Faculty panel to discuss Elwha River dam removal and restoration project Nov. 6

Faculty panelists from Western Washington University and Northwest Indian College will discuss the Elwha River dam removal and restoration project as part of Western’s Huxley College of the Environment Speaker Series at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 6 in the Wilson Library Reading Room on Western’s campus.

In the panel discussion titled “Freeing the Elwha: The Largest Dam Removal in U.S. History,” a group of faculty members from Western Washington University and Northwest Indian College will discuss the broader implications of the Elwha restoration project.

The presentation is free and open to the public and will include a question-and-answer period. Anyone interested in the topic is encouraged to attend and participate.

The panel will be chaired by John McLaughlin, associate professor of Environmental Sciences at Western’s Huxley College of the Environment. Participants include Associate Professor of Environmental Geography Andy Bach, Assistant Professor of Environmental Sciences Rebecca Bunn, Associate Professor of Environmental Sciences Jim Helfield, and Chair of the Science Department/Native Environmental Science Program at Northwest Indian College Emma S. Norman.

Following the largest dam removal in history, the Elwha River now flows freely from its headwaters high in Olympic National Park to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Salmon are returning above the dams for the first time in a century, supporting the goal to reestablish an important fishery to the Salish Sea.

The ongoing Elwha restoration project is one of the largest self-sustaining ecosystem restoration programs ever attempted and addresses elements deeply valued by the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, who opposed construction of the dams and long advocated for their removal.

With its broad scope, cooperative participation of diverse groups, and comprehensive research and monitoring, the Elwha restoration project offers lessons for pending dam removal decisions as thousands of small, medium, and large dams across the United States approach obsolescence.

“Freeing the Elwha” is part of the Burke Museum’s traveling exhibit, “Elwha: a River Reborn,” co-hosted by Western Libraries and Western’s Huxley College of the Environment. Based on a Mountaineers book of the same name by “Seattle Times” reporter Lynda Mapes and photographer Steve Ringman, the exhibit takes viewers to the Northwest’s legendary Elwha River Valley to discover the people, places, and history behind a remarkable regional story.

The Huxley Speaker Series, sponsored by Western’s Huxley College of the Environment, is intended to bring together environmentally-minded members of Western and Bellingham communities. Speakers address topics of contemporary environmental concern in the region and the world.

Western’s Huxley College of the Environment is one of the oldest environmental colleges in the nation and a recognized leader in producing the next generation of environmental professionals and stewards. Huxley’s distinctive, interdisciplinary curriculum reflects a broad view of the physical, biological, social, and cultural world and has earned international recognition for quality.

For more information, please contact Western’s Huxley College of the Environment at (360) 650-2554.