PORT ANGELES — “Elwha Conversations: A Public Meeting Celebrating the Marine World of The Elwha” will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Monday.
Hosted by the Clallam Marine Resources Committee, the event will be in Room J-47 at Peninsula College, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd., Port Angeles.
“Elwha Conversations is an ongoing dialogue with the community about research being conducted in the marine waters off the Elwha River,” said state Department of Fish and Wildlife Marine Biologist Anne Shaffer.
“Information gleaned from this research provides important insight into the current state of our marine environment, as well as an understanding of the nearshore restoration response to the upcoming dam removals and relationships between the marine environment and the Elwha River and watershed.”
Jim Norris, director of Marine Resources Consultants, will present the findings of a long-term eelgrass mapping project.
Funded by the Clallam marine committee, the project comprehensively mapped eelgrass beds along the Elwha and comparative nearshore areas of Freshwater Bay, Crescent Bay, Ediz Hook, Port Angeles Harbor, Dungeness Spit and Dungeness Bay for the first time.
The evening will conclude with a public discussion and a question and answer session.
The meeting is the sixth annual forum of the Elwha Nearshore Consortium, a group of citizens, scientists and managers dedicated to promoting and understanding the nearshore restoration associated with the upcoming Elwha dam removals.
The Elwha Nearshore Consortium is coordinated by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, Peninsula College, the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe and the Clallam County Marine Resources Committee, with the partnership of Olympic National Park.
