Celebrate Elwha is being held as crews prepare to bring down the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams on the Elwha River west of Port Angeles. Once complete, the river will flow freely for the first time in nearly 100 years. It also will open more than 70 miles of river and stream habitat to all five species of Pacific salmon and steelhead.
The $26.9 million removal project is expected to take 2½-3 years. The total cost of river restoration is about $324.7 million. That includes purchase of the two dams and hydroelectric plants from their previous owner, construction of two water treatment plants and other facilities to protect water users, construction of flood protection facilities, a fish hatchery and a greenhouse to propagate native plants for revegetation.
The celebration event will run Tuesday-Sept. 18.
Among the highlights is the dam removal ceremony, set for 11 a.m. Saturday. The official ceremony will be held at the Elwha Dam, but because of space limitations the event is by invitation only. A broadcast of the event will be held at Elwha Central at the Port Angeles City Pier and the Mountaineers’ Outdoors Fest in Seattle.
Chouinard talk
Yvon Chouinard, founder of the outdoor gear company Patagonia and noted environmentalist, will give a free talk Thursday at 7 p.m. at Peninsula College Gymnasium, Port Angeles. His presentation is part of the two-day Elwha River Science Symposium. To register for the talk, go to elwharesearchconsortium.wildapricot.org.
Watching the process
On Sept. 18, park rangers will walk along the Elwha Dam Viewpoint Trail from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. to answer questions about the project. As the dam is being deconstructed during the next three years, visitors can watch the process from this trail. Guided hikes also are being offered at Hurricane Hill Trailhead at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. The 3.2-mile roundtrip hike is moderately strenuous and will last 2 1/2 hours.
Restoration tour
NatureBridge is offering a tour that includes stops at five key locations related to the project. The 2ß-hour tour will use shuttle buses to carry participants to the sites. The tours will leave at 10:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 1:05 p.m. and 1:35 p.m. Sign up for a 2.5-hour tour at the welcome booth at the City Pier. For more details, go to celebrateelwha.com/explore-elwha.
