Elwha Watershed Information Resource

The Elwha Research Consortium (ERC) is a strategic partnership between governmental agencies, research and educational institutions, and community groups focused on understanding the social and ecological effects of dam removal and restoration activities in the Elwha River watershed. ERC is a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Research Coordination Network (RCN) group.

Introduction

After over a decade of planning, the removal of two dams on the Elwha River is scheduled to begin by 2012. When the dams are removed, 10 anadromous fish stocks will return to 70 miles of river from which they’ve been excluded for more than 90 years. With $182 million of federal funds committed, the Elwha River Restoration Project (Elwha Restoration Act of 1992, PL102-495) is the largest dam removal ever attempted. Project funds will restore salmon and protect water quality, but none of these funds are earmarked for research or education.

However, the Elwha project provides unparalleled research opportunities to study questions fundamental to river restoration, including:

• Importance of marine-derived nutrients;

• Fate of large woody debris; and

• Fitness of hatchery versus native salmon stocks.

The upper Elwha watershed provides the ultimate study location for testing hypotheses related to river (and fisheries) restoration under ideal conditions, because it is protected as part of Olympic National Park. Restoration efforts that succeed here could be applied in other similar cases. However, if salmon restoration is unsuccessful under these conditions, the implications for all other Pacific Northwest rivers are dire. (Dam removals are increasingly viewed as a means of restoring riverine ecosystems; particularly so in the Pacific Northwest where salmon stocks are seriously depleted and many rivers are dammed.)

Over the past few years, research along the Elwha River has increased--even though no project funds are available. Many scientists obtained small grants or piecemeal internal support to gather essential and basic baseline research data. More recently, individuals from a wide variety of organizations have been collaborating to help ensure that research and education efforts associated with the Elwha Ecosystem Restoration Project are efficient and productive, and in hopes of combining or linking projects to gain additional value-added support or new grant funding. To provide a central location for research coordination and support, these individuals have formed the Elwha Research Consortium (ERC).

 

Mission

ERC’s mission is to facilitate and coordinate a long-term program of research and education on the ecology and management of the Elwha River watershed. They wish to improve the understanding of the (1) watershed, (2) ecological and societal effects of large-scale dam removal, and (3) processes associated with ecosystem restoration. ERC will accomplish this through the coordination, facilitation, development, and implementation of Elwha Ecosystem Restoration Project-based multi-agency/researcher science, education, and public outreach programs.

ERC provides a venue for researchers, educators, community groups, funders, interested individuals, and public officials to:

• Share insights;

• Plan and implement collaborative research;

• Develop education and public outreach programs;

• Integrate research and educational activities;

• Disseminate research findings;

• Discover new developments and studies on dam removal/watershed restoration;

• Help inform management decisions on other restoration projects; and

• Expand training in ecosystem research and scientific communication.

 

Goals

The overall goal of ERC is to answer questions central to river restoration and management, while providing scientific training opportunities for students and educational opportunities for the general public. By serving as a coordinator for all of the interested parties, ERC assists with integration of:

• Academic and agency expertise;

• National, tribal, state, and local management and policy;

• Educational entities’ research, teaching, and training abilities;

• Non-governmental organization advocacy capacity; and

• Private industry interests in Elwha river restoration issues.

ERC’s goals are to:

• Coordinate and support scientific research to gain better understanding of social and environmental processes that are critical to restoration of the Elwha River and associated ecosystems following dam removal.

• Create educational opportunities and increase public awareness of the ecological, political, and management issues facing the Elwha Ecosystem Restoration Project.

• Provide guidance and networking opportunities to researchers, educators, and other users.

• Serve as an advisory entity for research and education programs.

• Coordinate research and education funding to support programmatic goals.

• Expedite communication and information exchange.

• Foster networking and cooperation among participants, including the development of common messages for public outreach and opportunities for student training.

• Provide a repository for long term data collection and analysis.

• Disseminate research and education products to inform management decision making in other restoration projects.

ERC fosters the collection and sharing of research information by:

• Facilitating annual conferences for researchers and educators to share their work.

• Holding occasional workshops to disseminate research or education tools and techniques relevant to the Elwha project.

• Publishing a monthly e-newsletter, UPSTREAM, which provides updates on ERC members’ recent activities, funding and workshop opportunities, dam removal/restoration articles in the news, and more.

 

Organization

The ERC organization is comprised of a Coordinator, a Board of Directors, and three committees (Science, Education, and Public Outreach). Each committee also has an executive committee consisting of a chair, vice-chair, and secretary. The committees, with guidance and support from the Board of Directors, serve in an advisory and support capacity with respect to activities of consortium members.

The committees meet (2-4 times a year) to discuss new developments and initiatives. They develop action plans for their activities and initiatives. Additionally, the committees provide an advisory function to new (or potential) researchers or educators interested in the Elwha project.

The general operational work of the consortium is done through the committees via working groups, which are small groups of 2-10 people organized around primary topic areas. These groups are meant to increase involvement in specific areas of concern or interest, such as grant development or data storage standards. The working groups meet as needed, and are dissolved upon resolution of the issue.

Coordination and clearinghouse services for the consortium are provided by the Center of Excellence at Peninsula College and the Huxley College of the Environment at Western Washington University (with funding from NSF).

ERC Staff and Contact Information

Role	Name	Contact
Coordinator	Dwight Barry	DwightB@pcadmin.ctc.edu
Education Coordinator	Dwight Barry	DwightB@pcadmin.ctc.edu
Nearshore Coordinator	Anne Shaffer	shaffjas@dfw.wa.gov
RCN PI	Brad Smith	Bradley.Smith@wwu.edu
RCN Co-PI	Bill Eaton	BillE@pcadmin.ctc.edu