Lamprey swim past Oregon’s Soda Springs Dam, after 10 years of waiting

It seemed like a normal Monday morning. Rich Grost pulled his truck into work and went to see what fish had swam past the Soda Springs Dam on Oregon’s North Umpqua River.

He thought he might see a giant 50-pound chinook salmon. What he saw was even better – after nearly 10 years of waiting.

A Pacific lamprey propelled itself through the dam’s fish ladder.

Grost, an aquatic scientist on Pacific Power’s North Umpqua Hydroelectric Project, and an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife employee gave each other a high five.

Grost said they’d been waiting for what seemed like forever to see lamprey swim past the Soda Springs dam.

“It seemed like it was going to be an inevitable event, but it was like: when, when, when, when?” he said, of the excitement he felt that morning.