This tiny weed is thriving well here at the Glines Canyon Dam site. It has all the nourishment it needs in order to grow, that means the soil is very healthy and has lots of minerals. If that plant keeps growing it will hold up the banks of the river, so they won't collapse and create more sediment that will clog the salmons gills.
Photo and caption by Vesta
Photo and caption by Vesta
We found this Banded Alder Borer near the mouth of the Elwha. They eat flowers as their main diet then their scat contains the flower seeds so they help spread the population of wild flowers. The word "Alder" in their name is for the way help populate the alder trees. Those trees are the first trees to appear after a natural disaster, in this case a flood, and they prepare the soil for the bigger trees.
Photo and caption by Vesta
Photo and caption by Vesta
In the Elwha forest the order of succession is: primary plants, secondary trees, and in this picture (left) is the the canopy of climax species, Douglas fir, hemlock and cedar. This canopy is good for birds because it is so thick, but it lets in enough light for the smaller plants.
Photo and caption by Vesta
Photo and caption by Vesta
This picture was taken at Lake Crescent, which is where some of the tribe canoes. Here the water is clear but dosen't have much life becuase the pH level is basic.
This picture was taken in the plants at Glines Canyon Dam. Most of the vegetation disappeared when the dam was built. So after the dam was taken down, below where the water line used to be (during the dam) the land is bare and scared.
This picture was taken at Glines Canyon Dam, which was the second dam on the Elwha. After the dam was taken down the river level went don and lots of silt narrowed the river. Some aspects of the river like the pH level is not yet compatible with salmon.
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