Dam removal time-lapse on Washington's Middle Fork Nooksack River (2020)
In the summer of 2020 the dam on Washington's Middle Fork of the Nooksack came down and we captured it with a four month timelapse shot in 4k.
The Middle Fork Nooksack River Dam was built by the City of Bellingham for water diversion and supply in 1961. Though state law at the time required fish passages, dam construction was permitted without the inclusion of passage. The dam obstructs access to approximately 16 miles of river and tributary stream habitat for three anadromous Endangered Species Actlisted Puget Sound species: Chinook salmon, steelhead and bull trout, as well as other native resident fish species. For years, the Nooksack Tribe and Lummi Nation advocated for fish passage at the dam.
Directed and produced by: Shane Anderson
TimeLapse and edit by: Jesse Andrew Clark
swiftwaterfilms.com
TimeLapse made possible with support from:
American Rivers
City of Bellingham
Resource Legacy Fund
