Leonardo DiCaprio Instagram – This is what a reborn river looks like. During the past 10 years, two dams on the Elwha River in @olympic_nps in Washington were removed, paving the way for the river to be rewilded. It now flows completely unobstructed from its headwaters in the Olympic Mountains to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The transformation during the past decade has been dramatic and has been especially critical for the river’s salmon populations. The Elwha once had the largest salmon runs outside of Alaska. The Elwha dam and the Glines Canyon dam prevented the salmon from swimming more than a few miles upriver for a century, but the salmon are now able to swim 70 miles upriver and reach their historic spawning grounds. Their populations, which were dwindling and threatened in the 1980s, are recovering and rebounding today. The changes haven’t only been contained to the Elwha’s banks. Native plants, birds, amphibians, and even large carnivores have benefitted from the rewilded river. Hungry bears who successfully catch salmon, transport minerals and nutrients from the Pacific Ocean to the forest surrounding the Elwha. The minerals help the trees grow to very tall heights. This photo shows the remains of the Glines Canyon dam. The former reservoir, which was Lake Mills, is now ablaze with lupine. The Elwha is the traditional home of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. They once lived along the banks of the Elwha. The dams flooded areas that are spiritually important to them and areas that had historically provided them with salmon. The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe is helping restore and monitor the Elwha and the wildlife that depend on it. 📸: Jessica Plumb #WildandScenic #WildandScenicRiver #Rewilding #EarthOptimism #ConservationOptimism #ElwhaRiver