Monday, April 18, 2016

APRIL 27TH GENERAL MEETING>THE REBIRTH OF THE ELWHA RIVER


Title: The Rebirth of Elwha River

The Edmonds Salmon Chapter of Trout Unlimited is hosting a presentation by Jeff Duda, who is a research ecologist for the US Geological Survey’s Western Fisheries Research Center in Seattle, WA. The topic will be: After decades of debate, planning, and environmental impact studies, the largest dam removal project in U.S. history was conducted on the Elwha River in Washington State, USA, from 2011 to 2014.  The story of this river, with rugged headwaters, protected wilderness, legendary and culturally important salmon runs, and two hydroelectric dams whose placement marshaled wholesale socioeconomic and ecological changes, has become an iconic saga of change, perseverance and renewal. The two dams blocked fish migrations and disrupted sediment transport for a century, disrupting the structure and function of the Elwha River. Removal of the 210’  and 105’  tall dams and the release of a large portion of the 27.5  million cubic yards of stored reservoir sediment, has provided a living laboratory to study the patterns, processes and outcomes of dam removal from multiple scientific perspectives. This presentation will provide a tour of what has been called a “Science Disneyland”, share progress on the rebirth of a river ecosystem, and place this project into a larger perspective of dam removals and river restoration in the 21st century.

The Meeting will be held at the Edmonds Senior Center on April 27th at 7:00 PM. The Center is located at 220 Railroad Ave, Edmonds, WA 98020. The meeting is open to all those interested in hearing about this very interesting and important project.