Approximately 83 percent of the Elwha watershed lies within the Olympic National Park Boundaries. According to a 2005 Elwha-Dungeness Planning Unit report, land ownership in the watershed is divided among these entities:
Land in the Elwha River valley is used for recreational, industrial, and commercial activities and residential housing (National Park Service 1996). In the Elwha-Dungeness basin (Port Angeles and Sequim) land use activities include forestry, agriculture, and water related uses.
After the Elwha River dams are removed, 684 acres of land previously covered by the reservoirs will become accessible once more. Some of the land will be replanted with native plants. Land surrounding what is now the Lake Aldwell reservoir will be managed potentially by the National Park Service, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, State of Washington, or Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. Lake Mills is public land that is managed by the National Park Service.
Land use activities may be affected by the dam removals. Areas that are predicted to be most affected lie within the Lower Elwha River watershed in the Indian Creek and Little River subwatersheds (Elwha-Dungeness Planning Unit 2005). These are residential use areas scattered throughout the lower watershed where flooding and changes in the water table may occur during and after dam removal. Other future impacts may come from development of private land (849 acres) in the lower watershed.
Elwha-Dungeness Planning Unit. May 2005. Elwha-Dungeness Watershed Plan, Water Resource Inventory Area 18 (WRIA 18) and Sequim Bay in West WRIA 17. Published by Clallam County. Volume 1: Chapters 1-3 and 15 appendices; Volume 2: Appendix 3-E.
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.