Maintaining cold water refuges for Washington Coast salmon and steelhead is critical for their survival.

Climate projections show that rivers that cascade down from Washington’s towering, rugged Olympic Mountains will remain cold enough to sustain salmon, even as temperatures climb toward the end of this century.

But, these stronghold rivers are still fractured by outdated and impassable culverts that act like miniature dams. There are over 4,000 documented barriers in coast rivers alone. These barriers are cutting off access to key cold water refuges that juvenile and returning salmon and steelhead need to ride out increasingly intense summer heat waves.

Find out what Wild Salmon Center and partners are doing to restore and protect these critical cold water refuges through our Cold Water Connection campaign.