Full Breakdown
Chinook Salmon Return to Upper Mount St. Helens Watershed
7/1/2026, 8:16:03 PM
Background & Restoration Partnership
The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens destroyed roughly 230 sq mi of the North Fork Toutle Valley, stripping vegetation and sending massive sediment downstream. In 1989 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed the 200-foot-tall Sediment Retention System (SRS) to capture that sediment. Decades of natural regeneration above the SRS enabled the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to develop a “trap-and-haul” system that moves steelhead and coho from the lower watershed, through the Toutle Fish Collection Facility, to the upper watershed above the SRS. The Cowlitz Indian Tribe, federal and state agencies, and conservation groups coordinate the effort.
Reintroduction Milestone
On June 10, 2024, WDFW released 30 Chinook salmon into Coldwater Creek above the SRS, the first return of the species to the upper watershed in nearly five decades. The ceremony included tribal leaders, agency representatives, and media, and underscored a longer-term goal of releasing at least 300 spring and fall Chinook each year.
Official Statements & Responses
Thomas Buehrens, research scientist with WDFW, said the release marked the first return of Chinook to the upper watershed in nearly five decades and highlighted the species’ cultural and ecological importance. Cowlitz Tribe chairman William Lyell warned that without current work the tribe’s future fishing resources could be lost. The Army Corps noted that the SRS is near full capacity and any further height adjustments will be limited to one or two raises before the structure reaches its design limit.
Verbatim Quotes
- “They’re a cultural icon up here; spring chinook are the first returning anadromous salmon, and they’re of incredible importance to tribal and non-tribal culture throughout the Northwest.” — Thomas Buehrens, Research Scientist, WDFW
- “USGS put radio tags in adult steelhead and coho and released them below the SRS wondering what will our fish do, and can they swim up it?” — Thomas Buehrens, WDFW
- “It’s been a great honor for us, and they’ve been amazing collaborators.” — Thomas Buehrens, WDFW
- “If we don’t do this work today, there will be nothing for anybody in the future to fish,” — William Lyell, Chairman, Cowlitz Indian Tribe
- “That’s sort of how the world began, wasn’t it?” — Tanna Engdahl, Spiritual Leader, Cowlitz Indian Tribe
What’s Next
WDFW plans to scale releases toward the 300-fish annual goal while the Corps evaluates modest SRS height raises. Ongoing monitoring of fish passage through the spillway will inform future engineering, including the possible construction of a dedicated fish ladder.
