PORT ANGELES — Olympic National Park will sponsor a second presentation Tuesday of “Elwha Power,” a slide show and discussion focusing on the history of two hydropower projects built on the Elwha River in the early 20th century.
Harry von Stark and Kevin Yancy will lead the program at 7 p.m. in the Raymond Carver Room at the Port Angeles Library at 2210 S. Peabody St.
Originally held in November 2010 as part of the park’s Perspectives Speakers Series, the discussion drew a capacity crowd and several requests for a second event, David Reynolds, park spokesman, said in a statement.
The presenters
Von Stark is a photographer and park volunteer whose most recent show featured dramatic images of equipment and machinery from the powerhouse at the Elwha Dam.
His “Elwha Power” collection was hosted by the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center in November.
Yancy, a third-generation employee of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, serves as the operations and maintenance power plant foreman III of the Elwha hydro-project.
The presentation will feature several previously unreleased photographs of both the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams, and the river that has generated electricity to meet the industrial needs of the Olympic Peninsula for nearly a century.
Through photographs and tales from the powerhouse, von Stark and Yancy offer unique perspectives on the history of the river.
“With the start of dam removal only months away, this is a chance for people to take a closer look at the dams before they’re gone,” said Karen Gustin, park superintendent.
Removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams is scheduled to begin in September, setting in motion one of the largest restoration projects in U.S. history.
The Elwha River is the historic home of all five species of Pacific salmon and has been legendary as one of the Northwest’s most productive salmon streams.
Because neither dam provided passage for migratory fish, salmon and other fish have been restricted to the lower five miles of river since dam construction.
Removing the two dams will allow fish to access spawning habitat in more than 70 miles of river and tributary stream, most of which is protected inside the park.
For more information about the project, visit www.nps.gov/olym or the Elwha River Restoration Facebook page.
Co-sponsored by Friends of Olympic National Park, Perspectives talks usually are held at the park’s visitor center at 3002 Mount Angeles Road at 7 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month.
The next event is scheduled for Feb. 8, when Steven Jeffries of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife will present “Sea Otters: Surveying a Success Story.”
