Elwha Watershed Information Resource

Historically, the Elwha River had an abundant supply of fish and was an important area for subsistence and commercial fishing. The river was home to a variety of fish species: all five Pacific salmon species (Chinook, coho, chum, pink, and sockeye), resident and sea-run trout (rainbow and cutthroat), native char (Dolly Varden and bull trout), stickleback, sculpin, sturgeon, smelt, and lamprey. The Elwha River Chinook salmon, perhaps the most well-known of the river’s fish, were large and could weigh more than 100 pounds (NPS 1996).

Chinook salmon. Dave Menke, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

In the early 1900s, two dams were built along the Elwha River that severely affected the fish in the river by decreasing habitat and increasing water temperatures. After the Elwha and Glines Canyon Dams were completed (1927), salmon and other fish species were confined to the 4.9 miles of habitat below Elwha Dam (prior to the dams, fish habitat included 70 miles of the river and its tributaries and salmon were reported to have traveled over 40 miles up the mainstem channel.) The dams also increased summer water temperatures, which caused increases in disease, parasites, and fish mortality in the lower river. It is estimated that the number of native anadromous spawning salmonids has dropped from pre-dam numbers of 380,000 to fewer than 3,000 in the 1990s (NPS 1996).

Current Status

The salmon stocks in the Elwha River are severely depleted. In the 1990s, yearly estimated numbers of returning adult salmon species in the Elwha were (NPS 1996):

• 1500 to 2000 Chinook salmon
• Less than 500 each of coho, chum, and steelhead,
• Less than 50 pink salmon, and
• Zero sockeye salmon (they are considered extinct in the Elwha River).

Today, nearly all Chinook, coho, and steelhead in the Elwha are hatchery produced, and the native stocks are declining. Below is a summary of the current status of the fish species in the Elwha River:

• Puget Sound Chinook salmon are defined by NOAA-Fisheries as "all naturally spawned populations from rivers and streams flowing into Puget Sound, including the Straits of Juan De Fuca from the Elwha R. eastward, and Hood Canal, South Sound, North Sound and the Strait of Georgia." (download map) Puget Sound Chinnok salmon are currently listed under the Endangered Species Act as threatened.

• Wild coho numbers in the Elwha River cannot be measured due to introductions of out of basin stocks; however, they have been reared in the tribal hatchery since 1977.

• Chum salmon are listed as possibly extinct by Nelsen, Williams, and Lichatowich (1991).

• Pink salmon are listed as critical (that is, at risk for extinction) by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Salmonid Stock Inventory.

• Sockeye salmon are listed as extinct (Nelsen, Williams, and Lichatowich 1991).

• Summer and winter steelhead runs are listed as depressed by the WDFW Salmonid Stock Inventory.

• Sea-run cutthroat trout numbers are unknown in the lower Elwha River.

• Sea-run char (bull trout and Dolly Varden) may be present in the lower river, but have not been identified.

• Little information is known about the status of Pacific and Western brook lamprey, white sturgeon, eulachon (smelt), three spine stickleback, and sculpin in the Elwha River.

Importance of Elwha River Fish

The abundance of fish in the Elwha River is important culturally and economically. The Lower Elwha Klallam tribe’s culture, spiritual beliefs, and economic status are dependent on the Elwha River and its fish. The regional economy was once supported by commercial fishing from the abundant Pacific salmon runs in the Elwha River, but commercial fishing is no longer possible.

Steelhead trout. Keiki Yamasaki, USDA Forest Service

The fish also play an important role in the environment. Historically, the Pacific salmon runs in the Elwha River supported the ecosystem in numerous ways. At least 22 wildlife species (such as bald eagle, black bear, and Pacific fisher) were known to feed on salmon carcasses in the river (NPS 1996). Additionally, salmon carcasses are an important source of nutrients for the aquatic ecosystem. Currently, the number of salmon in the river is dwindling--in part because the dams restrict the salmon to a small stretch of river. However, by removing the dams and restoring the ecosystem, it is estimated that 13,000 pounds of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) could be brought back to the Elwha River by returning salmon and steelhead.

 

Post-dam Removal Expectations

Removing the dams will help to restore some of the salmon runs, but it may take some time for the numbers to increase. In the short term, the dam removal will result in some fish mortalities in the middle and lower parts of the river due to suspended sediments and turbidity from the removal process (NPS 1996). However, most native fish stocks are available for run restoration through hatchery production and recolonization of fish from neighboring rivers.

• In the long term, restoration expectations vary by species:

• Sockeye salmon stocks may be restored in 12-20 years.

• Chinook salmon stocks may be restored in 21-25 years.

• Summer/fall Chinook salmon and winter steelhead have excellent potential for restoration based on available stock (hatchery fish or closely related nearby stocks).

• Coho salmon have good to excellent potential for restoration based on available stock.

• All other stocks-- except for sockeye salmon--have good potential for restoration based on available stock.

• Sockeye salmon restoration is rated as poor to fair potential, because restoration of the run would depend on kokanee populations in Lake Sutherland.

Reference

Nelsen, W., J. E. Williams, and J. A. Lichatowich. 1991. "Pacific salmon at the crossroads: stocks at risk from California, Oregon, Idaho, and Washington." Fisheries. Volume 16, Number 2. Pages 4 to 21.

NPS (National Park Service). 1996. Elwha River Ecosystem Restoration, Draft Environmental Impact Statement. National Park Service, Olympic National Park, 600 East Park Avenue, Port Angeles, Washington, 98362.

Additional Information

Brenkman, S. J., and S. C. Corbett. 2005. "Extent of anadromy in bull trout and implications for conservation of a threatened species." North American Journal of Fisheries Management. Volume 25. Pages 1073 to 1081.

Brenkman, S. J., S. C. Corbett, and E. C. Volk. 2007. "Use of otolith chemistry and radiotelemetry to determine age-specific migratory patterns of anadromous bull trout in the Hoh River, Washington." Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. Volume 136. Pages 1 to 11.

Gresh, T., J. Lichatowich, and P. Schoonmaker. 2000. "An estimation of historic and current levels of salmon production in the Northeast Pacific ecosystem." Fisheries. Volume 25. Number 1. Pages 15 to 21.

Perrin, C. J., L. L. Rempel, and M. L. Rosenau. 2003. "White sturgeon spawning habitat in an unregulated River: Fraser River, Canada." Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. Volume 132. Pages 154 to 165.

Rogers, I. H., I. K. Birtwell, and G. M. Kruzynski. 1990. "The Pacific eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus) as a pollution indicator organism in the Fraser-River estuary, Vancouver, British Columbia." Science Of The Total Environment. Volume 97, Number 87. Pages 713 to 727.

Stone, J. 2006. "Observations on nest characteristics, spawning habitat, and spawning behavior of Pacific and Western brook lamprey in a Washington stream." Northwestern Naturalist. Volume 87. Pages 225 to 232.

Wunderlich, R. C., B. D. Winter, and J. H. Meyer. 1994. "Restoration of the Elwha River Ecosystem." Fisheries Volume 19, Number 8. Pages 11 to 19.