February 21, 2015

How could such a major environmental project totally escape me? I had never heard of the Elwha River, its dams, the struggles of the Klallam people to restore the salmon river, or the ground-breaking project that removed the dams.

100 years ago two dams were built on the Elwha River to provide power and water to the people of Port Angeles. Although the First Nations knew these dams would destroy the salmon spawning grounds and their way of life, the dams went ahead. By the time the licenses for the dams were up for renewal (after 50 years), the Olympic National Park had been formed and laws had been passed denying any licensing in the park. With great effort and patience, First Nations, environmentalists and ordinary people were successful in not only having the generators shut down but also in having the dams removed.

The salmon have returned to the Elwha River and restoration is on-going.