategies-
Elwha Hatchery Chinook salmon are included as part of the listed Puget Sound Chinook ESU. The program currently represents the vast majority of the production in the basin. As the EFRP progresses with dam removal and into the Recolonization phase, the hatchery program will be an integral part of the restoration effort, supplying adult Chinook salmon to utilize newly accessible and recovering habitat both above historic dam sites and in the lower reach of the river.