Reclamation Employees Receive the Department of the Interior's Distinguished Service Award for Sedimentation Work on Elwha River Restoration Project

Jennifer Bountry and Tim Randle with Commissioner Estevan López. From L to R, Jennifer Bountry, Commissioner López, Tim Randle.Reclamation employees Tim Randle, Ph.D., Jennifer Bountry and Robert J. Hamilton have received the Department of the Interior's Distinguished Service Award, recognizing their work and support toward the National Park Service’s Elwha River Restoration project.

A result of nearly three decades of concentrated and diligent efforts, the Elwha River Restoration project included the largest dam removal in United States history. Led by the National Park Service, key partners included the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, City of Port Angeles, Clallam County, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and several Washington State agencies. Removal of the two Elwha dams freed the Elwha River and restored access for Pacific and steelhead salmon to over 70 miles of unspoiled habitat. This project has also restored the natural sediment flow of the river and uncovered cultural sites of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe.

"Tim, Jennifer, and Robert's work on this project has helped restore important salmon and steelhead habitat on the Olympic Peninsula," Reclamation Commissioner Estevan López said. "Reclamation appreciates these three dedicated employees and their contributions toward habitat restoration."

Hamilton began work on the project in 1992 and coordinated all of Reclamation's activities on the Elwha River Restoration Project. He translated the project’s complex scientific engineering language for a variety of clients including managers, biologists, planners and educators.

Randle began working on the project in the mid-1990s and served on the interagency and interdisciplinary team that planned the Elwha Dam removal and reservoir sediment management through a programmatic environmental impact statement and project implementation environmental impact statement.

Bountry joined the team in 2001 to develop the sediment monitoring and adaptive management plan. She also led the Elwha sediment team that monitored conditions before, during and after the Elwha Dam removal; updated sediment response predictions during dam removal; and made adaptive management recommendations to the National Park Service.

Randle and Bountry have contributed to public education efforts and scientific journals that highlight reservoir and river evolution following the historic Elwha Dam removal. Randle and Bountry are also developing a sediment analysis guideline for dam removal, which will include lessons learned from the Elwha Dam removal.

The removal of Elwha Dam was completed in April 2012, and the removal of Glines Canyon Dam was completed in August 2014. As expected, reservoir sediment erosion rates were highest during Glines Canyon dam removal, but those rates decreased dramatically over time. By January 2016, 70 percent of the sediment had been eroded from the two reservoirs behind Elwha and Glines Canyon dams. Much of the remaining sediment is expected to stabilize over the long-term and only erode in significant amounts during future large floods.

The total volume of sedimentation in both reservoirs in 2010 was estimated to be 27 million cubic yards, prior to removal. Concurrent removal of both dams began in September 2011. The dams were removed in a controlled manner and the river was allowed to erode the reservoir sediments for transport through the river to the sea. New water treatment plants and wells were constructed to protect existing water users.

The construction of two hydroelectric dams on the Elwha River in the early 1900s provided the first electrical power to the City of Port Angeles and contributed to the economic development. However, the dams blocked the migration path for several species of salmon and trout, severely limited downstream water temperatures in late summer and early fall. The reservoirs also inundated important cultural sites of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, impacted their culture and economy, and had a large impact on the fisheries.

The Elwha River flows northward 45 miles from Mount Olympus to the Strait of Juan de Fuca near Port Angeles, Washington. The river basin is the fourth largest on the Olympic Peninsula with a drainage area of 325 square miles and produces an average annual flow of about 1,500 cubic-feet-per-second. The river is home to more than ten species of fish, which contribute an enormous amount of nutrients for the animals and forests within the watershed. The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe’s culture and way of life is centered on the river and the fish.

To learn more about the dam removal, please visit https://www.nps.gov/olym/learn/nature/dam-removal-overview.htm.

Published on August 16, 2016