I know that some people don't like this river brought up on here including me. Since the Elwah Dams are going to be breached in 2004. The Elwah have diminished all the runs on the river to a very unhealthly level.
Why doesn't anyone raise hell on the wynoochee dam. They still truck the fish above the dam and let them spawn in the upper river. Then they try and catch the smolts on their way down. If they don't catch the smolts they just die in the upper river. This river has a pretty healthy native run but the dam is killing them.
What are the Pro's and Con's to removing the dam.

PP,

It'd be a rough row to hoe to remove Wynoochee Dam. Actually, there is only a small amount of anadromous fish habitat upstream of the dam, not that it should be written off by any means. There is a plan in the works with the Army Corps of Engineers and Tacoma (the new dam owner, having bought it from the Corps (us) for about $0.10 on the dollar - It's nice to own a congressman) to add a new fish screen and smolt and kelt bypass, a couple rearing ponds down at the trap, and some improvements at the adult fish trap.

Meanwhile, the existing smolt passage passes fish, but not with acceptable efficiency. Enough wild smolts make it down to maintain the coho and steelhead runs, but probably not the chinook, altho that's just a guess.

Frankly, everybody I knew who was working on this project retired, got transferred, assigned to other work, etc. My guess is that the ball got dropped, and with no one prodding either the Corps or Tacoma with a sharp stick, it's too easy to forget about getting on with the job.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

Salmo,
Thanks for the response. Sometimes I don't get things like if there is only a little spawning area above the dam then why do they truck the fish up above?
Hey Salmo, You always have very knowledgable responses to questions people have on this board. Are you a biologist? Also, respectfully, are you a native?

I have wondered about the removal of the elwa damns myself.I am glad they are coming down but what comes next?It seems that the once wondorous stocks of androminous fish have been killed off so what replaces them?Hatchery fish?Has anything survived up in the resivours that could someday come back?Up in lk. cushman up on the n.fork of the Skoke there are still kings spawning up in the park.They use the lk. like it was the salt and spawn up river of the damn.I would love to see this damn come down!It will be an interesting project to watch.

ltlCleo,
I'm not an expert on the Elwah by any means, but I understant that the genetic diversity of the Elwah Salmon is still present, sure it is not pure, but present. The Fall and Spring Chinook are different looking then the rest of the area Chinook. I could not tell you exactly what is different but from people that I have talked to that are in the know they do still have some of there own, traits, I guess. I don't think we will have any 100 pounders in a few years but I would love to see the population and diversity shoot up. It will be a great example if it all works out. Thank goodness ole' Slade is out of there.

NEN