The Elwha River

Bob Miller, the instructor for the American Maritime Heritage workshop, stopped by to give a preview of the course and some of the topics covered. The presentation was titled. "The Puget Sound: A Select History". Not being from this region it was extremely informative and I learned many things that I had no clue about.  There will be several posts about topics covered by Bob in his presentation.  This post is on the Elwha River. Both videos below are very moving and worth the time to watch.

It is now more than ten years since Bruce Brown began the Olympic Peninsula wanderings that led him to write this powerful account of how greed, indifference and environmental mismanagement have threatened the survival of the wild Pacific salmon and, as a result, the region’s ecology and its people. Acclaimed by critics who likened it to Coming Into the Country by John McPhee and Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, Mountain in the Clouds has become a classic of natural history. As the struggle to protect Northwest salmon runs and the urgency of the fight against environmental deterioration escalates, Mountain in the Clouds remains an important and illuminating story, as timely now as when it was first written.

KCTS 9 and EarthFix chronicle the historic removal of two dams from the Elwha River, and show how it will impact people, salmon and the environment for years to come.

"Return of the River" offers a story of hope and possibility amid grim environmental news. It is a film for our time: an invitation to consider crazy ideas that could transform the world for the better. It features an unlikely success story for environmental and cultural restoration.

Fundamentally, the Elwha River in Washington State is a story about people and the land they inhabit. The film captures the tenacity of individuals who would not give up on a river, mirroring the tenacity of salmon headed upstream to spawn. It is a narrative with global ramifications, exploring the complex relationship between communities and the environment that sustains them.

The camera soars over mountain headwaters, dives into schools of salmon, and captures turbines grinding to a halt; as the largest dam removal project in history begins. The film features people and perspectives on all sides of the Elwha debate, reflecting the many voices of the Elwha valley
http://www.elwhafilm.com/