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 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…)
Sonar is helping the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe get an accurate estimate of some species of salmon returning to the Elwha River.
The Tribe has been counting the number of returning adult chinook salmon and steelhead using a sonar camera since 2008 with positive results.
The camera is placed just below the water’s surface, sending out sound beams that “hit” a fish and reflect back to the camera. The camera is connected to a computer that translates the sound beams into pixels that are counted as fish.
This is part of the overall effort to see how many fish return to the river following the recent removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams. The Elwha was removed completely by March 2013 and the Glines Canyon is expected to be fully removed by end of 2014. (more…)
The Sequim Gazette reported that more than 1,700 chinook salmon were found in the Elwha River, between the Glines Canyon Dam and Strait of Juan de Fuca, during a one-day…
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…)
Chinook salmon are returning once again to the Elwha River, with the river in its second year of being free of the Elwha Dam. The Glines Canyon Dam is not…
Standing on the Altair Bridge in Olympic National Park, members of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe wildlife staff peer into the rushing Elwha River below, trying to find signs of river otters in the riffles.
Suddenly, a couple of smooth brown heads break the surface, one playfully pouncing on the other before they dive back under. A few seconds later, four heads pop up while making their way upriver.
Since starting to track river otters in the Elwha River valley last year, the tribe’s wildlife staff has been busy chasing these elusive members of the weasel family. The tribe wants to know what effects dam removal and river restoration will have on the otters, including the population size, eating habits and den areas.
While the Elwha River’s two fish-blocking dams are coming down, the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe’s native steelhead broodstock program is winding down too. Since 2005, the tribe has been collecting…
Less than a year since the Elwha River’s two fish-blocking dams started to come down, native salmon have made their way deep into the Elwha watershed for the first time…
The restoration of the landscapes after removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams and their associated reservoirs is more than just planting a few trees, shrubs and grasses. Since…