The Elwha: A Case Study in Success

America’s largest dam removal has lessons for restoring a free-flowing Snake River 

Beginning in 2011, our nation will begin its biggest dam removal project yet. Two large dams on Washington State’s Olympic peninsula have blocked a river and destroyed a once thriving fishery that included chinook salmon in excess of 100 pounds. 

A free-flowing Elwha river will re-connect salmon and steelhead with more than 70 miles of ancestral habitat – much of it in the pristine lands of the Olympic National Park.

In 2011, Working Snake River for Washington will explore this ground-breaking project from various perspectives – ecological, political, economic – in order to learn lessons for success as we work toward our next big dam removal on the lower Snake River in eastern Washington.

Check back here for more updates as the Elwha project moves forward.