TY - JOUR
T1 - Release Our River, Let the Salmon Swim
T2 - Skokomish Efforts to Restore Their River
AU - Stoffle, Richard
N1 - Funding Information:
The author acknowledges the trust and participation of the Skokomish elders and government representatives. Especially important was Mr. Joseph Pavel, Director of the Skokomish Natural Resources Department who agreed to share his perspectives on restoration. Dr. Kathleen Van Vlack and Heather provided editorial support and revised some of the figures.
Funding Information:
The value of altering water release agreements and removing dams to improve and restore river ecology is now recognized and increasingly being put into action. At the northern end of the Olympic Peninsula the 45-mile-long Elwha River dam removals have become a model for restoration. This project occurred with the support from the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe, the Olympic National Park, environmental organizations, and local communities. To the south in Oregon a second larger removal project involves the four lower dams on the 250-mile-long Klamath River. This restoration is now the largest dam removal project in the U.S. Like the Elwha River removal, it occurred after many legal, regulatory, and moral public actions by the Klamath Basin Tribes (Klamath, Karuk, Hoopa and Yurok). Unlike the Elwha removal, however, the larger scale Klamath River restoration process is mostly guided by the Klamath Basin Renewal Corporation and the involved multiple states. Federal approval was needed but these agencies lacked the resources for the restoration. Thus, the removal actions were guided by the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement. The initial $340 million dollar restoration price was paid by electrical utility users and through a citizen-approved water bond passed by California voters.
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2022 Stoffle.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - The Skokomish Indian people have successfully argued for the restoration of the North Fork of the Skokomish River on the Olympic Peninsula, USA. These people have adapted to and culturally incorporated this river since time immemorial, which is for well over 14,000 years. The tribe argued in a U.S. Federal court helped by three cultural anthropologists, for the release of river water from the two Cushman dams managed by Tacoma Water and Power (TWP). The tribe insisted that the cultural landscape produced by the traditional flow of the river still exist despite damage from the dams. They argued that returning river water could restore the salmon natural habitat and the people could have access to their spiritual locations. In 2009 a settlement between TWP and the Skokomish Indian Nation resulted in a 2010 amendment to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission licensing agreement for the dams. This resulted in reassertion of tribal sovereignty, including restoration of channel maintaining flows and salmon populations. The case contributes to the discussion of the Protected Landscape Approach, Category V of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, World Commission on Protected Areas.
AB - The Skokomish Indian people have successfully argued for the restoration of the North Fork of the Skokomish River on the Olympic Peninsula, USA. These people have adapted to and culturally incorporated this river since time immemorial, which is for well over 14,000 years. The tribe argued in a U.S. Federal court helped by three cultural anthropologists, for the release of river water from the two Cushman dams managed by Tacoma Water and Power (TWP). The tribe insisted that the cultural landscape produced by the traditional flow of the river still exist despite damage from the dams. They argued that returning river water could restore the salmon natural habitat and the people could have access to their spiritual locations. In 2009 a settlement between TWP and the Skokomish Indian Nation resulted in a 2010 amendment to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission licensing agreement for the dams. This resulted in reassertion of tribal sovereignty, including restoration of channel maintaining flows and salmon populations. The case contributes to the discussion of the Protected Landscape Approach, Category V of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, World Commission on Protected Areas.
KW - Olympic Peninsula
KW - Skokomish people
KW - dam removal
KW - ecological adaptation
KW - protected landscapes approach
KW - resilience
KW - river cultural landscapes
KW - salmon restoration
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U2 - 10.3389/fcosc.2022.898000
DO - 10.3389/fcosc.2022.898000
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85149991778
SN - 2673-611X
VL - 3
JO - Frontiers in Conservation Science
JF - Frontiers in Conservation Science
M1 - 898000
ER -