PORT ANGLES — Members of the state Fish and Wildlife Commission were briefed on Elwha River restoration before a tour of the watershed Friday.
The staff presentation focused on the return of salmon and steelhead populations after the removal of the Elwha River and Glines Canyon dams.
The fish-blocking dams were removed between 2011 and 2014 as part of the National Park Service’s $325 million effort to restore the Elwha River to its natural state.
“We’ve seen some really encouraging signs in response to dam removal,” Fish and Wildlife senior research scientist Joe Anderson said during the meeting at the Port Angeles Red Lion Hotel.
“We know the fish are accessing those areas upstream of the dams. We’ve seen some areas of newly accessible habitat that have a high density of juvenile fish, and we have evidence that this massive physical disturbance is really tapering off.”
However, scientists are a “long way” from achieving major goals for chinook salmon and steelhead abundance, spatial distribution and productivity, Anderson said.
Last March, the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, Olympic National Park and state Department of Fish and Wildlife announced a two-year extension of a fishing closure for the Elwha River.
The closure, which applies to all recreational and commercial fishing in the Elwha and its tributaries, is now in effect through June 1, 2019.
Meanwhile, scientists continue to monitor the Elwha for the return of coho salmon, pink salmon, chinook salmon, steelhead, chum salmon, sockeye salmon, eulachon, bull trout and Pacific lamprey.
“I want to emphasize that we’ve got a really strong collective monitoring team that is committed to collecting the right information to the best of our ability and using that information to inform how we’re managing our hatcheries and the fisheries,” Anderson said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@ peninsuladailynews.com.
