In a report last night on KING-5 News, Gary Chittim offered a visually rich account of the studies taking place at the mouth of the Elwha River, where nearshore and delta areas are expected to receive huge loads of sediment after the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams come out.
He noted that divers from The U.S. Geological Survey and Environmental Protection Agency have been fighting strong currents as they conduct a spacial survey of the plants and animals in the nearshore area.
Gary quoted Sean Sheldrake, dive unit officer for the EPA:
“Just yesterday, we were diving on a beautiful kelp forest with a variety of fish and plant life, and the hope is through this reconnection of the Elwha to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, it will not only continue but thrive.”
And in a news release last week from the U.S. Geological Survey, Sheldrake was quoted as saying:
“Until now, we’ve focused most of our attention on the effect this project will have on the river, salmon habitat and salmon recovery. But with this survey, we will have a more complete and much clearer picture of the effects on the nearshore ocean environment.”
More than 19 million cubic meters of sediment — enough to fill 11 football fields the height of the Empire State Building — has accumulated behind the Elwha River dams, according to the news release. That sediment is expected to create turbidity for a time, but in the long run could be beneficial for a variety of plant and animal species in area.
Documents for further reading:
Proceedings of the 2011 Elwha Nearshore Consortium Meeting (PDF 1.3 mb)
Elwha Nearshore Update, Summer 2011 (PDF 333 kb)
Nearshore substrate and morphology offshore of the Elwha River (PDF 4.5 mb)
