Dam removal has begun on the Elwha River. In mid-September 2011, contractors started the three-year process of simultaneously removing the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams in order to restore a free-flowing river.
The largest dam removal project in U.S. history will reopen more than 70 miles of pristine spawning and rearing habitat in the Elwha River and its tributaries. Salmon populations are predicted to swell from 3,000 to nearly 400,000 as all five species of Pacific salmon return to one of the Pacific Northwest's most productive salmon streams.
The Elwha is the largest watershed in Olympic National Park, and the return of salmon to this ecosystem will return marine-derived nutrients to the watershed, restoring a vital food source for the range of life that inhabits it.
For the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, this project will bring cultural, spiritual and economic healing as salmon return after a century's absence and flooded sacred sites are restored.
