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The last remnants of the Elwha Dam have been removed.

Contractors started removing the dam back in September. About two weeks ago, contractors removed the last piece of the dam from the Elwha River.

The river, which is in the Olympic National Park, was once home to all five species of Pacific Salmon. Environmentalists hope the removal of the dam will restore salmon runs and their natural habitat and attract animals who feed on the fish, like Golden Eagles.

The Elwha Dam was built in 1910. This has been the largest dam removal project in U.S. history.

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20120318/NEWS/303189987/elwha-river-returning-to-its-historic-canyon-channel

Click on Photo for more pix!

Come celebrate the Elwha Dam Removal with SuperTrees Rock Band.  On Friday, March 2, 2012, come to The Undertown in Port Townsend for a dam-breaking party featuring clips from John Gussman's upcoming Elwha Movie and Olympic Peninsula's own SuperTrees. The Elwha Movie event (www.elwhafilm.com) starts at 6:00pm and SuperTrees starts playing at 8pm.

SuperTrees plays rhythm-driven rock and roll, infused with funk, soul & reggae to get your body moving and your spirits higher.  SuperTrees features Steve Koehler on guitar and lead vocals, Dan Lieberman on lead guitar and vocals, Rudy Maxion on bass and vocals, and Declan Westcott on percussion and vocals.  Listen at myspace.com/supertrees

Come shake it like a leaf on a SuperTree at The Undertown (211 Taylor Street, Port Townsend) on Friday, March 2nd.  The Elwha Film event starts at 6pm and SuperTrees will get the party cranked up at 8pm.

 

There is no cover charge.

 

Note: this event is a fund raiser to help launch expert filmmaker John Gussman's Elwha Restoration Movie (http://www.elwhafilm.com).

An interagency team of biologists closely monitoring the returns of fish to the Elwha River have determined that the late fall runs of chum salmon have trickled to a end, allowing contractors to begin dam removal work two weeks earlier than projected.  A planned stoppage of sediment-releasing dam removal work has been in place since November 1 to protect fish runs in the river.  There are three such work stoppages, also known as “fish windows” throughout the year.

Adult chum salmon were collected and transferred to the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe’s fish hatchery, which is acting as a clear-water refuge during the dam removal period when extensive sediment is being released into the river.  Offspring of the collected chum will be released into the river this spring.

Dam removal contractor Barnard Construction, Inc. has adjusted their work schedule and will be ready on Monday, December 19 to begin dam demolition again.

Plans for next week at Elwha Dam include diverting the river back into the right channel (looking downstream) and beginning another reservoir drawdown, increasing flows by approximately 150 cubic feet per second (cfs.)

At Glines Canyon Dam, crews will reassemble the barge and excavator-mounted hydraulic hammer and complete modifications to the onsite crane, with dam demolition work scheduled to begin on December 27.

Although access to the actual demolition sites is not allowed, options exist for interested people to watch the process of dam removal.

Six webcams, available through the Olympic National Park website (http://www.nps.gov/olym/) or directly at http://www.video-monitoring.com/construction/olympic/js.htm provide updated images throughout daylight hours.

Viewing Elwha Dam Removal Removal work at Elwha Dam can be also be viewed via a short overlook trail which leads from a trailhead parking area just off Lower Dam Road to a

viewing location above the dam.

Viewing Glines Canyon Dam Removal Because of public safety and site security concerns, there is currently no public viewing of the Glines Canyon Dam removal process except via webcam. Olympic National Park is working to provide public viewing opportunities for the Glines Canyon dam by summer 2012.

This past weekend was a big weekend for Port Angeles. Saturday marked the official start of the removal of the two dams blocking the flow of the Elwha River, and the Sprint Boat races were held

at the new Extreme Sport Park where over 8,000 people enjoyed the perfect day of racing.

For more information about the Elwha Dam removal Click Here, For information about the Sprint Boat races Click here.

Webcams have been placed facing both the Elwha and Glines Canyon Dams, the
deltas at the southern ends of the Lake Aldwell and Lake Mills reservoirs,
and along the northern shore of each reservoir. While the primary purpose
of the webcams is to monitor the process of sediment movement, viewers will
be able to get a direct view of each dam as the removal process progresses.

This weeks start of dam removal and the ongoing restoration work on the
river has generated interest regionally, nationally and even
internationally. We think this is a unique and effective way to reach out
to people interested in the Elwha River and its restoration, said Olympic
National Park Superintendent Karen Gustin. Olympic National Park is
pleased to see these cameras go online this week. Please visit the page and
check back regularly to keep track of these exciting changes.

Removal of the 210-foot Glines Canyon Dam which will become the largest dam
removed in U.S. history begins September 15. Removal of the 108-foot Elwha
Dam begins September 17. Both are scheduled to be removed simultaneously
over the next three years.

For Elwha Dam removal web cams click here

The logo and tagline have been unveiled for the Elwha River dam removal project. Olympic National Park officials hosted an open house last night to unveil the new art and slogan. The logo features a graphic interpretation of a river flowing past trees and mountains with a salmon swimming in the water.The tagline: Elwha River Restoration, Natural Wonders Never Cease. Park officials are making the logo available to organizations and businesses for licensed and approved use for promotional product development and websites. The new logo was designed by Port Angeles-based Laurel Black Design. The tagline was developed by New Path Marketing of Sammamish, Washington. Great job everyone it looks great!