Photo Voice: The Elwha River

Kai Blatt 2015

A remaining portion of the Elwha Dam.

In the early twentieth century, two dams were built along the Elwha River, which runs from the interior of Washington State’s Olympic National Forest northward into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The dams were both built privately, and created reservoirs in the river that disrupted local ecosystems as well as everything downstream. Amongst those affected were the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, whose reservation is located at the mouth of the Elwha River.

Kai Blatt 2015

What was recently Lake Aldwell, the reservoir created by Elwha Dam.

The Elwha River is home to five species of salmon, and for over a century the dams blocked the passage of these fish. In 2012 and 2014, the Elwha Dam and Glines Canyon Dam were demolished, draining their respective reservoirs. The dams’ removal, which had long been advocated for by the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, required a carefully regulated schedule to allow the river to return to its natural flow without causing massive destruction in the process. Concurrent to the dams’ removal, a revegetation project has been in place to restore the riverbanks’ ecosystem where the reservoirs once stood.

Kai Blatt 2015

In the foreground, the previous waterline.

Beyond, the land deposited following the removal of the dams. 

However at the estuary where the river joins with the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the land has altered more than expected. Silt and gravel that were held in the dams’ reservoirs were deposited at the river delta, extending the beach by hundreds of feet. While significant ecological research was invested in restoring the upper river’s banks, the effects on the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe’s land was not afforded the same thought. 
 

Kai Blatt 2015

The Elwha River, near where it enters the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

As the full impact of the restoration project is yet to be observed, I propose that the National Park Service, which funded the Elwha Ecosystem Restoration Project, invest in helping the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe investigate how the dams’ removal will continue to affect the land they live and rely on. It is important that the tribe be given the opportunity to manage their land themselves, rather than be subjected to the consequences of others’ actions, as they were when the dams were built. Funding should also be provided to aid members of the tribe in pursuing higher-level education in fields that will aid the community’s land sovereignty. Ancient tribal sites have also been uncovered along the Elwha River’s banks, and if the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe is interested, state funds should be allocated for archaeological digs to help them connect to the cultural sites that were buried when the dams were built. A local heritage museum for the tribal community would also aid in sharing the tribe’s stories and in acknowledging some of the environmental injustices that they have been subjected to over time.