In early October 2024 I took a short hike to where the lower dam was located on the Elwha river. The dam was built in the early 1900s to provide hydroelectric power to the town of Port Angeles (where I live) and the large paper mill. A second dam was built about 10 years later a few miles upstream. Neither were built with the required fish ladders, resulting in a massive reduction of the salmon and trout runs the local Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe depended upon.

Both dams were removed between 2010 and 2014 with the largest and most expensive dam removal project in the world at that time (the final cost was over $300 million).

The documentary “Return of the River”, directed by John Gussman, covers the history of the river and efforts to remove the dams. I had the pleasure of meeting John recently on a group hike along the Elwha river from Madison falls to a mile or so past the bridge washout.. It really got me interested in the Elwha valley and the history.

In addition to the photos below from the hike and a few other visits to the river, I used my drone to drop down into the canyon where the dam used to be for a closer look. Here’s a link to the video on my YouTube channel.