Finding the River: An Environmental History of the Elwha

Chapter 4: Meaning Runs Through It: Reconverting the Elwha from Industrial River to Salmon River

133 Chapter 4 Meaning Runs Through It RECONVERTING THE ELWHA FROM INDUSTRIAL RIVER TO SALMON RIVER If the wild salmon can no longer survive here, one might ask, where can they? Bruce Brown1 “Torpedo the Dams, Full Speed Ahead,” declared the flyer announcing a party to celebrate the impending demolition of the two dams on the Elwha River, located on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State, about six miles west of Port Angeles. River restoration advocates had won a startling victory in 1992 by convincing Congress to pass legislation to restore the Elwha River, including removal of both the Elwha and Glines Canyon Dams if necessary. This was the first time federal legislation had been passed for the removal of dams to restore a river and its fisheries. However, while the activists had won groundbreaking legislation and complete victory seemed imminent, the battle would drag on longer than activists could anticipate, despite ushering in a new environmental era of dam removal and river restoration. The story behind the Elwha River activists’ success is one of cooperation and creativity resulting in a broad coalition of unlikely allies. The fact that these dams were still standing nearly 20 years later reveals the continuing tension between economic development and salmon restoration in the Pacific Northwest. While numerous environmental debates dominated the headlines in the Pacific Northwest in the 1980s and 1990s, one of the most important and heated was that over the extinction of salmon and Finding the River: An Environmental History of the Elwha 134 steelhead populations and the likely future decline of runs throughout the region. The movement to restore the Elwha River and its salmon represented a remarkable environmental and political effort, which seemingly reached fruition with the passage of the Elwha Restoration Act in 1992. An examination of the Elwha restoration effort demonstrates shifts in environmental values in America and the Pacific Northwest. Of more interest is how the Elwha River was reevaluated in the modern era for nonindustrial uses, and the remarkable strategy of consensus employed to craft and pass a bill calling for restoration of the river and its fisheries. Bruce Brown’s Mountain in the Clouds,2 a book exploring the history and collapse of salmon fisheries on the Olympic Peninsula, with a strong focus on the Elwha River and the episode between Darwin and Aldwell and their attempted solution, helped build support for the idea of river and fisheries restoration in the region. After his book was published, Brown even suggested in a keynote address that dam removal should be considered as an option. The idea of river restoration through dam removal began to gain traction quickly. A letter from the National Parks Conservation Association to Olympic National Park Superintendent Robert F. Chandler in March 1985 suggested the park service purchase the two dams so that they could be removed at a later date. The letter also criticized the construction of the Elwha Dam and the hatchery solution as a key factor in the destruction of Northwest salmon fisheries.3 It was clear that the status quo on the Elwha River could not be sustained much longer. A proposal by the administration of Olympic National Park in March 1985 for reintroduction of anadromous fish called for strong measures and private money to initiate a serious effort to restore salmon above the dams in two phases. In the opening paragraph of the report, the loss of both salmon and access to excellent habitat was emphasized, as it would be time and time again in future activist media efforts. Also, the report made the point that there was more at stake than just salmon, or the lack thereof. Because the river was one very important thread in a complex mountain watershed ecosystem, the loss of salmon above Chapter 4: Meaning Runs Through It 135 the dams created significant impacts throughout that watershed. Spawned out and decomposing salmon contributed nutrients to the river and its tributary streams and also fertilized the soil surrounding the waterways. The lack of those fish made the river, streams, and soil less fertile and less productive. This was clearly an expanding and much more ecological way of thinking about the impact of the dams on the environment, beyond just salmon survival. Moreover, the loss of salmon had negative impacts on the numerous species that depended on the fish, such as raccoons, otters, bears, ravens, and others.4 The Olympic National Park...