On a chilly Wednesday morning in the misty shadow of Mount St. Helens, members of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe, conservation organizations, state and federal agencies, public officials and invested citizens gathered to witness a historic homecoming in the volcano’s watershed.
Excitement filled the air along Coldwater Creek as a Chinook salmon flapped against the hands of participants pulling it from a water-filled bag. Then came a splash as it landed in the water, followed by cheers as it swam free to explore its new home.
For the first time since the 1980 eruption, Chinook salmon are returning to their ancestral spawning grounds in the volcano’s watershed.
“One of the great things that we get to witness in our lifetime, especially since the eruption almost 50 years ago, is to get to come up here on the mountain and see the return of our great swimmers,” said Tanna Engdahl, elder and spiritual leader of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe. “And we are so happy for all of these organizations and agencies to work together, including the Cowlitz Tribe, with our passion and our heart in it, to be able to come up here and see the continuation of a small beginning.”…