An expanding look at the functions and processes of healthy river systems on the north Olympic Peninsula. This page is an ongoing project.
Photos below by Steve Koehler unless otherwise indicated. © Steve Koehler 1998,1999
 Dick Goin photographing a Dolly Varden redd he's marked on Elwha R. tributary at Elwha Campground 12/98 |
 "Large woody debris" ("LWD" in the parlance of resource managers) near Elwha Resort on Elwha River. The log jam near the center of the photo formed in the main channel of the river causing the flow to shift to the right. This situation will not last. Rivers change. |
 Area behind another log jam on the lower Elwha. The pools provide refuge for fish during floods, as well as shaded habitat and protection for juvenile fish and other wildlife. |
 A pair of coho salmon spawning in Bosco Creek, Lower Elwha Reservation. |
 Spawned-out coho carcasses on Bosco Creek. Salmon return nutrients lost to the sea back to the land. Their bodies provide food for countless terrestrial animals, which in turn fertilize plants etc. Carcasses remaining in water are eaten by fish as well as invertebrates which are in turn eaten by fish. |
Copyright © 1998,
1999 Steve
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