Presentation Abstract
Along the central Strait of Juan de Fuca, a century of sediment disruption associated with two large dams resulted in high rates of shoreline erosion and subsequent shoreline armor placement along the Elwha River nearshore. The Elwha River Dam Removal and Ecosystem Restoration Project, completed in 2014, was the largest intentional dam removal and ecosystem restoration project undertaken in the U.S. to date. In 2016-017, using state and federal conservation funding, Coastal Watershed Institute (CWI) purchased a 26 acre parcel adjacent to the river delta and began to restore the shoreline, floodplain and uplands at the site of a former mouth of the Elwha River at the eastern extent of the historic Elwha River delta to link nearsore ecosystem restoration with watershed-scale restoration. CWI partnered with the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and private land owners to remove ~7,000 cubic yards of derelict armor from approximately 3/4 mile of shoreline. This presentation will discuss project elements and provide progress to date of this multi-year multi-phase river delta and coastal floodplain restoration project along with associated biophysical response monitoring. The presentation will also discuss the coupling of nearshore restoration with watershed-scale restoration to benefit five species (7populations) of migratory salmon, 4 species (6 populations) of migratory trout and char native to the Elwha, in addition to the forage fish that Elwha fish and Salish Sea outmigrants depend upon.
Session Title
Challenges and Solutions for Shoreline Armor Removal and Design of Soft Shore Protection: Part II
Keywords
Elwha, Nearshore restoration, Armor removal
Conference Track
SSE1: Habitat Restoration and Protection
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2018 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
SSEC Identifier
SSE1-66
Start Date
4-4-2018 4:00 PM
End Date
4-4-2018 4:15 PM
Type of Presentation
Oral
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Watershed restoration--Washington (State)--Elwha River; Intertidal fishes--Monitoring--Washington (State)--Elwha River; Sea-walls--Washington (State)--Elwha River
Geographic Coverage
Elwha River (Wash.); Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Included in
Fresh Water Studies Commons, Marine Biology Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons
Elwha nearshore ecosystem restoration: dam removal and shoreline armor removal
Along the central Strait of Juan de Fuca, a century of sediment disruption associated with two large dams resulted in high rates of shoreline erosion and subsequent shoreline armor placement along the Elwha River nearshore. The Elwha River Dam Removal and Ecosystem Restoration Project, completed in 2014, was the largest intentional dam removal and ecosystem restoration project undertaken in the U.S. to date. In 2016-017, using state and federal conservation funding, Coastal Watershed Institute (CWI) purchased a 26 acre parcel adjacent to the river delta and began to restore the shoreline, floodplain and uplands at the site of a former mouth of the Elwha River at the eastern extent of the historic Elwha River delta to link nearsore ecosystem restoration with watershed-scale restoration. CWI partnered with the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and private land owners to remove ~7,000 cubic yards of derelict armor from approximately 3/4 mile of shoreline. This presentation will discuss project elements and provide progress to date of this multi-year multi-phase river delta and coastal floodplain restoration project along with associated biophysical response monitoring. The presentation will also discuss the coupling of nearshore restoration with watershed-scale restoration to benefit five species (7populations) of migratory salmon, 4 species (6 populations) of migratory trout and char native to the Elwha, in addition to the forage fish that Elwha fish and Salish Sea outmigrants depend upon.
