Salmon Forest

Salmon Forest

The concept of a ‘salmon forest’ in the Pacific Northwest refers to the deep ecological connection between migrating Pacific salmon and the health of coastal and riparian old-growth forests. As salmon migrate thousands of miles from the open ocean back to their natal streams to spawn and die, they  transport massive amounts of ocean-derived nitrogen, carbon, and phosphorus into freshwater and land ecosystems. Bears, eagles and wolves carry salmon carcasses into the surrounding riparian forest, where the decaying fish fertilize the soil. Conifers and other forest plants in watersheds with healthy salmon runs grow up to twice as fast as those in streams without salmon.