Undamming a river, rebuilding a forest | WILD HOPE

Congratulations!✍🙏💪

I wonder...
We refer to things like hydro power, solar power, and wind energy as "green energy" but we didn't know back when these dams were constructed what they'd do to the salmon and forest population/ecosystem. I wonder if we have thought enough about the "green energy" that society seems to push so much. Of course I know fossil fuels are far far worse, but I just... sigh Seeing human history and our relationship/battle with nature concerns me and gives me reasons to hesitate. We seem so convinced that green energy is the way to go, but what if we're wrong?

For example, we know air currents carry moisture and rain. Will wind farms disrupt this and cause deserts/swamps where there previously were none? Will solar energy cause updrafts with the amount of heat they'd generate where previously it would be absorbed? What about plant life below the panels? Since vertical solar panels are more efficient, will these be the better option? And what issue could arise from them? We just saw what hydro power can do when done incorrectly. I'm sure there are professionals in place to help make sure we don't screw up again, but humans seem to have a lot of lessons left to learn and pride to swallow before we can benevolently harness nature as a power source.

And then throw corruption, money, and political influence into the mix and well... yeah... I'm going to leave it there.

Edit: Oh, and I find the name "Elwha" interesting because it reminded me of the story of Avatar and their deity "Eywa"

Now the lost clean electricity will be made up by burning coal. Sad, but true.

What a lot of young people and young -minded individuals have not learn is that sometimes you have to make sacrifices in life that will not be easy. It's just part of life. If the damns are hurting human life more than helping and that includes reducing food supply then by all means remove the damns. If the damns are hurting the human population more than anything then yes, remove them. However, if it is more a just because then I feel their are better solutions people can come up with. Treat the planet right and it will take care of you but some people priorities are backwards.
For me, my first concern is preserving the human race and saving our souls just like Jesus, like the Holy Trinity. God created the eco system an it had been on this planet millions of years before us and will be here millions of years after us because God is in control of it. He cares more for souls than anything.

I work in the utility solar and battery storage business and support EV's, we're working hard to heal our planet and stop fossil fuels and the need for them, and unnecessary dams.

we've spent so much time, energy and money getting in the way of nature. Letting nature doing what its supposed to benefits everyone

there is just one point you've missed. What is now supplying the electricity that the Elwha hydroelectric dam made . To complete this epic journey of restoration. Sorry I gotta rewatch. As That point maybe invalid bc I can't remember bc of the massive scientic undertaking. I got lost in the wilderness and I didna bring a tent with me

The Elwha River harbors great hope now as the Elwha recovers. At the mouth, years passing by, have been adjusting the large amounts of sediment are recreating the opportunities to stabilize with a longer mouth. Salinities or ocean flow pushing upriver, recreate the Estuary as a Nursery for ex-migrating young Salmonids in a more saline river where they undergo smoltification. This physiological process is essential as they transform into oceanic fisheries able to survive in the ocean or Puget Sound. Gaining in sufficient size and weight is crucial during this process, while vegetative cover, boulders, bedrock shelves, woody debris, root wads, instream vegetation, and other backwater areas provide safe habitat with cover to hide, forage and seek refuge in as they avoid predators.

So excited to see the change in our ecosystem when they remove our dam in Wisconsin soon!

What an amazing achievement. ❤

Your legacy restoring the natural order for a time .

You are inspiring so many people on your very important journey. Sending you love and praise for your devotion to your land.

Wait is that in Greece?

Very nice to see.

Beautiful, positive and promising. Thank you

🔥

Stop killing them in Nets.

Nets sre a huge impediment.

Nets Kill.

Salmon belong to all of us. They are not for sustaining an entire Population of Locals.

What a beautiful site to see!!!!!!..an ugly, horrendous man made structure gone and the beauty created by GOD restored and just look at what the Creator is doing with His creation when man made crap is taken out of the way.

This was very informative. Thank you

Mother nature ❤

The stupid Femo-Fascist dismantling of dams in the name of fish.

John Stossel:
Environmentalist Calls to Tear Down Dams Won’t Save Salmon But Will Waste Your Money

Why don't you refill the lakes??? Instead of stealing all the wayer

Light the goddamn fuse...it'll be the best fishing by a dam site!

ALL OF THIS IS A MOOT POINT unless there’s a moratorium on commercial fishing up and down the coast!!! How?? STOP SPENDING TRILLIONS ON FOREIGN WARS AND YOU COULD PAY FOR A 15 YEAR MORATORIUM…..then the fish will come back!!!

God's grace be upon those who love nature like these beautiful people. ❤

I think people serving time for petty misdemeanors and so forth should have to do community service like this. Why does taxpayers pay to keep them in a cage when they can be out there helping nature for free. That should be their punishment doing something positive. And just touching this part of the positive world is enough to change someone's life in a good direction therefore it would be great rehabilitation as well. Everything is connected

That was amazing - thank you for all you've done in this area. (from the UK) I hope this message is heard and more dam removal happens in other areas

Mother Nature is and always will be smarter than man kind.

No better fragrance than the smell of Mother Nature To bad man has to stink it up .

wonderful ,places ,people well done it took a long time but sanity won in the end .

Why is it all the states that can barely manage anything want to remove all their power generation sources but expect other states to power their stupidity for them?.....Portland oregon lights up every night due to the coal burning non stop at the Jim Bridger power plant in the wyoming high desert..... so don't stop there....shut the jim Bridger power plant now!!!
Or cut the transmission lines and keep wyomings comon sense electricity in republican hands!!!!!
Can't wait to see that common sense come to be reality

that camera trap stuff was incredible. I feel like you could have used more of that visual that was really amazing

Amazing! ❤

Megatonnes of sediment builds up behind dams in few decades. Remove the dam and most of that will wash downstream, despite efforts to stabilize it with plants. It will smother spawning beds and do other damage, and while the river will—probably, eventually, mostly—clean itself, it only takes one year’s total failure to destroy a spawning run. Suggestion?
Build one suction dredge that can be taken apart, transported by truck, and reassembled behind a dam scheduled for removal; we should be able to schedule dam removals so that one or two machines will do for all. Dredge most of the sediment out from behind the dam, and it will not be there to wash downstream. I don’t know where/how we dispose of all that, if it’s contaminated with agricultural and other chemicals—but then we don’t want to let that contaminate the downstream river bottom anyway. Where it is clean enough, it’s silt, very rich soil, and it could be sold to farmers or as a component of potting soil.

There are no wastes, only un-utilized resources.

the only things allowed to damn a river should be beavers

Nice to see a documentary on a positive environmental note, usually it’s going to be the other way. Good Work.

Sorry it took so long.

Ok Pocahontas 😂

But beavers there they can help

Beavers help fishes and all Wildlife

Beavers help bring the wet lands back to wealthiest

Environmentalist are a huge danger to humanity

What a rigorous restoration research and practice, stimulating content. CONGRATULATIONS

I´m sorry, it sounds like the "eco-system" was totaly dead before the damm (read lake) was removed. Of course it was a thriving area around the lake and in the forest. The salmon returning and bringing more predators would be the big difference. So i´m glad for the salmon-people at least. But this documentary makes it sound like everything was dead before the damm got removed.

Heroes 🙏 ❤👍