Video: The Restoration of the Elwha River

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Video Description: 

 

Video from http://www.nps.gov/olym/naturescience/elwha-ecosystem-restoration.htm 
 

 

Olympic Park Elwha River Restoration, WA USA 

"This five-minute 'webisode' offers an introduction to the Elwha River, its people, its once-prolific salmon runs, the century of hydropower the river produced and the eventual decision to remove Elwha and Glines Canyon Dams -- scheduled to begin in September 2011.
Date Created: 2011-06-01" 

"Dam removal has begun on the Elwha River. In mid-September 2011, contractors started the three-year process of simultaneously removing the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams in order to restore a free-flowing river.
The largest dam removal project in U.S. history will reopen more than 70 miles of pristine spawning and rearing habitat in the Elwha River and its tributaries. Salmon populations are predicted to swell from 3,000 to nearly 400,000 as all five species of Pacific salmon return to one of the Pacific Northwest's most productive salmon streams.

The Elwha is the largest watershed in Olympic National Park, and the return of salmon to this ecosystem will return marine-derived nutrients to the watershed, restoring a vital food source for the range of life that inhabits it. 

For the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, this project will bring cultural, spiritual and economic healing as salmon return after a century's absence and flooded sacred sites are restored."

US National Park Service - Olympic National Park
http://www.nps.gov/olym/naturescience/elwha-ecosystem-restoration.htm

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