Dredging sands and gravels from river beds and scalping annual sediment deposits from bars are too often considered environmentally harmful to aquatic life and water quality by environmental policy makers, regulators, and the public. One reason for this belief is that natural ecosystems are very complex and highly variable. Adding to this complexity and variability altered weather patterns (precipitation and the entire hydrologic cycle) contribute to changed behaviors by fish within each river system. In the western states resident and anadromous fish in the lower reaches of river system are presented with warmer summer water temperatures, shallower water depths, and slower current velocities than in past decades. This is true for the Nehalem River. These changes in basins such as the Nehalem River, could further stress Pacific salmonids, particularly those listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), returning to these rivers to reproduce.