Discover the legendary Elwha River - dam removal and a river reborn in
Seattle's backyard!

One of the most revolutionary restoration projects ever undertaken will
soon begin on the Olympic Peninsula's Elwha River. Two big dams will be
torn down so that the river's salmon can return for the first time in
100 years. Find out from Elwha River experts how you can experience
this
beautiful river for yourself. Learn about the river's rich culture and
history. Plus, hear how you can be part of this inspiring river
restoration effort!

When: Wednesday, August 24, 2005 from 7 - 8 pm

Where: REI Flagship store, South Room (222 Yale Ave N, Seattle)

Who: Tom O'Keefe, researcher & river kayaker; LaTrisha Suggs, Rob
Elofson, Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe

This is a free event, open to the public.

Sponsored by American Rivers & Olympic Park Institute

Questions? Call Amy Kober, 206-213-0330 x 23

For a flier about this event, visit:
http://www.americanrivers.org/site/DocServer/Elwha8-24-05.pdf

I'll probably catch hell for this, but that's the way it is in today's local "world".

I've always thought the dams on the Elwha were an abomination and still do. How anyone could have allowed a river to be intentionally and completely obstructed to upstream migrating fish is beyond my ability to justify.

Now, that said, what's with the sensationalism? It's the hype that kills me. Like the crowd being appealed to are tourists. Drop the crap and the dams, and quit screwin' around.

Right on Fun.

im not sure what your refering to. it will probably take more work to take the damns down the right way than it took to put them up... but i dont think rei is holding up the project with its history class

i agree that they should come down as soon as possible but what your calling sensationalism , i call good publicity, and the more good publicity the subject gets the better.

Amen!

!

Several years ago I talked to one of the tribal fisheries managers and he felt they still had some of the original strain in their hatchery program. I sure hope this works out as well as planned. There should be lot to learn about reabilitating a damned stream. Hopefully we can use the lessons learned on other rivers, mainly the Snake!

Anybody know when this project is supposed to start? I'd be interested to eyeball it on my forays west.

Two rumors I have herd on the elwah-

1st- I herd that some of the original fish had been trucked and spawned at the dungi. hatchery???

2nd-An old timmer I know was up on the kenai and F&G had a trap out. the guy asked what it was for and F&G told him that they were taking eggs for the elwah because the two river had similar strains of fish???

Anyone else hear anything like this...or am I just off my rocker?

OP

I read in the book Mountain in the Clouds that a bank survey was conducted before the Elwah was damed,that recorded king carcase over 72 inches in length. I doubt that any form of that genetic strain is in existence today.

REI ,Elwah dam removal =a corporation looking to get good press for free

It is a very good thing that the Dams are coming down.

Maybe our children will get to fish the free flowing Elwah

It's been a long, slow, agonizing effort but the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams are coming down, although I don't know exactly when.

The strain of Chinook in the Elwha Hatchery is likely the same as the original. They grew to a very large size at maturity so they could navigate the rapids and falls on the lower Elwha. As you could guess, those falls and rapids made the lower Elwha an attractive place to put a hydropower project.....

However, there is one problem. For Elwah River Chinook to reach a large size, they need to live long enough to reach that size. The ocean troll fishery (both sport and commerical) has exploded over the past 30 years so most Chinook can't live long enough in the salt to reach 60, 70, 80+ pounds, like they did before the dam was built (in 1910).

The reason we don't get 80lb Chinook in the Columbia any more isn't because of Grand Coulee Dam. It's because the ocean fishery won't let a big Chinook get any larger before it's caught. When was the last time you heard of anyone throwing back a 50lber in hopes that it would grow to 80lbs? Never.

Ditto for the Elwha. Adult Chinook salmon will return to the upper Elwha when the dams are finally torn down. But don't hold your breath waiting for 80lb Chinook to be moving up into Olympic National Park. Unless the troll fishery is drastically reduced, we may never seen that again.

The only reason Kenai River fish grow to such a large size is that nobody has found where these fish go in the ocean. For now they can grow to maturity relatively undisturbed. Heaven help us if someone finds out where these fish go in the ocean. When that happens, the Kenai fish will go the way of so many stocks of large Chinook along the Pacific Coast. A slow decline into a shadow of what it once was. Fortunately, Kenai River Chinook don't have to run the gauntlet along the SE Alaska, BC, WA, and OR coast. However, the Elwha fish will. Need I say more?

I believe its set for 2008...

Here are a couple of articles on the dam removal... dated last year, so I dont know how valid the dates are...

elwah dam removal


One of the biggest hurdles in removing the dams is getting Port Angeles a water treatment plant to deal with the increase in sedimentation...

What's interesting to me is the glacial speed at which these things happen.

"Congress approved the dam removals in 1992. Following an environmental review process, the project stalled as negotiations dragged on over federally funded mitigation of the project's impact on local communities.

"We've finally hammered out the details with the local parties," says Dicks. "This project is going to happen."

Starting in early 2008, the 108-foot-tall Elwha Dam and the 210-foot-tall Glines Canyon Dam will be dismantled in stages..."

WOW! 16 years from the time the decision was made till the first brick comes down. I guess I can't complain about my kids procrastination anymore!

Can't wait to see it finished.

Slade Gorton held the issue hostage for some time.

I've been told that there are still a couple 100 pound fish that return most years. Don't know if there's any truth to that though.

Here's a link to the history of the dam removal project:

http://www.nps.gov/olym/elwha/history.htm

Note that the final decision was made in 1996; however, the process started in the '70s. Gorton linked the funds necessary for removal of the Elwha dams to the continued operation of the Snake River dams, bless his little heart.

I know that back in the '70s Ernie Brannon Sr. was still gaffing and holding over big native chinook for his breeding program. While the genes undoubtedly still exist in the river's stocks, whether we will ever see runs of big fish again is something else, considering the uncontrolled fishery at the mouth of the Strait.

Keith

I've seen the Elwha dam presentation 3 times.. I think the guys name was Brian Winters. Great guy, incredible program. However, its frustrating that each time I've heard him, the removal gets backed up another year. Last time it was over some water concerns for the tribe, and paper mill. In a way it will be a sad day when it actually happens. I really like fishing that water for salmon and steelhead, once they start, its likely that I'll never get the chance to wet a line there again. It may be as long as 30 years before they allow fishing. I know its a worthy project, but It'll be bitter-sweet.