Removal of Elwha River dams begins
Tom Callis reports in the Peninsula Daily News:
“The Elwha River will begin to be freed this week when workers start to take “a little off the top” of the Glines Canyon Dam, the second of the two Elwha dams west of Port Angeles.
It will be the beginning of the largest dam removal project in the United States.
Photo courtesy of the Peninsula Daily News
Once the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams are brought down, the river will flow freely for the first time in nearly 100 years. It also will open more than 70 miles of river and stream habitat to five species of Pacific salmon and steelhead.
A “ceremonial scoop” of the sediment will be removed during the dam removal celebrations set for 11 a.m. Saturday, said Barb Maynes, Olympic National Park spokeswoman.
Olympic National Park and a number of partners are holding dam-removal celebrations this week in Port Angeles and Sequim, with several events beginning Tuesday and culminating in the official ceremonies with dignitaries — including actor Tom Skerritt, Congressman Norm Dicks and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar — at the official dam removal ceremony at Elwha Dam on September 17 at the Elwha Dam on Saturday.”
Click here for a full schedule of events.
