PORT ANGELES — A hands-on, interactive model of the Glines Canyon Dam and the Elwha River — and what is expected to happen when it is removed — will be on display at the Arthur D. Feiro Marine Life Center in time for the summer season, organizers say.
The 210-foot Glines Canyon Dam, which forms Lake Mills 13 miles upstream from the river’s mouth, is one of two dams — the other being the 105-foot Elwha Dam, which creates Lake Aldwell eight miles upstream from the river’s mouth — will be removed beginning next year in a $308 million National Park Service project.
Tons of sediment now trapped behind the dams will be released and swept out to sea. In the past, sediment from the Elwha River formed the sand spit of Ediz Hook, thus playing a role in the formation of Port Angeles Harbor.
“The display will be about 3 feet by 10 feet and will show the river flowing,” said Deborah Moriarty, spokeswoman for the center on City Pier in Port Angeles.
“We can remove the dam, and people can literally watch the sediment flow, watch the deposition and we can talk about how the deltas are made and how the spit was formed and ultimately how our harbor was created.”
It is planned to be in place by Memorial Day in May — in time for the busy summer season for the center — Moriarty said.
“We are very excited about the opportunities to share what this display provides,” Moriarty said.
“This will be a great teaching tool, not only for the 1,500 children who come through in our school programs, but also for those in our community and visitors to our area.”
The display is funded through a $24,000 National Park Service grant to Olympic National Park, with matching funds provided by several partners, said Olympic National Park spokeswoman Barb Maynes.
The city of Port Angeles gave $13,000 from city lodging tax revenue as part of the matching funds.
Another $11,500 was matched by the center in the form of salaries of people to work on the display, Maynes said.
Peninsula College gave $2,000 to fund the writing of interpretative text telling the story of the Elwha River and describe the process of dam removal, salmon restoration and marine environment restoration.
The Port Angeles Fine Arts Center is providing $400 in design consultation for the display, Maynes said.
Blue Rhino Studio, an art studio in Minnesota, is creating the structure while the center’s staff rearrange other displays to make room for the new one, intended to be a permanent exhibit.
The studio has worked on numerous other projects for the National Park System and has many scale models as part of its portfolio, Moriarty said.
“This will provide informational resources on the marine resources and the role of the dams in our community and the history of the dams,” Maynes said.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
