Not all the Willamette River spring chinook make it back to their hatcheries. Just south of Portland is Willamette Falls. But its not the steep waterfall that worries the fish. Its the shadow of a wall of boats. And there is something new for the Willamette fish. 
A strange-looking net sweeps through a pool of water at the base of the falls. The person at the other end of the net is a member of the Yakama Indian Tribe. His net is called a dip net. For thousands of years, salmon have been part of tribal culture and religion. The fisherman stands all day, sometimes all night, sweeping the water with a net at the end of a 25-foot pole. He stays until he has enough fish for his family and his tribe. Two years ago, the little coho from the Clackamas River came back as adults. Seventy-five of them made their way to the Clackamas. Fifty of them survived to return to their home streams, build redds and lay eggs. Chinook may spend three years in the ocean. Coho most often spend only two years in the ocean. In fact, the eggs they laid hatched long ago. Another group of wild coho has already left the Clackamas and is on its way to the sea.  The
salmon of the Toutle River have different story to tell. But the chinook that
swam up that river in several years ago did not live to tell the tale. Scientists were
keeping a close watch on the mountain they call St. Helens.
The Indian Nations have long known this mountain. They called it Loo-Wit, the keeper of the fire. On May 18, 1980, at 8:32 a.m., the mountain blew its top. Hot ash covered the Northwest from Washington to Montana. The blast blew down all the trees in its path. The hot mud washed the trees into the Toutle River. It boiled and buried everything in its path, including the river's brave salmon. No one thought the salmon would ever return to the Toutle. But the salmon proved them wrong. Within two years, chinook found their way again to the river's mouth and began building their nests. |
