USGS science supporting the Elwha River Restoration Project
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The Elwha River Restoration Project...
... has reconnected the water, salmon, and sediment of a pristine river and coast of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington. Coordinated by the National Park Service, restoration of the Elwha River included the removal of two large dams that had blocked salmon and sediment passage for almost 100 years. The largest dam removal in U.S. history began in September 2011 and concluded in the summer of 2014. Salmon are once again spawning in pristine river habitats of the Olympic National Park, and sediment is once again flowing down the river and to the eroding shoreline.
The role of the USGS...
... in this restoration project is to provide scientific monitoring and analyses of the fish, waters, and sediment, before, during, and after this historic event. This work is coordinated with the Olympic National Park, Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, the Bureau of Reclamation, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and other local and state entities.
Large-scale dam removal on the Elwha River, Washington, USA: source-to-sink sediment budget and synthesis
Understanding landscape responses to sediment supply changes constitutes a fundamental part of many problems in geomorphology, but opportunities to study such processes at field scales are rare. The phased removal of two large dams on the Elwha River, Washington, exposed 21 ± 3 million m3, or ~ 30 million ...
Warrick, Jonathan A.; Bountry, Jennifer A.; East, Amy E.; Magirl, Christopher S.; Randle, Timothy J.; Gelfenbaum, Guy R.; Ritchie, Andrew C.; Pess, George R.; Leung, Vivian; Duda, Jeff J. Sedimentology of new fluvial deposits on the Elwha River, Washington, USA, formed during large-scale dam removal
Removal of two dams 32 m and 64 m high on the Elwha River, Washington, USA, provided the first opportunity to examine river response to a dam removal and controlled sediment influx on such a large scale. Although many recent river-restoration efforts have included dam removal, large dam removals have been rare enough that their physical and...
Draut, Amy; Ritchie, Andrew C. Occupancy patterns of mammals and lentic amphibians in the Elwha River riparian zone before dam removal
The downstream transport of sediments and organics and upstream migration of anadromous fishes are key ecological processes in unregulated riverine ecosystems of the North Pacific coast, but their influence on wildlife habitats and populations is poorly documented. Removal of two large hydroelectric dams in Washington’s Elwha Valley provides...
Jenkins, Kurt J.; Chelgren, Nathan; Sager-Fradkin, K.A.; Happe, P.J.; Adams, M.J. Guidelines for monitoring and adaptively managing restoration of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (O. mykiss) on the Elwha River
As of January, 2014, the removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams on the Elwha River, Washington, represents the largest dam decommissioning to date in the United States. Dam removal is the single largest step in meeting the goals of the Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries Restoration Act of 1992 (The Elwha Act) — full restoration of the...
Peters, R.J.; Duda, J.J.; Pess, G.R.; Zimmerman, M.; Crain, P.; Hughes, Z.; Wilson, A.; Liermann, M.C.; Morley, S.A.; McMillan, J.; Denton, K.; Warheit, K.
Suspended-sediment concentrations during dam decommissioning in the Elwha River, Washington
In 2011, the National Park Service commenced the incremental removal of two century-old dams along the Elwha River, Washington, in order to restore ecological and sediment-delivery processes (U.S. Department of the Interior, 1996; Duda and others, 2008, 2011; Curran and others, 2009). Elwha Dam (32-m high; 8 km from the Strait of Juan de Fuca) was...
Curran, Christopher A.; Magirl, Christopher S.; Duda, Jeffrey J. River turbidity and sediment loads during dam removal
Dam decommissioning has become an important means for removing unsafe or obsolete dams and for restoring natural fluvial processes, including discharge regimes, sediment transport, and ecosystem connectivity [Doyle et al., 2003]. The largest dam-removal project in history began in September 2011 on the Elwha River of Washington State (Figure 1a)....
Warrick, Jonathan A.; Duda, Jeffrey J.; Magirl, Christopher S.; Curran, Chris A.
Anticipated sediment delivery to the lower Elwha River during and following dam removal: Chapter 2 in Coastal habitats of the Elwha River, Washington--biological and physical patterns and processes prior to dam removal
During and after the planned incremental removal of two large, century-old concrete dams between 2011 and 2014, the sediment-transport regime in the lower Elwha River of western Washington will initially spike above background levels and then return to pre-dam conditions some years after complete dam removal. Measurements indicate the upper...
Duda, Jeffrey J.; Warrick, Jonathan A.; Magirl, Christopher S.; Czuba, Christiana R.; Randle, Timothy J.; Bountry, Jennifer A.; Magirl, Christopher S.; Czuba, Jonathan A.; Curran, Christopher A.; Konrad, Christopher P. Aquatic ecology of the Elwha River estuary prior to dam removal: Chapter 7 in Coastal habitats of the Elwha River, Washington--biological and physical patterns and processes prior to dam removal
The removal of two long-standing dams on the Elwha River in Washington State will initiate a suite of biological and physical changes to the estuary at the river mouth. Estuaries represent a transition between freshwater and saltwater, have unique assemblages of plants and animals, and are a critical habitat for some salmon species as they migrate...
Duda, Jeffrey J.; Warrick, Jonathan A.; Magirl, Christopher S.; Duda, Jeffrey J.; Beirne, Matthew M.; Larsen, Kimberly; Barry, Dwight; Stenberg, Karl; McHenry, Michael L. Baseline hydrologic studies in the lower Elwha River prior to dam removal
After the removal of two large, long‑standing dams on the Elwha River, Washington, the additional load of sediment and wood is expected to affect the hydrology of the lower river, its estuary, and the alluvial aquifer underlying the surrounding flood plain. To better understand the surface-water and groundwater characteristics of the river and...
Magirl, Christopher S.; Curran, Christopher A.; Sheibley, Richard W.; Warrick, Jonathan A.; Czuba, Jonathan A.; Czuba, Christiana R.; Gendaszek, Andrew S.; Shafroth, Patrick B.; Duda, Jeffrey J.; Foreman, James R. Coastal and lower Elwha River, Washington, prior to dam removal--history, status, and defining characteristics: Chapter 1 in Coastal habitats of the Elwha River, Washington--biological and physical patterns and processes prior to dam removal
Characterizing the physical and biological characteristics of the lower Elwha River, its estuary, and adjacent nearshore habitats prior to dam removal is essential to monitor changes to these areas during and following the historic dam-removal project set to begin in September 2011. Based on the size of the two hydroelectric projects and the...
Duda, Jeffrey J.; Warrick, Jonathan A.; Magirl, Christopher S.; Duda, Jeffrey J.; Warrick, Jonathan A.; Magirl, Christopher S. Coastal processes of the Elwha River delta: Chapter 5 in Coastal habitats of the Elwha River, Washington--biological and physical patterns and processes prior to dam removal
To understand the effects of increased sediment supply from dam removal on marine habitats around the Elwha River delta, a basic understanding of the region’s coastal processes is necessary. This chapter provides a summary of the physical setting of the coast near the Elwha River delta, for the purpose of synthesizing the processes that move and...
Duda, Jeffrey J.; Warrick, Jonathan A.; Magirl, Christopher S.; Warrick, Jonathan A.; Stevens, Andrew W.; Miller, Ian M.; Gelfenbaum, Guy Geomorphology of the Elwha River and its Delta: Chapter 3 in Coastal habitats of the Elwha River, Washington--biological and physical patterns and processes prior to dam removal
The removal of two dams on the Elwha River will introduce massive volumes of sediment to the river, and this increase in sediment supply in the river will likely modify the shapes and forms of the river and coastal landscape downstream of the dams. This chapter provides the geologic and geomorphologic background of the Olympic Peninsula and the...
Duda, Jeffrey J.; Warrick, Jonathan A.; Magirl, Christopher S.; Warrick, Jonathan A.; Draut, Amy E.; McHenry, Michael L.; Miller, Ian M.; Magirl, Christopher S.; Beirne, Matthew M.; Stevens, Andrew Stevens; Logan, Joshua B.-
Date published: August 4, 2011Federal Dive Teams Conduct Underwater Study at Mouth of Elwha River
Scuba divers from the USGS and the Environmental Protection Agency are exploring and cataloging marine life at the mouth of Washington’s Elwha River. The underwater survey is taking place downstream of the Elwha and Glines Canyon Dams, which are being removed over the next three years starting this September.
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Date published: September 15, 2008Before the Dams Come Out: Scientists Measure Elwha River Conditions Now to Help Measure Dam Removal Success Tomorrow
When the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams in Washington State are torn down in 2012, scientists will be able to see — as never before — how the removal of large dams affects the restoration of ecosystems, plants, fisheries and other animals.
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Date published: September 21, 2007Biologist-Divers Complete 42-Mile Snorkel Survey of Elwha River
In one of the longest snorkel surveys ever completed in North America, fisheries biologists recently swam the length of the Elwha River - from its headwaters to its mouth - with the goal of establishing a baseline of the river's fish population before dam removal begins.