Research approach
The three academic sources below anchor the project. Government and Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe records were used to verify dates, measurements, legal milestones, construction methods, and recovery evidence. The most recent sources describe a river that is still changing, so the project separates early signs of recovery from the much longer work of rebuilding self-sustaining fish populations.
Bibliography
Research and primary sources
Academic source
Sadin, Paula, and Douglas Vogel. An Interpretive History of the Elwha River Valley and the Legacy of Hydropower on Washington's Olympic Peninsula. Historical Research Associates, 2011.
Open sourceAcademic source
Guarino, Julia. “Tribal Advocacy and the Art of Dam Removal: The Lower Elwha Klallam and the Elwha Dams.” American Indian Law Journal 2, no. 1 (2013): 114-145.
Open sourceAcademic source
Randle, Timothy J., Jennifer A. Bountry, Andrew Ritchie, and Kurt Wille. “Large-Scale Dam Removal on the Elwha River, Washington, USA: Erosion of Reservoir Sediment.” Geomorphology 246 (2015): 709-728.
Open sourceGovernment timeline
National Park Service. “Timeline of the Elwha 1940 to 1992.” Olympic National Park.
Open sourceFederal law
Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries Restoration Act, Public Law 102-495, October 24, 1992.
Open sourceGovernment project record
National Park Service. “Dam Removal.” Olympic National Park. Updated March 28, 2025.
Open sourceTribal restoration record
Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. “Elwha River Restoration - An Overview.”
Open sourceGovernment science
NOAA Fisheries. “The Elwha River Restoration: A Case Study in Adaptive Management for Salmon Recovery.” September 5, 2024.
Open sourceGovernment and tribal update
National Park Service, Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. “Elwha River Tribal Ceremonial & Subsistence Fishery for Coho Salmon to Open Fall 2024.” May 1, 2024.
Open sourceCurrent access record
National Park Service. “Visiting the Elwha Valley.” Olympic National Park.
Open sourceComparative project source
NOAA Fisheries. “Final Step in Klamath River Dam Removal Opens Path for Returning Salmon.” October 2, 2024.
Open sourceMedia
Image credits
Homepage and Legacy
Elwha River mouth, September 2016. Jeff Duda, U.S. Geological Survey. Public domain.
View original recordBuilding the Dams
Construction of the Elwha Dam. National Park Service. Public domain.
View original recordCampaign for Removal
Historic woman with salmon on the Elwha River. National Park Service. Public domain.
View original recordEngineering Removal
Glines Canyon Dam removal, February 23, 2012. National Park Service. Public domain.
View original recordRecovery
Former Elwha Dam site, May 1, 2012. National Park Service. Public domain.
View original recordRemoval process
Aerial view of Glines Canyon Dam demolition, September 26, 2012. Susan Goplen, U.S. Geological Survey. Public domain.
View original record