Smaller salmon also found the Elwha to their liking, and coho, steelhead, sockeye and other fish once numbered close to half a million: until, that is, two dams were built across the river in 1913 and 1924.
The unfinished structure is getting in the way of the dwindling population of endangered coho salmon and steelhead which want to swim up the Rogue river.
Or else Congress may come to their rescue, with Republican lawmakers having introduced pro-road bills.The area in question is home to 1,600 threatened species, including grizzly bears, elk, lynx and cut-throat trout and steelhead.
But other fish species such as the Chinook salmon, the steelhead and the longfin smelt are also threatened, and each species is a part of a complex food chain.
The deep, cold waters of Lake Superior contain lake trout, whitefish, coho and chinook salmon, steelhead, smelt, herring, and ciscoes.
Salmon and steelhead reach the mountain rivers during spawning season.
Most of the Columbia's salmon and steelhead species are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, largely because of the effects of dam construction on fish migration.
REPORTER AT LARGE about fishing for the elusive steelhead, a subspecies of rainbow trout.
Writer arranged for a guide to take them on a 3-day drift trip down the Deschutes River - a legendary steelhead stream.
