The United States Geological Survey announced this week that five papers revealing results of several studies of the effects of dam removal on the Elwha River were published recently in the science…
The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe is studying how wildlife might help or hinder growth of new vegetation along the restored Elwha River.
The tribe is watching how small mammals, elk, deer and birds are taking advantage of the newly opened plains of the former lakebeds of lakes Aldwell and Mills, in partnership with Olympic National Park, the U.S. Geological Survey and Western Washington University (WWU).
“We want to see how a whole complement of wildlife species recolonize the reservoirs, and what impacts they have on the re-establishment of plants on reservoir sediments,” said Kim Sager-Fradkin, the tribe’s wildlife biologist.
For the next three years, biologists will study which small mammal species are recolonizing the reservoirs and how their presence might alter revegetation efforts because of their tendency, depending on species, to either cache or consume seeds. (more…)
The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe is tagging large woody debris to follow it as it moves through the newly restored Elwha River system.
“We’re tracking over 2,000 logs and tree stumps with silver tree tags, from the upstream end of Lake Mills to the river mouth,” said Vivian Leung, a doctoral student of geomorphology at University of Washington.
She’s been working with the tribe since 2012 to study how large wood debris (LWD) has affected the river during and after the removal of the river’s two-fish blocking dams. (more…)
The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Washington Sea Grant are observing an increase of forage fish and Dungeness crab near the mouth of the Elwha River since the river’s two dams have been demolished.
Divers have noted continuous sand deposits in the Elwha nearshore, covering formerly cobble-dominated sub-tidal areas. This has resulted in the habitat shifting from a rocky bottom and kelp-dominated habitat to a soft-bottomed habitat suitable for clams, crabs, and other species.
“We first documented sand lance near the mouth of the river in 2012 after the dams started to come down in 2011,” said Matt Beirne, the tribe’s environmental coordinator and diver. Juvenile crab were also first seen in the new sand habitat just off the river mouth in 2013 during a dive survey.
The Associated Press posted an update recently about the removal of the Elwha River's two fish-blocking dams, the Elwha and Glines Canyon, and the rapid changes witnessed by the Lower Elwha Klallam…
The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe is wrapping up its four-year study on river otters and American dippers in the Elwha River watershed.
The tribe has been studying how the animals use the river for food and habitat and how those needs have been impacted by the recent removal of the river’s Elwha and Glines Canyon dams.
Since the early 20th century, the dams prevented salmon from spawning beyond the first five miles of the river, denying wildlife an important food source. The upper watershed also was deprived of the marine-derived nutrients that salmon carcasses provide to the surrounding ecosystem.
As the dams have been removed and salmon have been able to move upriver, the otters and dippers have been taking advantage of the new resources, said Kim Sager-Fradkin, the tribe’s wildlife biologist.
Between 2011 and 2014, blood, feather, toenail and tissue samples were collected for genetic and diet analysis. The tribe also tagged 11 otters with radio tracking devices and tagged 246 dippers with small leg bands to track migration patterns. (more…)
With thousands of cubic yards of sediment forming new beaches at the mouth of the Elwha River, marine life that’s been missing for decades is showing up again. Before the…
Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe youth collected data for the U.S. Geological Survey by flying a kite over the Elwha River this summer.
As part of a science-based summer camp focusing on the Elwha River restoration project, the kite was collecting data about the ever-changing Lake Aldwell delta. The red kite had a small digital camera attached to the fly line, set up to take pictures of the ground below every three seconds.
The USGS is collecting aerial photos to document the rapidly changing deltas of the Elwha River during removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams, said KC Nattinger, a field science educator with NatureBridge, a Lake Crescent-based science education camp. (more…)
EarthFix (KCTS) has a two-part series about the latest effort on the habitat restoration and fish studies taking place during the Elwha River Restoration project. Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe habitat…
Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe elder Adeline Smith died March 19, 2013. She was 95. She was known for helping preserve the Tse-whit-zen village site and the Klallam Language, and played…