SEQUIM — Jamestown S”Klallam tribal officials are calling last month’s flooding along the Dungeness River a “historic event.”
According to Jamestown S’Klallam habitat biologist Byron Rot, at their height, river flows reached 7,600 cubic feet per second — the most since recordkeeping began 70 years ago.
Flood waters likely destroyed several redds — salmon nests built in gravel on the river bottom.
“We think that a good number of salmon redds were destroyed because of high flows and gravel movement,” Rot said.
The tribe plans to study the loss of fall chinook redds later this year in conjunction with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
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