The Olympian reported today that those involved in helping remove the two fish-blocking dams on the Elwha River are hopeful of the positive impacts the work will have on the river restoration efforts. The latest step in the process is the federal government seeking bids for deconstruction of the 108-foot-tall Elwha Dam and 210-foot-tall Glines Canyon Dam, which is expected to start in 2011. The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe have been on the forefront in supporting this work.
From the story:
To the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, the removal of the dams is about more than salmon. When the dams were built, their reservoirs inundated the site of the tribe’s only inland village and the “tribal creation site” where, according to legend, the tribe was created.
“We just have word of mouth about where they are,” said Robert Elofson, the tribe’s director of Elwha River restoration. “It’s been 100 years.”
