NPS photo. Overview
River Dam Removal – Rebirth of a River
This four-page USGS Fact Sheet describes the river restoration project and USGS science and monitoring.
https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2011/3097/ This historic study tells the story of the two dams that spanned the Elwha River for more than 80 years, and of the many changes the dams brought to people and communities around the Olympic Peninsula. An Interpretive History of the Elwha River Valley and the Legacy of Hydropower on Washington's Olympic Peninsula(8 MB) Coastal Habitats of the Elwha River, Washington – Biological and Physical Patterns and Processes Prior to Dam Removal. Special Issue of Northwest Science: Dam Removal and Ecosystem Restoration in the Elwha River Watershed, Washington State. Salmon & Other WildlifeBrenkman, S.J., G.R. Pess, C.E. Torgersen, K.K. Kloehn, J.J. Duda, and S.C. Corbett, 2008. Predicting recolonization patterns and interactions between potamodromous and anadromous salmonids in response to dam removal in the Elwha River, Washington State, USA. Northwest Science, v. 82 (Special Issue), p. 91-106. Brenkman, S.J., J.J. Duda, C.E. Torgersen, E. Welty, G. Pess, R. Peters, and M. McHenry. 2012. A riverscape perspective on distributions and abundances of Pacific Salmonids in Washington State's Elwha River prior to large-scale dam removal and ecosystem restoration: Fisheries Management and Ecology, v. 19, i. 1, p. 36-53. Jenkins, K. J., N. D. Chelgren, K. A. Sager-Fradkin, P. J. Happe, and M. J. Adams. 2015. Occupancy Patterns of Mammals and Lentic Amphibians in the Elwha River Riparian Zone Before Dam Removal. River Research and Applications 31 (2): 193–206. doi:10.1002/rra.2723. Larsen, K., J.J. Duda, K. Stenberg, M. Beirne, M. McHenry, K. Fresh, and R. Reisenbichler. 2010. Using otolith analysis to establish habitat use patterns of migrating juvenile Chinook salmon in the Elwha River. Extended Abstract In Gelfenbaum, G., T.L. Fuentes, J.J. Duda, E.E. Grossman, and R.K. Takesue (Editors). 2010. Extended abstracts from the Coastal Habitats in Puget Sound (CHIPS) 2006 Workshop, Port Townsend, Washington, November 14-16, 2006. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2009-1218. 136 p. Pess, G.R., S.J. Brenkman, G.A. Winans, M.L. McHenry, T.J. Beechie, and J.J. Duda. 2010. The Elwha River dam removal: a major opportunity for salmon recolonization. The Osprey, v. 65, p. 1-8. Peters, R.J., J.J. Duda, G.R. Pess, M. Zimmerman, P. Crain, Z. Hughes, A. Wilson, et al. 2014. Guidelines for Monitoring and Adaptively Managing Restoration of Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus Tshawytscha) and Steelhead (O. Mykiss) on the Elwha River.
River Studies — sediment and geomorphologyAcker, S.A., T.J. Beechie, and P.B. Shafroth, 2008. Effects of a natural dam-break flood on geomorphology and vegetation on the Elwha River, Washington, USA. Northwest Science, v. 82 (Special Issue), p. 210-223. Buscombe D., D.M. Rubin, and J.A. Warrick, 2010, Universal Measure of Mean Grain Size from Images of Non-Cohesive Sediment, Journal of Geophysical Research- Earth Surface, v. 115, p. F02015. Childers, D., D.L. Kresch, S.A. Gustafson, T.J. Randle, J.T. Melena, and B. Cluer, 2000, Hydrologic data collected during the 1994 Lake Mills drawdown experiment, Elwha River, Washington. U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigation Report 99-4215. 39 pp. Curran, C.A., C.P. Konrad, R. Dinehart, and E. Moran, 2008. Bank Topography, Bathymetry and Current Velocity in the Lower Elwha River, Clallam County, Lower Elwha, Washington, May 2006. USGS Data Series 363. Curran, C.A., C.P. Konrad, J.L. Higgins and M.K. Bryant, 2009. Estimates of sediment load prior to dam removal in the Elwha River, Clallam County, Washington. USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5221, 28 p. Curran, C.A., Magirl, C.S., and Duda, J.J., 2014, Suspended-sediment concentrations during dam decommissioning in the Elwha River, Washington: U.S. Geological Survey Data Set, doi:10.5066/F7M043DB Cruzba, C.R., Randle, T.J., Bountry, J.A., Magirl, C.S., Konrad, C.P., and Curran, C.P., 2011, Anticipated Sediment Delivery to the Lower Elwha River Estuary During and Following Dam Removal, in Duda, J.J., Magirl, C., and Warrick, J.A. (eds.), Coastal Habitats of the Elwha River: Biological and Physical Patterns and Processes Prior to Dam Removal: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5120. Draut A.E., J.B. Logan, R.E. McCoy, M. McHenry, and J.A. Warrick. 2008. Channel Evolution on the Lower Elwha River, Washington, 1939–2006. USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5127. 26 p. Draut, A.E., Logan, J.B., Mastin, M.C., and McCoy, R.E., 2010. Seasonal and decadal-scale channel evolution on the dammed Elwha River, Washington: Proceedings of the Joint Federal Interagency Conference, June 28-July 1, 2010, Las Vegas, NV. Draut, A.E., Logan, J.B., Mastin M.C. 2011. Channel evolution in the dammed Elwha River, Washington. Geomorphology, v. 127, p. 71-87. doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2010.12.008 Draut, A.E., and Ritchie, A.C. 2015. Sedimentology of new fluvial deposits on the Elwha River, Washington, USA, formed during large-scale dam removal. River Research and Applications, v. 31 no. 1, 42–61 p. doi:10.1002/rra.2724. East, A.E., Pess, G.R., Bountry, J.A., Magirl, C.S., Ritchie, A.C., Logan, J.B., Randle, T.J., Mastin, M.C., Minear, J.T., Duda, J.J., Liermann, M.C., McHenry, M.L., Beechie, T.J., and Shafroth, P.B. 2015. Large-scale dam removal on the Elwha River, Washington, USA: River channel and floodplain geomorphic change. Geomorphology, v. 228, pp. 765–786, doi: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2014.08.028,download PDF. https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70141968 Konrad, C.P., 2009. Simulating the recovery of suspended sediment transport and river-bed stability in response to dam removal on the Elwha River, Washington. Ecological Engineering, v. 35, p. 1104-1115. Kloehn K.K., T.J. Beechie, S.A. Morley, H.J. Cole, and J.J. Duda, 2008. Influence of dams on river-floodplain dynamics in the Elwha River, Washington. Northwest Science, v. 82 (Special Issue), p. 224-235. Magirl, C.S., Connolly, P.J., Coffin, B., Duda, J.J., Curran, C.A., and Draut, A.E. 2010. Sediment management strategies associated with dam removal in the State of Washington. Proceedings of the Joint Federal Interagency Conference, June 28-July 1, 2010, Las Vegas, NV. Magirl, C.S., Hilldale, R.C., Curran, C.A., Duda, J.J., Straub, T.D., Domanski, M.M., Foreman, J.R. 2014. Large-Scale Dam Removal on the Elwha River, Washington, USA: Fluvial Sediment Load. Geomorphology 246 (1): 669–86. doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2014.12.032 Warrick, J., Bountry, J.A., East, A., Magirl, C.S., Randle, T.J., Gelfenbaum, G.R., Ritchie, A.C., Pess, G.R., Leung, V., Duda, J., 2015, Large-scale dam removal on the Elwha River, Washington, USA: source-to-sink sediment budget and synthesis: Geomorphology, v. 246, pp. 729–750, doi: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2015.01.010, download PDF. Warrick, J.A., Duda, J.J., Magirl, C.S., and Curran, C.A., 2012. River turbidity and sediment loads during dam removal. Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union, v. 93, i. 43, pp. 425–426. Warrick J.A., D.M. Rubin, P. Ruggiero, J. Harney, A.E. Draut, and D. Buscombe, 2009. Cobble Cam: Grain-size measurements of sand to boulder from digital photographs and autocorrelation analyses. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, v. 34, n. 13, p. 1811-1821.
River Studies — water and ecologyDuda, J.J., Beirne, M.M., Larsen, K., Barry, D., Stenberg, K., and McHenry, M.L., 2011, Aquatic Ecology of the Elwha River Estuary Prior to Dam Removal, in Duda, J.J., Magirl, C., and Warrick, J.A. (eds.), Coastal Habitats of the Elwha River: Biological and Physical Patterns and Processes Prior to Dam Removal: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5120. Duda, J.J., S. Morley, H. Coe, K. Kloehn, M. McHenry. 2011. Establishing spatial trends in water chemistry and stable isotopes (δ15N and δ13C) in the Elwha River prior to dam removal and salmon recolonization. River Research and Applications, v. 27, p. 1169-1181. Foley, M.M., J.J. Duda, M.M. Beirne, R. Paradis, A. Ritchie, J.A. Warrick. 2015. Rapid water quality change in the Elwha River estuary complex during dam removal. Limnology and Oceanography. doi:10.1002/lno.10129;download PDF(3.9 MB) Hanson, L., R. Schrock, T.J. Waddle, J.J. Duda, and W.A. Lellis. 2009. USGS river ecosystem modeling – Where we are, how did we get here, and where are we going? A report from the USGS River Ecosystem Modeling Work Group. USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5018. 102 p. Magirl, C.S., Curran, C.A., Sheibley, R.W., Warrick, J.A., Czuba, J.A., Czuba, C.R., Gendaszek, A.S., Shafroth, P.B., Duda, J.J. , and Foreman, J.R. 2011. Baseline Hydrologic Studies in the Lower Elwha River Prior to Dam Removal, in Duda, J.J., Magirl, C., and Warrick, J.A. (eds.), Coastal habitats of the Elwha River: Biological and Physical Patterns and Processes Prior to Dam Removal: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5120. Morley, S.A., J.J. Duda, H.J. Cole, K.K. Kloehn, and M.L. McHenry, 2008. Benthic invertebrates and periphyton in the Elwha River Basin: current conditions and predicted response to dam removal. Northwest Science, v. 82 (Special Issue), p. 179-196. Munn, M.D., R.W. Black, A.L. Haggland, M.A. Humling, and R.L. Huffman, 1999, An Assessment of Stream Habitat and Nutrients in the Elwha River Basin: Implications for Restoration, U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 98-4223. 38 p. Walters, K.L., Haushild, W.L., and Nelson, L.M., 1979, Water resources of the Lower Elwha Indian Reservation, Washington: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Open-File Report 79-82, 55 p.
Estuary Draut A.E., J.B. Logan, R.E. McCoy, M. McHenry, and J.A. Warrick. 2008. Channel Evolution on the Lower Elwha River, Washington, 1939–2006. USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5127. 26 p. Magirl, C.S., Curran, C.A., Sheibley, R.W., Warrick, J.A., Czuba, J.A., Czuba, C.R., Gendaszek, A.S., Shafroth, P.B., Duda, J.J. , and Foreman, J.R. 2011. Baseline Hydrologic Studies in the Lower Elwha River Prior to Dam Removal, in Duda, J.J., Magirl, C., and Warrick, J.A. (eds.), Coastal habitats of the Elwha River: Biological and Physical Patterns and Processes Prior to Dam Removal: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5120. Shafroth, P.B., Fuentes, T.L., Pritekel, C., Beirne, M., and Beauchamp, V.B., 2011, Vegetation of the Elwha River Estuary, in Duda, J.J., Magirl, C., and Warrick, J.A. (eds.), Coastal Habitats of the Elwha River: Biological and Physical Patterns and Processes Prior to Dam Removal: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5120. Warrick, J.A., and Stevens, A.W., 2011, A buoyant plume adjacent to a headland - observations of the Elwha River plume: Continental Shelf Research, v. 31, p. 85-97.
Shoreline & Coastal — beach morphology and changeBuscombe, D., Rubin, D.M., Warrick, J.A. 2010. A universal approximation of grain size from images of noncohesive sediment: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 115 no. F2. Finlayson, D.P., Miller, I.M., and Warrick, J.A. 2011. Bathymetry and acoustic backscatter—Elwha River delta, Washington: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2011-1226. Gelfenbaum, G.R., Stevens, A.W., Miller, I.M., Warrick, J.A., Ogston, A.S., Eidam, E. 2015. Large-scale dam removal on the Elwha River, Washington, USA: coastal geomorphic change. Geomorphology, v. 246, pp. 649–668, doi: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2015.01.002,download PDF.https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70141427 Miller, I.M., Warrick, J.A., and Morgan, C. 2011. Observations of coarse sediment movements on the mixed beach of the Elwha Delta, Washington. Marine Geology, v. 282, n. 3-4, p. 201-214. Miller, I.M., and Warrick, J.A. 2012. Measuring sediment transport and bed disturbance with tracers on a mixed beach: Marine Geology, v. 299-302, p. 1-17. Warrick, J.A., George, D.A., Stevens, A.W., Eshleman, J., Gelfenbaum, G., Kaminsky, G.M., Schwartz, A.K., and Beirne, M. 2007. Beach Morphology Monitoring in the Elwha River Littoral Cell: 2004-2006. U.S. Geological Survey Data Series Report 288. Warrick, J.A., D.A. George, G. Gelfenbaum, G. Kaminsky, and M. Beirne. 2009. Beach morphology and change along the mixed grain-size delta of the Elwha River, Washington. Geomorphology, v. 111, p. 136-148. Warrick J.A., D.M. Rubin, P. Ruggiero, J. Harney, A.E. Draut, and D. Buscombe. 2009. Cobble Cam: Grain-size measurements of sand to boulder from digital photographs and autocorrelation analyses. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, v. 34, n. 13, p. 1811-1821. Warrick, J.A., Draut, A.E., McHenry, M., Miller, I.M., Magirl, C., Beirne, M., Stevens, A.W., and Logan, J.B., 2011, Geomorphology of the Elwha River and its Delta. in Duda, J.J., Magirl, C., and Warrick, J.A. (eds.), Coastal Habitats of the Elwha River: Biological and Physical Patterns and Processes Prior to Dam Removal: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5120.
Shoreline & Coastal — coastal habitats and processes Cochrane, G.R., J.A. Warrick, Y. Sagy, D. Finlayson, and J. Harney, 2008. Sea-floor mapping and benthic habitat GIS for the Elwha River delta nearshore, Washington. USGS Data Series 320. Gelfenbaum G., A.W. Stevens, E. Elias, and J.A. Warrick, 2009. Modeling sediment transport and delta morphology on the dammed Elwha River, Washington State, USA. Proceedings of Coastal Dynamics 2009, Paper No. 109. Logan, J., 2012, New Video Shows a Virtual Fly-Through Along the Lower Elwha River, Washington, Using Recently Acquired Ground-Based Lidar Data: U. S. Geological Survey Sound Waves, Mar/Apr. 2012. Rubin, S.P., Miller, I.M., Elder, N., Reisenbichler, R.R., and Duda, J.J., 2011, Nearshore Biological Communities Prior to Removal of the Elwha River Dams, in Duda, J.J., Magirl, C., and Warrick, J.A. (eds.), Coastal Habitats of the Elwha River: Biological and Physical Patterns and Processes Prior to Dam Removal: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5120. Warrick, J.A., G.R. Cochrane, Y. Sagy, and G. Gelfenbaum. 2008. Nearshore substrate and morphology offshore of the Elwha River, Washington. Northwest Science, v. 82 (Special Issue), p. 153-163. Warrick, J.A., and A.W. Stevens, 2011, A buoyant plume adjacent to a headland - observations of the Elwha River plume: Continental Shelf Research, v. 31, p. 85-97. Warrick, J.A., A.W. Stevens, I.M., Miller, and G. Gelfenbaum, 2011, Coastal Processes of the Elwha River Delta, in Duda, J.J., Magirl, C., and Warrick, J.A. (eds.), Coastal Habitats of the Elwha River: Biological and Physical Patterns and Processes Prior to Dam Removal: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5120. |
Last updated: June 12, 2024