Above is the group photo for the Mountaineers Steward trip to help re-vegetate the Elwha. I've volunteered for the Elwha project 3 times, and every time I go there, it's a blast. It's incredible to be a part of something so imperative to the future, and hopefully, it will be a stepping stone to the removal of Dams that are decaying and that hinder the environmental growth of a region.
The hope and dream is that salmon populations will slowly rise again, and although the importance of this, is easily lost among people. Salmon is a key species in the Olympics. It is very much like the phytoplankton in the oceans. Most things that live in the Olympics depend upon the fish for their survival.
For example, a limiting factor in the Olympics is nitrogen. The trees can't grow without a ready supply of it. After spawning when the fish die off, they are a major provider of nitrogen to the forest.
No comments:
Post a Comment