Draft environmental impact statement : Elwha River Ecosystem Restoration : Olympic National Park : Washington
Olympic National Park. 1994. Draft environmental impact statement : Elwha River Ecosystem Restoration : Olympic National Park : Washington. NPS D-253. National Park Service, Department of the Interior. Denver, CO
The Elwha River ecosystem and native anadromous fisheries are severely degraded as aresult of two hydroelectric dams and their reservoirs built in the early 1900's. Congress has mandated the full restoration of this ecosystem and its native anadromous fisheries through the Elwha Restoration Act. In addition to the proposed action, four other alternatives were examined. They are: Dam Retention with mitigation measures installed for fish passage, Removing Glines Canyon Dam only and installing fish passage measures at Elwha Dam, Removing Elwha Dam only and installing fish passage measures at Glines Canyon Dam and No Action (dams are retained without fish passage measures). Short term negative impacts from removing both dams could occur from sediment built up behind them. If sediment is allowed to erode naturally, the finer-grained particles, like silt and clay, could significantly impact fish or other aquatic organisms. Impacts on water quality, river morphology, long-term impacts on the native anadromous and resident (i.e. trout and char) fisheries, living marine resources, wildlife, threatened and endangered species, vegetation, cultural resources, land use, recreation, esthetics, socioeconomics and river ecology were also examined in the FERC document, Elwha Report and/or this draft EIS. Impacts from alternatives other than the proposed action may have significant impacts on each of these resources.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Olympic National Park
- Date of Issue
- 1994-10
- Publisher
- National Park Service, Department of the Interior
- Units
- OLYM , WRD
- Keywords
- Anadromous Fish, Clemson, Cutthroat Trout, Dam Removal, Elwha River, Environmental Impact Statement, Flooding, Land Use, Marine Resources, Recreation, river morphology, Salmon, Sediment, Water Quality, Wildlife, WRBIB