When two obsolete dams on Washington’s Elwha River were breached more than a decade ago, restoration of the river’s long-lost ecosystem quickly followed. For nearly a decade, the Elwha and Glines Canyon Dams blocked access to 90% of historic salmon and steelhead habitat throughout the Elwha watershed — runs plummeted to the brink of extinction as a result. Despite the US Congress enabling dam removal and restoration with the passage of the Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries Restoration Act of 1992, it took another 20 years to actually breach the dams and reconnect the river. Today, the fish and wildlife are rebounding, and the Elwha restoration effort serves as the model for bringing rivers and their ecosystems back to life.
In the days, weeks, and months immediately after breaching the Elwha dams, downstream impacts were extensive. As the dams’ reservoirs and mud build-up drained and the river re-channelized itself, intense, prolonged sediment transport choked out the river. Most of the fish and macroinvertebrates could not withstand the high turbidity and died. This was an expected reality to facilitate a reality of recovery. It was the proverbial “ripping the band-aid off.” Despite ghastly images of piles of dead salmon and a raging mud-water faucet, the turbidity stabilized, and the Elwha began to reconstitute itself.
Just two years after the dams came down and the Elwha was reconnected, summer steelhead were observed upriver of the former reservoir. That species was believed to be functionally extinct due to the 100 years of two Dams preventing access to historic upriver habitat. Somehow, someway, the life histories and genetic makeup persevered, and runcounts have remarkably improved. Six years after dam removal, biologists counted 341 summer steelhead throughout the river.
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John McMillan is an authority when it comes to steelhead, especially in the Pacific Northwest. As a fisheries biologist and a fanatic angler, he understands these fish in such a unique way, and there aren’t many who have spent more time on The Elwha pre, during, and post dam removal. He had this to say on the Elwha’s recovery.
“First, dam removal had a clear impact on the river, fish, and insects. The main-stem Elwha below the dams became choked with fine sediment during and following dam removal, though sediment loads are now at what scientists consider to be fairly normative levels. Now, 10 years after dam removal started, we are seeing a sharp resurgence in many salmonids and a big increase in insect production. Essentially, the river is back to looking like a normal river, and the fish and insects are taking advantage of the more stable environment.”
It’s not just the steelhead showing resilience and an innate ability to rebound with restored access to quality habitat. Wild salmon are returning to the Elwha. A 2021 study examining fish habitat use in the Elwha post-dam removal found positive responses from numerous species of fish.
“After dam removal, there was rapid passage into areas upstream of Elwha Dam, with 8 anadromous species (Chinook, Coho, Sockeye, Pink, Chum, Winter Steelhead, Summer Steelhead, Pacific Lamprey, and Bull Trout) observed within 2.5 years. All of these runs except Chum Salmon were also observed in the upper Elwha upstream of Glines Canyon Dam within 5 years. The spatial extent of fish passage by adult Chinook Salmon and Summer Steelhead increased by 50 km and 60 km, respectively, after dam removal. Adult Chinook Salmon densities in some previously inaccessible reaches in the middle section of the river exceeded the highest densities observed in the lower section of the river prior to dam removal. The large number (>100) of adult Summer Steelhead in the upper river after dam removal was notable because it was among the rarest anadromous species in the Elwha River prior to dam removal. The spatial extent of trout and Bull Trout remained unchanged after dam removal, but their total abundance increased, and their highest densities shifted from the lower 25 km of the river to the upper 40 km. Our results show that reconnecting the Elwha River through dam removal provided fish access to portions of the watershed that had been blocked for nearly a century.”
Trout Unlimited and Shane Anderson released “Rising from the Ashes” five years ago, highlighting the recovery of summer steelhead in the Elwha. It is a must-watch and inspires river restoration elsewhere.
The line “If you build it, they will come” in Field of Dreams is cliché but both perfectly inspiring and applicable for recovering wild anadromous fish and choked-out rivers. It really is not rocket science–dams fundamentally alter river systems and impact the life-cycles of wildlife that honed those histories over millennia; by reconnecting rivers and providing access to quality habitats, these resilient species can and will return.
The heyday of dam construction that occurred in the early 20th century fractured the arteries of this country’s riverscape and continues to have profound impacts on our fish and wildlife. But there is hope. For the better part of three decades, passionate advocacy and science have persistently pushed decision makers to remove dams to reconnect rivers and recover ecosystems. It is working, and the Elwha is the blueprint–it is the proof that restoration works.
Sure, many dams throughout the country provide critical services. Hydroelectric dams do satiate our collective demand for electricity without emitting much greenhouse gas. Yes, dams offer flood protection for communities and provide for relatively cheap shipping of agricultural products. But there are other cost-effective means to meet those needs in a way that is not killing rivers and extirpating populations of wild salmon and steelhead.
In its time, the Elwha restoration project was the largest dam removal project in the United States. It was successful. Today, 11 years later, recovery is happening on the Klamath River, which is now the largest dam removal project in US history. The Klamath, a year after major dams came down, is already seeing Chinook salmon coming back. For the first time in a century, Chinook salmon can access the this pristine habitat 300 miles up-river on the Klamath, and these fish are already taking advantage.
Photos by Joshua Duplechian/Trout Unlimited
River restoration works. It is not easy. It does not happen quickly, but it works time and time again. Now is the time to build on these successes, and expand and breach outdated, obsolete dams to reconnect rivers and restore our wildlife and fisheries. Whether it’s the Snake River, rivers in New England, or small structures in the Appalachians, there are ample opportunities to replicate this success and give our fish a chance at recovery and resilience.
Update From the Pacific Northwest – An Interview with John McMillan
Trout Unlimited Presents, “Rising from the Ashes,” a Story of the Elwha River’s Recovery
