Hey it's Michael D again. So we have been talking about indigenous/local peoples and their rights over the quarter. It made me think about this presentation by a guest lecturer in my restoration ecology class who presented us with the amazing removal of the Elwah River Dams. This dam removal will not only be the largest dam removal in the United States but it will also be the return of the fish populations to the upper river and the reestablishment of the Elwah people to the entire spectrum of native land. This project encompasses many themes relevant to our class including native perspectives, restoration, politics, and environmental justice. There is also the fact that the dams were built in a way that was completely illegal under the laws at the time. Fish passage was necessary, but because the builder had enough money they could bypass that feature of the dam. The motive behind dam construction was economic gain which led to the environmental damage here. This focus on economic gain for the developer forced the Elwah people to move strictly to the mouth of the river where their economy of salmon fishing was now concentrated. But now that the dam license is expiring there is the opportunity to fix many of the problems. The land can be restored, the fish will repopulate the river, we can hopefully change policies in positive ways and the Elwah people can move forward.

There is an article on the Elwah Dam project in the Seattle Times at: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001998230_elwha06m.html

Also check out this website I found:
http://www.colorado.edu/law/centers/nrlc/summerconference/2007/papers/Busch.Session5.pdf