Photo courtesy Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife🎧 Chinook Salmon Return to Mount St. Helens Watershed Your browser does not support the audio element. In June, WDFW and project partners released 30 hatchery-origin adult spring Chinook salmon into South Fork Coldwater Creek, a tributary of the North Fork Toutle River. The eruption of Mount St. Helens dramatically altered the upper Toutle River watershed, which historically supported abundant populations of spring and fall Chinook, coho salmon, and winter steelhead. “The reintroduction of Chinook salmon to these waters is incredibly meaningful to the Cowlitz Indian Tribe,” said William (Bill) Iyall, Chairman of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe. The North Fork Toutle River above the Toutle Fish Collection Facility is closed to fishing under permanent rules.