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A good season to talk about 'hope' Nature has priority in the Elwha basin
It seems like the holiday time is a period in which the word “hope”
plays an important role in our lives, as another year winds down and
those of faith celebrate the birth of a most majestic symbol of hope. This is not a
soap box exercise, but rather a recounting of the inspiring experience
of listening and learning from a group of young, dedicated
conservationists who are working to restore America’s rivers. This is
their story of bringing the Elwha River back to life in the heart of the
Olympic National Park in our own beautiful evergreen state. In 1992,
Congress passed the Elwha Act, directing the Department of the Interior
to study the best way to restore the Elwha ecosystem and its salmon. The
department’s report, issued in 1994, concluded that the removal of two
marginal dams to be the best alternative. As a result, in
2008, the most significant river restoration effort of our time will be
on the Elwha. Two large dams – one reaching 210 feet – will be
dismantled to restore the river’s once-legendary salmon runs, and to
revive an entire ecosystem from the mountains to the sea. The river’s
Glines Canyon dam will be the tallest dam ever removed in our country.
Between 2008 and 2010 the deconstruction the dams will occur during
winter months in order to minimize disturbance to salmon. Water quality
protection and other mitigations are under way presently to benefit the
city of Port Angeles and the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe. The steep river
tumbles 45 miles from the mountainous national park to the Stait of Juan
de Fuca. It once supported six species of Pacific salmon and steelhead,
and has been the home of the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe since time
immemorial. The Elwha Dam was built in 1913, and the Glines dam in 1927.
Their construction devastated the river salmon runs, cutting off all but
five miles of habitat. Dismantling the
dams will allow the river to flow freely for the first time in nearly
100 years. Salmon and steelhead will gain renewed access to over 70
miles of pristine, protected habitat in the river and its tributaries. A host of birds
and wildlife species will benefit from the increased salmon runs. The
river will once again be able to transport gravel, silt and sediment to
replenish lower river and beach habitat. Trees and other vegetation will
grow back in the areas around the former reservoirs, creating habitat
for Roosevelt elk and other forest wildlife. In the
meantime, we can hold the hope that by 2030 one of those 100-pound
Chinook salmon of a long ago natural habitat will have found its way
into its own river and “things are whole again.” Community’s loss A fellow
Bothell Library Board member Dave Stauffer lost his battle with cancer
earlier this month. Dave had the kind of energy and spirit that
communities like ours need and appreciate. He had such a wide and
varying level of interest in books and in the people he so cared about
and jested with. I only wish I had met him earlier and had had more time
to enjoy his company. His family’s
obituary described Dave well: “Dave’s philosophy was to be a good
person through friendship, volunteer work, kindness, humor, compassion,
and generosity.” You
never knew what book Dave might be reading, but you were assured that it
would provoke considerable conversation. Citizens of Grace, 2nd and 3rd level Earlier this
fall I reported that the mystical township of Grace had offered auction
bidders the opportunity to serve as citizens of Grace during 2006. The
high bidder for the position of Second Citizen of Grace went to Bothell
orthodontist Dr. John Ive. Wheeling around Grace as the Third Citizens
of Grace will be Ed and Sandy Alto.
Hugo
and Mayor-for-Life Terry Jarvis (425) 482-4076
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The Previous Columns
for December 7, 2005
for November 23, 2005
for November 9, 2005
for October 26, 2005
for October 12, 2005 for
September 21, 2005 for
September 7, 2005 for
August 17, 2005 for
August 3, 2005 for
July 20, 2005 July
6, 2005 June
18, 2005 June
4, 2005 May
18, 2005 May
4, 2005 April
20, 2005 April
6, 2005 March
16, 2005 March
2, 2005 February
16, 2005 February
2, 2005 January
19, 2005 January
5, 2005 December
15, 2004 December
1, 2004
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