Bio 105: Lab 9: A River Reborn

The Elwha River

A neat web series about the river: http://www.nps.gov/olym/naturescience/restorationoftheelwha.htm

LOCATION AND GEOGRAPHY:

The Elwha River is located in the Olympic National Park of Washington State. The land the river carves through is considered forest biome. The river is 45 miles long, running from the Elwha snow finger in the Olympic Mountains located prominently in the (surprise) Olympic National Park. Little known fact I stole from Wikipedia: The River is one of the few in the Pacific Northwest to house (?) all five species of Pacific Salmon (also delicious)!

DAM HISTORY:

In 1910 a haphazard dam was erected to supply power to the surrounding area; the dam however promptly collapsed due to it not being anchored to the bedrock (it also entirely lacked fish passages as every possible corner was cut). In 1926 The Elwha Dam was finished being built again and was in service for many years providing power to the surrounding region in tandem with the Glines Canyon Dam (which is also fifty percent removed at this point).

REASON FOR DAM REMOVAL:

The dam was torn down to restore the indigenous habitats of native fishes and shore/water dwelling mammals. There was also some debate about its usefulness as the generators it housed were quite dated, which also lent to the idea that the river would be better used for animals and recreation.

ECOLOGY:

Western Sword Fern(Polystichum munitum): An evergreen fern native to the American northwest, where it is incredibly abundant.

Western Skunk Cabbage(Lysichiton americanus): is found primarily in swamps, wet woods, and along streams in the North West. Commonly referred to as the Skunk Cabbage for its distinctive skunk-like smell during its bloom.

Fishers (Martes pennanti): (a type of mink otter monster) Are a medium sized forest dwelling mammal in the mustelid family. The Fishers were reintroduced to The Elwha River from 2008 to 2010 with great success. They had all but disappeared from the area prior to the dam’s destruction.

Banana Slugs (Ariolimax columbianus): Are large air-breathing land slugs that belong to the Ariolimax family. The Banana Slug (which is a common name for three different species in reality) gets its name for its remarkable yellow color, this vibrant yellow is sometimes broken up with brown spots making it even more banana looking.

Bonus Animal:

Olympic Marmot (Marmota Olympus): Aside from having a name that must be hard to live up to, the Olympic Marmot is a small rodent found in the Olympic National Park. The Olympic Marmot is what is referred to as a folivore, as its diet is comprised of primarily of meadow flora and dry grass (someone has to eat it).

CURRENT USE: The Elwha River is currently dedicated to animal conservation and recreation. The recreational use seems to be under the fairly close supervision of the park and conservationists. Luckily for the Elwha, it is in Washington, which is a pretty good place to be in terms of local efforts for conservation etc.

CURRENT THREATS: The only notable threat to the Elwha currently is probably its recreational use. Nothing screws up a habitat faster than people, we have a nasty tendency to thank nature for its offerings through littering, polluting, and (sometimes) burning it down.

Another neat series of videos about the river: http://earthfix.kcts9.org/water/article/an-undammed-rivers-sediment-flush-delivers-new-hab/

More of the series above: http://kcts9.org/undamming-elwha