The Chehalis at a crossroads - will a proposed flood control dam cause the river’s Chinook Salmon to go extinct?

Join our first VIRTUAL Red Barn Event!

Lee First, Twin Harbors Waterkeeper, will present information on the little-known Chehalis River, in southwest Washington. A life-long canoeist, Lee paddled the Chehalis River from the headwaters to the ocean in May 2019.

The Chehalis River is the largest watershed completely within the state of Washington, and is the only river that has no listed salmonids. It produces more salmon than any other river in the state, but its salmon resources are less than 80% of what they once were. The Chehalis River is flood-prone and the Chehalis River Basin Flood Control Zone District and Lewis County commissioners want to dam the Chehalis headwaters. If a dam is built, the Spring and Fall Chinook that spawn upstream of the proposed dam site will suffer severe blows to their numbers. Lee will tell the story of the amazing resources of the river, threats posed by a dam, development and forestry, as well as describe how restorative alternatives should be given full consideration before a dam is planned.

Lee is the Twin Harbors Waterkeeper, and has worked as/with the North Sound Baykeeper and the Spokane Riverkeeper during the past 13 years. Twin Harbors Waterkeeper is a member of the International Waterkeeper Alliance, a group of over 350 Waterkeepers who work for drinkable, swimmable, fishable water around the world.

This Virtual Red Barn Event will be held via Zoom. The link to join the event will be emailed to the WRI email list. If you do not receive the email, and you're interested in attending this event, please email rryan@wenatcheeriverinstitute.org.

Photo provided courtesy of Lee First.