Elwha Dam Removal Site

Welcome to the Elwha River Valley, the epicenter of a monumental shift in environmental engineering and ecological restoration. For nearly a century, the view before you was fundamentally different. …

Approaching the lower section of the river, try to visualize a wall of concrete over one hundred feet high spanning this gorge. This was the site of the Elwha Dam, completed in 1912. …

Further upstream lay an even more formidable obstacle: the Glines Canyon Dam. Towering roughly 200 feet high, this structure impounded Lake Mills, a massive reservoir holding an astonishing 16 million cubic meters of trapped…

To understand the true ecological impact of the dam removal, one must examine the bed of the river itself. For a century, the dams starved the lower river of essential geological materials; the water ran unnaturally clear and the…

The primary objective of this monumental project was the resurrection of the native salmon runs. Historically, the Elwha was famous for colossal Chinook salmon, some reputed to weigh over one hundred pounds, alongside massive…

The return of the salmon and the massive movement of sediment have triggered a profound chain reaction throughout the local food web. Initially, the overwhelming volume of abrasive sediment scouring the riverbed decimated the…

To witness the final, spectacular result of the dam removal, one must follow the river to its terminus at the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Before the dams were removed, the mouth of the Elwha was a steep, rocky shoreline, heavily…

As you conclude your visit to the Elwha River, reflect on the unprecedented narrative of healing that has unfolded here. For a century, the accepted paradigm was that industrial infrastructure and untamed nature were mutually…