In 1992, Congress passed an Act of law that few outside Washington State took much notice of at the time, yet it would go on to reshape one of the Pacific Northwest's great rivers. According to the Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries Restoration Act, the federal government was to buy up two hydroelectric dams that had blocked salmon from reaching their spawning grounds for the best part of a century, and to tear them down once and for all.

Elwha River Restoration changed one of Americas most remarkable river recovery stories. Two dams once blocked salmon from reaching upstream habitat in Washingtons Olympic…

In 1992, Congress passed an Act of law that few outside Washington State took much notice of at the time, yet it would go on to reshape one of the Pacific Northwest's great…