For millennia, the Klallam people relied on fish nurtured by the Elwha River watershed. That relationship was largely severed when the Elwha Dam was built, blocking fish runs five miles from the river mouth. In 1910-1913, Thomas Aldwell built a hydroelectric dam on the Elwha River.  With financial backing from Chicago investors, the Olympic Power Company was formed, and the plans for the Elwha Dam were materialized when construction began. Glines Canyon Dam would also be completed soon after in 1927.

In 1992, Congress passed a law requiring restoration of this watershed and its fish, and authorizing dam removal. The park worked on removing two of the dams to help restore the waters in the Elwha Valley, making it one of the largest Restoration projects today (the Elwha River in particular). This is to help restore the water lands in the future. After careful planning, both dams were removed by 2014.

Tearing down dams creates huge amounts of sediment in the river, and does not immediately create ideal conditions for fish habitat.  Biologists estimate it will be 3-5 years before the Elwha River returns to normal sediment conditions. The dam removal will expose approximately 684 acres that park and tribal staff and volunteers will re-vegetate with native plants. Engineers and biologists will also place “engineered log jams” in the river to replicate the trees, branches, and root wads that accumulate in healthy rivers and streams and provide spawning habitat.

Credits and Sources:

National Park Service. "Ancient Peoples and Area Tribes." NPS.gov. http://www.nps.gov/olym/learn/historyculture/upload/ancient-peoples.pdf (accessed June 22, 2015).

National Park Service. "Elwha Area." NPS.gov. http://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/upload/elwha-2.pdf (accessed June 20, 2015).

National Park Service. "Elwha River Restoration." NPS.gov. http://www.nps.gov/olym/learn/nature/elwha-ecosystem-restoration.htm (accessed June 20, 2015).

National Park Service. "Visiting the Elwha Valley." NPS.gov. http://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/visiting-the-elwha.htm (accessed June 20, 2015).