Dam Removal on the Elwha: An Urgent Need for Biotic Survey and Inventory

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An award is made to the University of Washington to conduct a biodiversity survey and inventory study of the Elwha River Valley in the Olympic National Park. One of the greatest natural experiments of all time will begin in 2012 when the National Park Service completes the removal of two hydroelectric dams on the Elwha River in the Olympic National Park. These dams, by far the largest ever to be removed, constitute a unique opportunity to study the recovery of a river ecosystem, with profound implications for the value of dam removal elsewhere as a general conservation strategy. The scientific opportunities presented by the removal of the dams are enormous, but they depend on base-line knowledge of biodiversity. This study will provide the crucial information required for future comparison of biotic recovery following the opening of the river. This work will bring together professional biologists and an assemblage of agency, tribal, academic, and citizen scientists to collect, identify, and inventory the current mix of invertebrates and non-vascular plants of the Elwha before the dams are removed.This project contains significant educational and outreach components, providing training and research opportunities for graduate students and undergraduates, but also for those at nearby Peninsula College, where members of the Elwha Nation are eager to get involved. The general public will benefit as well through web-site development and Park Service interpretation. Dam removals are increasingly viewed as a means of restoring river ecosystems. This work will provide the evidence needed to evaluate the success or failure of dam removal.