The Elwha River is one of the largest, and historically the most productive, rivers along the Juan de Fuca Strait. It originates deep in the Olympic National Park (ONP) at or above the 4,000 foot elevation. It drains 321 square miles, 83% of which is located in the Park and is considered outstanding habitat. The main stem is approximately 45 miles in length, with 100 miles of tributary streams.

Sue Chickman

Annual precipitation in the upper watershed averages 200+ inches and 56 inches in lower drainages. Elwha supported legendary runs of salmon until hydroelectric dams were constructed in the early part of the 20th century, without fish passage facilities. The river supported 10 distinct runs of anadromous fish: the five pacific salmon species -- coho, pink, chum, sockeye, and chinook (both spring and summer/fall runs) -- as well as winter and summer runs of steelhead, sea-run cutthroat trout, and native char. These runs totaled hundreds of thousands of fish. By the 1970’s these fish stocks had collapsed.

The river provides domestic and industrial water to the City of Port Angeles, the Elwha Tribe, and small community-based systems. Habitat concerns include: impacts from dams, from watershed alterations; loss of off-channel habitat; lack of riverbed sands and gravels; excessive stream temperatures/low flows; lack of large wood in lower river, and PCBs.

Removal of the two dams on the river is planned to restore the river ecosystem. Congress enacted the Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries Restoration Act of 1992. This law provides for “…the full restoration of the Elwha River ecosystem and native anadromous fisheries...”

Close to $183 million has been authorized to pay for acquisition and removal of the dams, mitigation of impacts of dam removal on water supplies and other infrastructure, including protection for the Tribal and state fish facilities, and for restoration. The Elwha River Restoration Project will require a rough estimate of approximately 1.4 million herbaceous plants and 1.7 million shrubs to restore vegetation to approximately 715 acres after dam removal. ONP plans to build a large greenhouse to grow the plants. Candidate sites are in the Elwha Valley and Robin Hill Park in Sequim.

Some of the research projects being planned prior to removal are:

• Predicting ecosystem response to the removal of the Elwha River dams.
• Baseline monitoring of floodplain vegetation.
• Transporting of suspended sediment and its effect on aquatic habitat in the Elwha River.
• Developing reference site data for monitoring biological integrity and water quality of Streams.
• Documenting current stream productivity and fish populations prior to dam removal, setting the stage for long-term monitoring of ecosystem responses.

The removal process is currently in the final design phase for the water protection facilities. Construction of these facilities will commence in 2006 and be completed in 2008. This is when dam removal can begin. Dam removal will take about 2.5 years and the active fish restoration part of the project will span about 10 years after that.