Salmon, Cedar, Rock & Rain: Washington’s Olympic Peninsula

by Tim McNulty, Fawn Sharp (Foreword), David Guterson (Introduction)

In the Pacific Northwest, many of us delight in Olympic National Park, a unique and magical UNESCO natural World Heritage Site, located right in our own backyard. Yet the famed park is just the center of a much larger ecosystem, a wild circle of rivers that encompasses ancient old-growth forests, pristine coastal expanses, and jagged alpine peaks, all possessed of a rich biodiversity. For tens of thousands of years, humans have thrived and strived alongside this natural world.

In Salmon, Cedar, Rock & Rain , Tim McNulty explores the Olympic Peninsula’s complex--and ongoing--story of development, conservation, restoration, and cultural heritage, while writers from the Lower Elwha Klallam, Jamestown S’Klallam, Port Gamble S’Klallam, Makah Tribe, and Quinault Indian Nation share some of their own history, stories, and perspectives.

Perhaps no other region in the Northwest offers a history of such depth, nor a future ripe with so much potential. Salmon, Cedar, Rock & Rain is a rich and vivid exploration of both Olympic National Park and its surrounding peninsula.

Genres: Ecology, Nonfiction

208 pages, Hardcover

Published September 11, 2023

About the author

Tim McNulty is a poet, essayist and nature writer. He lives with his family in the foothills of Washington's Olympic Mountains.

Reviews

[Dan Trefethen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book that not only showcases the natural glory of the Olympic peninsula, but includes essays by prominent Native writers from keystone peninsula tribes such as the Makah, Quinault and S'Klallam. The book details changes to the ecology from human resource extraction, introduced invasive species (including mountain goats), climate change and dams. It also describes many efforts to restore the environment to its natural state, largely led by the tribes in cooperation with local, state and federal officials.

I spent considerable time in the late 1960s and early 70s hiking and camping in the Olympics, mainly the eastern watersheds that flow into Hood Canal like the Duckabush, Hamma Hamma and Dosewalips. I recall that on weekends the day hikes such as Lower Lena Lake were busy, but if you overnighted more than a day's hike into the woods, it thinned out dramatically. On one weeklong hike through the peninsula, we encountered perhaps one other hiking group each day, going the other way. My backcountry camping days are behind me, but I expect it's different now.

Back then, though, there were significant human impacts going on (do NOT get in the way of the logging trucks). Today, such things as dam removal on the Elwha River and reduced and managed timber harvests have been encouraging signs that we can maintain the ecology of the Olympics. Global climate change may come to have more effect than anything we can do locally, however.

[Heather R · Rating 5 out of 5]

More than a gorgeous coffee table book— this is a love letter and natural history and cultural exploration of the Salish Sea and Olympics— and each magnificent photo seems more luminous and lovely than the last. HIGHLY recommended to anyone who lives in or admires the PNW!

[Wendy Feltham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a spectacular book about the Olympic Peninsula! I highly recommend it to anyone new to Washington State, to residents, and to anyone who has never been able to visit. The photos are stunning, and they capture the beauty of this unique place. The text is brilliant, with Tim McNulty's poetic voice describing geology, flora, fauna, the two centuries of destruction by humans, and the current successful restoration projects. Tim has lived and worked here for over 50 years, and probably knows the natural history and challenges of the peninsula better than anyone. He writes about other environmental leaders who worked and are working today to protect and conserve this magical place, especially three women-- Rosalie Edge and Polly Dyer, and currently Connie Gallant, leader of the Wild Olympic Campaign. Tim's co-authors include several representatives of Native American tribes who eloquently tell what their lands have meant to them over generations. Maria Parker Pascua of the Makah Tribe summarizes, "Salmon, cedar, rock, and rain are are key components of Olympic National Park, but they have an even older history with the First Peoples of this area. We live in and with these cherished treasures of life and nature, God-given, bountiful, and beautiful." Other co-authors are novelist David Guterson and Seattle Times environmental reporter Lynda Mapes. Lynda Mapes has written many excellent articles and a book about the breaching of the Elwha Dam, and her insights and updates about the river and endemic animals are superb. My natural history book club was so fortunate to have Tim McNulty join us by Zoom for a discussion :-)

[Susana · Rating 4 out of 5]

beautiful photos