This is a true story.
Every late summer, since the early Pleistocene, maybe even before, Chinook salmon come into the headwaters of mountain streams in NE Oregon, for the spawning.
They spend 4, 5, maybe 6 years, on the west side of the continent , living and feeding, and being fish in the vast Pacific.
Those that live and feed well, become large. Upon maturity, they heed a call, and leave their oceanic lives, to come into the bay of the Columbia, to acclimate gradually to fresh water , while dodging hungry seals and sea lions.
They heed a call to swim against the current of the West's mightiest River, Columbia.
Past Bonneville Dam.
Past The Dalles Dam.
Past John Day Dam.
Past McNary Dam
Past Priest Rapids Dam
Where the Columbia meets with the Snake River, and Our chinooks go that way, because that is their call.
Past Ice Harbor Dam
Past Lower Monument Dam
Past Little Goose Dam
Past Lower Granite Dam
The miracle is, a few of them make it. They enter the Grande Ronde River, near LaGrande.....and Catherine Creek. Imnaha. Indian Creek......( Oh So sorry. Indian Creek run is no longer.) (Oh. So sorry Grande Ronde run " functionally extinct" in 1990......
At a place along the Grand Ronde River, just below Tony Vey Meadows, you could see them.
Big. So beautiful. And you could see em nicely, In clear deep pools where chinook salmon would dwell a little while , just before going upstream to finish their grand lives in spawning.
Only a few years ago. I saw them.
I wish you could see them too.
Oh.
I wanted to tell a true story , about eternal life. I wanted to tell that Death does not win.
I thought you might like to know that.
Not this time.
The federal government ( We, the people!) recognized the value of the Grande Ronde Chinook run,and saw it declining, and spent a butt-load of money and man-hours making the Grande Ronde River welcoming to spawning Salmon. And quite rightly, we restored the eroded banks of the Grand Ronde.
..........We tried. and in restoring the banks of the Grande Ronde River, we did good. but we were not able to save the Grande Ronde Chinook run.
We failed.
The headwaters . The spawning grounds. were on private land.
One ranch. One land owner, and quite a few cows.
Its done. Its gone.
The extinctions of the Great Auk, the Carolina Parakeet, The Passenger Pigeon. These are rightfully mourned.
But the Grande Ronde River Chinook run, went without headlines. I saw it. I remember. I will never forget.
Silt.
Kills.
I saw it too! We were camping a t Indiana Mine holes one summer when I was six & I was fishing in a big deep pool that you could see clear to the bottom in. I accidently snagged a huge chinook like 3 feet long by it's side fin. It almost pulled me in 'cause I wouldn't let go of my pole. Hi was hollerin' like crazy & my Dad came running & saved me about the time the hook tore through his fin. He calmly swam of to join he other 4 buddies on the otherside of the pool.
ReplyDeleteI also remember seeing the indians & the v shaped rock dams they would build in the river on the flats at Tony Veys meadow.
There were three generations of my family that worked & raised their children up the Grande Ronde from the old Taal place just past the old Barta place on up to Starkey & Mt. Emily Camp(Elkhana)Where my father & his siblings were born. They (my family)still have lots of pics from back in the early 1900's. Very interesting. Thanks for writing & bringing up some too long dormant memories. So sorry about the river & the Chinook. So sad!