Elwha Watershed Information Resource

Seattle, Washington skyline. Jeff Adkins, NOAA Coastal Services Center

The region that will be most directly affected by the removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon Dams is marked by contrasts, ranging from the densely developed urban center of Seattle, with more than half a million residents, to the undisturbed spruce and hemlock forests of the Hoh rainforest. The "West End" of the the Olympic Peninsula faces the Pacific Ocean and is well known for its spectacular wilderness beaches strewn with old growth driftwood. The peninsula is bounded to the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, where much much of its population is concentrated and where its three largest cities lie: Port Angeles, Sequim, and Port Townsend.

The Elwha River flows 45 miles from its headwaters in the Olympic Mountains to its mouth on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, draining an area of 270 square miles in eastern Clallam County, Washington. Over 80 percent of the watershed lies in the relatively pristine environs of the Olympic National Park and National Forest. The mouth of the river is situated just west of the county seat of Port Angeles, immediately adjacent to reservation lands of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe.

Much of the Elwha River's watershed lies within the pristine environs of the Olympic National Forest. Jeff Adkins, NOAA Coastal Services Center

Removing the dams from the river will have significant economic effects on this region. The costs and market-based benefits of dam removal are measured in hundreds of millions of dollars, while the non-market benefits, such as improved resources for future recreational fishermen, are measured in billions of dollars (Meyer and others 1995; Loomis). The majority of the economic impacts are expected to be concentrated within Clallam County, primarily within Port Angeles and the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe (Battelle 2007). The Battelle Memorial Institute, under contract with the NOAA Coastal Services Center, has developed a detailed characterization of the population and economy that will be affected by the dam removal project. The Institute's findings are summarized in this website, which also includes a link to the final report (see References below).

The history of the people of this region is a history of adaptive, resource-dependent economies and cultures. The Salish people, to whom the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and other Klallam tribes belong, have lived along the Elwha River and the Strait of Juan de Fuca for over 27 centuries (Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation), "adapting their lives to the natural bounty of the land, rivers, and sea (Meyer and others 1995)." The earliest economic activities in the region were fishing and fur trading among the American Indian tribes. The fur trade and fishing also constitute the earliest economic enterprises of the European settlers, with fur trade operations established in the region as early as 1825. Fishing, fish packing, and canning were important sources of employment in the regionby the late 1890s (Washington State Employment Security Department 2001).

When European settlement began in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries, about 1,500 Klallam people lived in 15 or more settlements along the Strait of Juan de Fuca (Gorsline). Soon afterward, the tribal populations were decimated by smallpox epidemics (Mapes 2005). By the time the Washington Territory was established in 1853, government records indicated that their numbers had fallen to only around 400 people. At that time, around 4,000 settlers lived north of the Columbia River, mainly around Puget Sound (Gorsline). In 1855, the Klallam people signed the Treaty of Point No Point, relinquishing their claims on the land while retaining certain fishing, hunting, and gathering rights.

As the fur trade was nearly extinguished by excessive trapping, the lumber and forest products industry began to play an important role in the economy of the region. Focusing at first on harvesting fir, the industry expanded over time to include the harvest of other species and the production of wood products, including plywood, pulp, paper, shakes, and shingles (Washington State Employment Security Department 2001).

Today, forest- and fish-related industries are still an important source of income in Clallam County (Battelle 2007), although the forest products industry has experienced declines due to recessions in the 1970s and 1980s, and also because of issues related to endangered species protection (Washington State Employment Security Department 2001). In recent years, tourism and the service industry have been significant contributors to the county economy.

Port Angeles, consistently the largest city in Clallam County since its incorporation in 1890, had a 2000 population of almost 19,000. In the 1900 Census, the population of the town was about 2,300, which made up 41 percent of the Clallam County population of just over 5,600. Population growth accelerated with the construction of lumber mills in Port Angeles, bringing its population to roughly 5,400 in 1920 and 10,000 in 1930 when it accounted for half of the population of Clallam County. With the implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act, the timber industry declined, as did Port Angeles' share of the Clallam County population, from 47 percent in 1970 to 29 percent in 2000.

Learn more about the region by clicking on the links below:

The People. Baseline (pre-dam removal) demographic data for the county, including statistics on population, ethnicity, age, gender, and education.

The Economy. Baseline economic data for the county, including statistics on employers, income, and unemployment.

References

1. Batelle. 2007. Economic Support for the Elwha River Watershed: Final Economic Characterization Report with Monitoring Recommendations. Prepared for The Coastal Services Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 
   
2. Gorsline, J. Tribal History: Early History.
   
3. Loomis, J. "Use of Non-Market Valuation Studies in Water Resource Management Assessments." Download.
   
4. Mapes, L. "Unearthing Tse-whit-zen: A Seattle Times Special Report." The Seattle Times. Seattle,WA. May 22-25, 2005.
   
5. Meyer, P., and others. "Elwha River Restoration Project: Economic Analysis, Final Technical Report." U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. April 1995. Retrieved on August 28, 2007 from E:\Elwha\Elwha River Restoration Project Economic Analysis.mht.
   
6. Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation. "Port Angeles--Thumbnail History." Download.
   
7. Washington State Employment Security Department, Labor Market and Economic Analysis Branch. 2001. Clallam County Profile.