The story began, for me, at a gas station on the Oneida Nation back in 2010. I saw a headline on a stack of newspapers in a gas station that asked if one hundred pound salmon would ever return to the Elwha River. I was hooked. What followed was a many year journey to document the largest dam removal in U.S. history and watch an ecosystem be reborn.
New England is not known for its surf. It’s never produced a pro, it’s often flat as a lake, and the best waves come when the water is 40 degrees. It’s not an adventure destination, nobody’s doing write ups about the next cold water hotspot. Even in a region not known for it’s surf, Rhode Island often gets passed by. Montauk is more remote, Maine is colder, but Middletown? Let’s just say, when it’s on, the lot is full, the stoke is high, and the lineup is pretty damn friendly. They outta be. They’re not in it for the glory. They’re in it for the waves.
