Lower Elwha Klallam

PORT ANGELES (Jan. 24,2006) – Like many places on the Olympic Peninsula, a chunk of Elwha River floodplain west of Port Angeles had become a dumping ground for derelict cars and garbage that also attracted criminal activity. “We do a lot of fish surveys in the lower river and we noticed about three summers ago that area had become a four-wheel drive playground and a dumping ground for derelict vehicles and household garbage,” said Raymond Moses, project biologist for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. “TVs, motorcycle and car parts, appliances and all manner of household garbage from the area were getting washed downstream from the site during high flows.”

PYSHT (Dec. 19, 2005) — In the 1950s, state fisheries crews bulldozed Olympic Peninsula rivers clear of vital salmon habitat by removing fallen trees and logjams in the mistaken belief it would improve passage. Repairing that legacy of fish habitat damage on the Pysht River near Joyce is the aim of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. “We have found there was a state work group called the Stream Clearance Unit that yarded everything out of the streams,” said Mike McHenry, fisheries habitat manager for the tribe. Additionally, up until the 1980s, tree buffers were not left along streams when logging occurred, further starving streams for wood needed for salmon habitat.

ELWHA RIVER (Aug. 9, 2004) – Trash dumped along the Elwha River is raising health and safety concerns for local residents.

“It’s a mess out there in some places,” said Mel Elofson, assistant habitat manager for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe.

Items found along the river include, abandoned automobiles, appliances, construction materials, engine oil and everyday household trash. A lot of the trash eventually makes its way into the river during high water flows. Recently two submerged automobiles were pulled from the river.

(more…)

PORT ANGELES (June 29, 2004) – With the help of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, a stretch of Ennis Creek that flows through Jim and Robbie Mantooth’s property is being restored into a more fish-friendly environment. The tribe is restoring habitat in the creek by adding wood that will slow the stream’s flow and help form pools and trap much-needed gravel, creating a healthier habitat for salmon, trout and other wildlife.

Guided walks to view the restoration project will be a feature of the North Olympic Land Trust’s StreamFest education and fundraising event on Sept. 12. The Mantooths’ 30-acre property is protected permanently through a conservation easement agreement they made with the land trust in 1998.

(more…)

ELWHA (Jan. 23, 2002)

JOYCE (Dec. 18, 2001)

LOWER ELWHA (Nov. 1, 2001)