Olympic National Park reported this week that its biologists have seen adult chinook salmon swimming two miles upstream from the park’s boundary in the Elwha River, above the old Elwha Dam site. This comes two months after steelhead were seen swimming just above the old dam site by Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and National Oceanic and […]
The Lake Aldwell reservoir is starting to look like a river again. It’s just one of the changes to the Elwha River system that the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe has been watching with great anticipation since removal of the river’s two fish-blocking dams began in September. By Nov. 1, the 108-foot-tall Elwha Dam had been […]
KCTS/Earthfix just posted a video and a story about last week’s release of 50 adult coho salmon into the Elwha River, between the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams, near the Highway 101 Bridge. From the story: PORT ANGELES, Wash. — Standing on the banks of the Elwha River on a crisp November afternoon last week, Mel […]
There is a sense of urgency as black mesh bags filled with adult coho salmon are relayed down a steep hill toward the Elwha River. Standing on the bank, Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe hatchery manager Larry Ward retrieves a bag, unzips it and gently prods out several salmon. Within seconds, the fish make a splash […]
The thunderous beat of drums in the tribal gym sounded louder than usual: the beat harder, the men’s voices deeper, the women’s voices louder, the smiles bigger during the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe’s dam removal celebration Sept. 17. For nearly 100 years the tribe waited to celebrate the moment – the demolition of the Elwha […]
The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe spent the week of Sept. 12 celebrating the removal of the 108-foot-tall Elwha Dam and 210-foot-tall Glines Canyon Dam before the official start of removal on Sept. 17. Events included storytelling from tribal members, drumming sessions, a fundraising gala for the tribe’s education program, interviews with elders and a two-day conference […]
The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution, the USGS-Olympic Field Station and Olympic National Park, is closely tracking how river otters and American dippers (a river-obligate songbird) are affected by the presence of the Elwha River’s two fish-blocking dams, as part of preparation for this fall’s dam removal. “We chose to […]
The Seattle Times did an update on the progress of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe’s hatchery construction in Sunday’s paper. From the story: Removing the two dams has been decades long process, and officials are hopeful the new hatchery facility will boost a river that once hosted all five salmon species and steelhead. “The facility […]
Standing in middle of the rushing lower Elwha River, Mike McHenry hefts a slippery rock, measures its widest point at about 10 inches, then heaves it back into the water. “The whole lower river is filled with this type of large cobble and smaller boulders,” said the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe habitat program manager. “This […]
