For the first time in roughly four decades, spring Chinook salmon were released above the sediment retention structure in the North Fork Toutle River watershed.
State, federal, tribal and conservation partners gathered on Wednesday, June 10, to celebrate a milestone in a long-term effort to restore salmon access to habitat cut off after the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.
Approximately 30 Kalama hatchery spring Chinook were released into South Coldwater Creek as part of an ongoing reintroduction project led by the Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).
The release builds on an effort that began in 2025 in a broader effort to reconnect salmon to the part of the watershed amongst the blast zone of Mount St. Helens.
Opening the event, Cowlitz Indian Tribe Chairman Bill Iyall reflected on the cultural significance of the watershed.
“Welcome to our traditional lands here. The Cowlitz people have stewarded these lands for thousands and thousands of years,” Iyall said. “More importantly, this land is the spiritual heart of our tribe. We are known as the Seekers of the Medicine Spirit, and it’s all up here.”
Iyall said the landscape surrounding the volcano continues to demonstrate resilience more than four decades after the 1980 eruption.
“The amazing landscape that you see here today is beyond belief of our ancestors, but you can see now, what they saw many times over, there’s a rebirth of a mountain,” he said. “And so, it’s a great opportunity there to restore and rebuild.”
Cowlitz Spiritual Leader Tanna Engdahl offered a blessing before the release. She described the return of salmon as a sacred responsibility.
“We come together to witness a sacred moment, the return of salmon to waters where their ancestors once traveled,” Engdahl said. “Our people have always known that salmon are much more than a resource. They are relatives.”
She added that the relationship between salmon and the Cowlitz people stretches back generations.
“That promise is older than any government, older than any boundary, older than memory itself,” Engdahl said. “Today, we renew that ancient promise.”
WDFW research scientist Toby Harbison, who serves as lead project coordinator for the North Fork Toutle Fish Passage and Reintroduction Project, said the release represents the continuation of years of collaborative work.
If successful, the spring Chinook will head out to sea and return to the historic spawning grounds above the Sediment Retention Structure (SRS). Currently, salmon have to be trapped and hauled to bypass the SRS.
“The SRS was built in the late 1980s following the eruption of Mount St. Helens to reduce flooding risk and protect downstream infrastructure,” Harbison said. “Since that time, Coho salmon and Steelhead have been trapped and hauled around the SRS. However, Chinook salmon have not been moved upstream for about 40 years.”
Harbison said reintroduction efforts of Chinook salmon would not have been possible without the expertise and collaboration of tribal, state, federal and non-profit groups, as well as the addition of research institutions.
The collaboration was highlighted with a hands-on method to release the salmon from hatchery trucks to the creek nearby. Dozens of people offered their help in one way or another throughout the process which brought the salmon from truck to creek via special bags rather than a hose and chute.
Dusty Vaughn, Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument manager, called the release a historic moment for the watershed.
“Today reflects years of collaboration, scientific inquiry, and shared commitment to restoring Chinook salmon to the river,” Vaughn said. “The return of Chinook salmon to this river is a testament to that shared commitment and to the power of partnerships for a resilient and healthy future.”
WDFW Director Kelly Susewind said the project is about more than a single fish release, but about restoration and habitat reconnection all together. He also emphasized the broader importance of salmon recovery throughout the Pacific Northwest.
“Salmon restoration is Pacific Northwest restoration,” he said. “It is our identity, it is our culture, it provides our economy, it feeds our souls. It’s in our DNA. Salmon is not just a fish. It’s who we are, it’s what we do, and it’s what means the most to the Pacific Northwest, and we have to rebuild that.”
Iyall released the first salmon back into the watershed, then proceeded to watch the rest enter South Coldwater Creek. After the release, he reflected on the significance of the moment.
“They were eager to go,” Iyall said. “It’s clear they are some healthy fish, but it’s an arduous journey getting through this valley. We’ve done so much work to try to facilitate that — decades of work — and so now to see it firsthand up here at the source, it’s an amazing, amazing sight.”
For the Cowlitz Tribe, Iyall said, the restoration effort extends far beyond the purpose of fish management.
“This is our first foods, and rebuilding the first foods and protecting them so they’ll always be here for future generations,” he said.
He added that the return of Chinook salmon carries historical, cultural and spiritual importance.
“This is such an important part of our history here,” Iyall said. “That history goes back thousands and thousands of years. It’s traditional, it’s cultural, it’s spiritual. It’s all of that to the Cowlitz people and our main source of life as the first fish.”
