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  November 3, 2020

  USGS science supporting the Elwha River Restoration Project

  The Elwha River Restoration Project has reconnected the water, salmon, and sediment of a pristine river and coast of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington.

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  Ecosystems Mission Area, Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

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  November 3, 2020

  USGS science supporting the Elwha River Restoration Project

  The Elwha River Restoration Project has reconnected the water, salmon, and sediment of a pristine river and coast of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington.

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• Data
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  December 28, 2021

  Riverscape snorkeling surveys of salmonid distribution and abundance before (2007, 2008) and after (2018, 2019) dam removal on the Elwha River, Washington

  We used snorkel surveys in the Elwha River, conducted in consecutive years before (2007, 2008) and after (2018, 2019) dam removal to assess changes in fish distribution and density. In total, we counted 54,616 Chinook Salmon, Bull Trout, Steelhead, and trout (Rainbow Trout and Coastal Cutthroat Trout combined) in 22 common reaches spanning 65 river kilometers. The occupancy of juvenile Chinook Sal

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  Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

  August 31, 2020

  Environmental DNA (eDNA) is an Effective Tool to Track Recolonizing Migratory Fish Following Large-Scale Dam Removal, field data

  We collected environmental DNA (eDNA) data from the Elwha River, home to the world?s largest dam removal project, to track the spatial and temporal patterns of species responses following dam removal. In total, we collected data for 11 different fish taxa, sampled at 25 sites ranging across 56 river kilometers in a wilderness river for 4 years following dam removal. We show that eDNA can effective

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  Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Western Fisheries Research Center

  August 12, 2020

  Ecological parameters in the Elwha River estuary before and during dam removal (ver. 2.0, August 2020)

  The Elwha and Glines Canyon dams were removed from the Elwha River in Washington State from 2011 to 2014. We collected data for a variety of metrics in the estuary and on the river delta before (2006-2011) and during (2012-2014) dam removal to assess how increased sediment transport and deposition affected habitats, vegetation, invertebrates, and fish.

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  Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

  January 10, 2020

  USGS Dam Removal Science Database v4.0

  This database is the result of an extensive literature search aimed at identifying documents relevant to the emerging field of dam removal science. In total the database contains 214 citations that contain empirical monitoring information associated with 181 different dam removals across the United States and abroad. Data includes publications through 2016 and supplemented with the U.S. Army Corps

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  Ecosystems Mission Area, Science Analytics and Synthesis (SAS) Program, Species Management Research Program, Western Fisheries Research Center

  November 21, 2017

  Data collected in 2008-2014 to assess nearshore subtidal community response to increased sediment load during removal of the Elwha River dams, Washington State, USA

  Data are time series of substrate grain size, remotely sensed water column turbidity, and measures of abundance (e.g., density, percent cover) of the nearshore subtidal (3-17 m depth) benthic community (vegetation, invertebrates, and fish) collected before (2008-2011) and during dam removal (2012-2014).

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  Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Western Fisheries Research Center
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• Publications
  Filter Total Items: 36

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  December 29, 2021

  Reconnecting the Elwha River: Spatial patterns of fish response to dam removal

  The removal of two large dams on the Elwha River was completed in 2014 with a goal of restoring anadromous salmonid populations. Using observations from ongoing field studies, we compiled a timeline of migratory fish passage upstream of each dam. We also used spatially continuous snorkeling surveys in consecutive years before (2007, 2008) and after (2018, 2019) dam removal during summer baseflow t

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  Jeffrey J. Duda, Christian E. Torgersen, Samuel J. Brenkman, Roger J. Peters, Kathryn T. Sutton, Heidi A. Connor, Philip R. Kennedy, Stephen C. Corbett, Ethan Z. Welty, Anna Geffre, Josh Geffre, Patrick Crain, Dave Shreffler, John R. McMillan, Mike McHenry, George R. Pess

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  Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Western Fisheries Research Center

  January 9, 2021

  Vegetation of the Elwha River Estuary

  The Elwha River estuary supports one of the most diverse coastal wetland complexes yet described in the Salish Sea region, in terms of vegetation types and plant species richness. Using a combination of aerial imagery and vegetation plot sampling, we identified 6 primary vegetation types and 121 plant species in a 39.7 ha area. Most of the estuary is dominated by woody vegetation types, with mixed

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  Tracy L. Fuentes, Patrick B. Shafroth, Cynthia Pritekel, Matthew M. Beirne, Vanessa B. Beauchamp

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  Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center

  September 29, 2020

  Shifting food web structure during dam removal—Disturbance and recovery during a major restoration action

  We measured food availability and diet composition of juvenile salmonids over multiple years and seasons before and during the world’s largest dam removal on the Elwha River, Washington State. We conducted these measurements over three sediment-impacted sections (the estuary and two sections of the river downstream of each dam) and compared these to data collected from mainstem tributaries not dir

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  Sarah A. Morley, Melissa M Foley, Jeffrey J. Duda, Mathew M Beirne, Rebecca L Paradis, Rachelle Carina Johnson, Michael L. McHenry, Mel Elofson, Earnest M Sampson, Randall E McCoy, Justin Stapleton, George R. Pess

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  Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Western Fisheries Research Center

  September 19, 2020

  Environmental DNA is an effective tool to track recolonizing migratory fish following large‐scale dam removal

  Environmental DNA (eDNA) has emerged as a potentially powerful tool for use in conservation and resource management, including for tracking the recolonization dynamics of fish populations. We used eDNA to assess the effectiveness of dam removal to restore fish passage on the Elwha River in Washington State (USA). Using a suite of 11 species‐specific eDNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays, we

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  Jeffrey J. Duda, Marshal Hoy, Dorothy M. Chase, George R. Pess, Samuel J. Brenkman, Michael M McHenry, Carl Ostberg

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  Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Western Fisheries Research Center

  August 27, 2019

  Morphodynamic evolution following sediment release from the world’s largest dam removal

  Sediment pulses can cause widespread, complex changes to rivers and coastal regions. Quantifying landscape response to sediment-supply changes is a long-standing problem in geomorphology, but the unanticipated nature of most sediment pulses rarely allows for detailed measurement of associated landscape processes and evolution. The intentional removal of two large dams on the Elwha River (Washingto

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  Andrew C. Ritchie, Jonathan Warrick, Amy E. East, Christopher S. Magirl, Andrew W. Stevens, Jennifer A. Bountry, Timothy J. Randle, Christopher A. Curran, Robert C. Hilldale, Jeffrey J. Duda, Ian M. Miller, George R. Pess, Emily Eidam, Melissa M. Foley, Randall McCoy, Andrea S. Ogston

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  Ecosystems Mission Area, Natural Hazards Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Arizona Water Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Washington Water Science Center, Western Fisheries Research Center, Sediment Lab Suite and Carbon Analysis Laboratory

  February 28, 2019

  Complexities, context, and new information about the Elwha River

  Recently, Hand et al. (2018) discussed the socio- ecological complexities surround-ing natural resource policy, science, and management in the Columbia River Basin, using a case study of dam removal on the Elwha River in Washington State (WebFigure 1a). We feel compelled to provide additional historical context and correct some of the information provided by Hand et al. about the Elwha. The his-to

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  Jeff Duda, Joseph H Anderson, Matt M. Beirne, S.J. Brenkman, Patrick Crain, John Mahan, Michael McHenry, George Pess, Roger Peters, Brian Winter

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  Ecosystems Mission Area, Western Fisheries Research Center

  April 16, 2018

  Science partnership between U.S. Geological Survey and the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe—Understanding the Elwha River Dam Removal Project

  After nearly a century of producing power, two large hydroelectric dams on the Elwha River in Washington State were removed during 2011 to 2014 to restore the river ecosystem and recover imperiled salmon populations. Roughly two-thirds of the 21 million cubic meters of sediment—enough to fill nearly 2 million dump trucks—contained behind the dams was released downstream, which restored natural pro

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  Jeffrey J. Duda, Matt M. Beirne, Jonathan A. Warrick, Christopher S. Magirl

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  Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Western Fisheries Research Center, Office of Tribal Relations

  December 8, 2017

  Increased sediment load during a large-scale dam removal changes nearshore subtidal communities

  The coastal marine ecosystem near the Elwha River was altered by a massive sediment influx—over 10 million tonnes—during the staged three-year removal of two hydropower dams. We used time series of bathymetry, substrate grain size, remotely sensed turbidity, scuba dive surveys, and towed video observations collected before and during dam removal to assess responses of the nearshore subtidal commun

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  Stephen P. Rubin, Ian M. Miller, Melissa M. Foley, Helen D. Berry, Jeffrey J. Duda, Benjamin Hudson, Nancy E. Elder, Matthew M. Beirne, Jonathan Warrick, Michael L. McHenry, Andrew W. Stevens, Emily Eidam, Andrea Ogston, Guy R. Gelfenbaum, Rob Pedersen

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  Ecosystems Mission Area, Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Western Fisheries Research Center

  July 10, 2017

  Coastal habitat and biological community response to dam removal on the Elwha River

  Habitat diversity and heterogeneity play a fundamental role in structuring ecological communities. Dam emplacement and removal can fundamentally alter habitat characteristics, which in turn can affect associated biological communities. Beginning in the early 1900s, the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams in Washington, USA, withheld an estimated 30 million tonnes of sediment from river, coastal, and near

  Authors

  Melissa M. Foley, Jonathan A. Warrick, Andrew C. Ritchie, Andrew W. Stevens, Patrick B. Shafroth, Jeffrey J. Duda, Matthew M. Beirne, Rebecca Paradis, Guy R. Gelfenbaum, Randall McCoy, Erin S. Cubley

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  Ecosystems Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Species Management Research Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Western Fisheries Research Center

  October 19, 2016

  Recovery of sockeye salmon in the Elwha River, Washington, after dam removal: Dependence of smolt production on the resumption of anadromy by landlocked kokanee

  Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. are adept at colonizing habitat that has been reopened to anadromous passage. Sockeye Salmon O. nerka are unique in that most populations require lakes to fulfill their life history. Thus, for Sockeye Salmon to colonize a system, projects like dam removals must provide access to lakes. However, if the lakes contain landlocked kokanee (lacustrine Sockeye Salmon), th

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  Adam G. Hansen, Jennifer R. Gardner, David A. Beauchamp, Rebecca Paradis, Thomas P. Quinn

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  Ecosystems Mission Area, Cooperative Research Units, Species Management Research Program, Western Fisheries Research Center

  August 26, 2016

  Seasonal variation exceeds effects of salmon carcass additions on benthic food webs in the Elwha River

  Dam removal and other fish barrier removal projects in western North America are assumed to boost freshwater productivity via the transport of marine-derived nutrients from recolonizing Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.). In anticipation of the removal of two hydroelectric dams on the Elwha River in Washington State, we tested this hypothesis with a salmon carcass addition experiment. Our study wa

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  S.A. Morley, H.J. Coe, J.J. Duda, L.S. Dunphy, M.L. McHenry, B.R. Beckman, M. Elofson, E. M. Sampson, L. Ward

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  Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Western Fisheries Research Center

  March 2, 2016

  Influence of species, size and relative abundance on the outcomes of competitive interactions between brook trout and juvenile coho salmon

  Resource competition between animals is influenced by a number of factors including the species, size and relative abundance of competing individuals. Stream-dwelling animals often experience variably available food resources, and some employ territorial behaviors to increase their access to food. We investigated the factors that affect dominance between resident, non-native brook trout and recolo

  Authors

  Emily J Thornton, Jeffrey J. Duda, Thomas P. Quinn

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  Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Western Fisheries Research Center
• Web Tools
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  June 3, 2016

  USGS Dam Removal Information Portal (DRIP)

  A tool to explore trends about dam removal science and query scientific studies that evaluate environmental response to dam removals.

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  Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Science Analytics and Synthesis (SAS) Program, Science Analytics and Synthesis (SAS) Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Western Fisheries Research Center
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  June 24, 2022

  Riverscapes, Dam Removal and River Restoration—Exploring how River Ecosystems Respond to Dam Removals

  Rivers around the world provide valuable ecosystem services like food, drinking water, and recreational opportunity, as well as important...

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