Author: James Kraft, Executive Director
The Olympic Peninsula may make you think of rainfall, ferns, and forests. The Dungeness River on its northeast corner, however, sits in the Olympic Mountains’ rain shadow. It receives precipitation more like Los Angeles than the Hoh Rainforest just 50 miles away.
This sunny climate has led to an extensive farm and irrigation network. Unfortunately, this weather makes the Dungeness more prone to droughts, too.
Last summer marked the third straight year that the state declared a drought emergency in the Dungeness. These conditions can cause water in the river to drop dangerously low for salmon, particularly Chinook, as they return from the ocean to spawn.
In response, Washington Water Trust partnered with farmers and the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe again this year to support fish migration. Using an approach called dry year leasing, WWT compensates farmers who choose not to irrigate crops for their water, allowing it to stay instream for salmon in August and September.
WWT also collaborated with the Tribe and farmers to coordinate three “pulse flows,” timed turndowns of irrigation diversions that cause bursts of water in the river to help fish swim upstream safely.
An innovative private and public funding combination led by Amazon and the Washington State Department of Ecology made our drought program possible. Amazon’s partnership with WWT was critical to leasing the water for salmon. They have released a blog and video on the drought program that is a must see!
This collaborative effort is making a difference: salmon are making it upstream and Chinook counts have increased for the past four years despite drought. The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe continues to track instream salmon movement providing valuable data to help refine restoration efforts.
With low summer streamflows becoming more common, we will continue our important Dungeness efforts. Thank you to all of our supporters and partners for keeping rivers flowing for fish, farms, and communities!
