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Elwha River dam removal, fish status update, and fishing moratorium
Joe Anderson and Annette Hoffmann
Washington Fish and Wildlife CommissionPort Angeles, WASeptember 8 2017
Information subject to changesWashington Fish & Wildlife Commission, Sept 9 2017
1. Fishing Moratorium
2. Dam removal and fish habitat conditions
3. How have the fish responded?
4. Future expectations
Elwha update
Information subject to changesWashington Fish & Wildlife Commission, Sept 9 2017
Elwha River833 km2 watershed
Elwha Dam• built 1913• 32 m tall• River km 8
Glines Canyon Dam• Built 1927• 64 m tall• River km 21
115 km of habitat upstream of Elwha Dam site
Pess et al. 2008NW Science
Information subject to changesWashington Fish & Wildlife Commission, Sept 9 2017
Elwha Fishing Moratorium
Feb 2011: Fish and Wildlife Commission approved five-year fishing moratorium beginning March 1 2012
Co-managers, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe agree with the National Park Service prohibiting fishing within Elwha River
March 2017: WDFW, LEKT, and NPS agree to extend moratorium for two more years, through June 1 2019
Information subject to changesWashington Fish & Wildlife Commission, Sept 9 2017
Future fishing opportunities will depend on harvestable surplus to support both non-treaty and treaty fisheries.
Photo montage compiled by George PessPhotos from NPS time lapse camera
Photo montage compiled by George PessPhotos from NPS time lapse camera
Sediment release
Lake Mills reservoir, Aug 28 2014Andy Ritchie, NPS/USGS
• 21 million m3 of sediment stored in former reservoirs• 16 million m3 in Lake Mills (upstream of Glines)• 5 million m3 in Lake Aldwell (upstream of Elwha)
• Approximately two-thirds evacuated from former reservoirs• 90% delivered to coastal habitats• Pools filled, 1.0 – 1.5 m increase in river channel
height downstream of dams during peak of sediment wave
• At this point, erosion from reservoirs mostly complete
• Greatest remaining impact to salmon habitat in floodplain channels, not mainstem
Information subject to changesWashington Fish & Wildlife Commission, Sept 9 2017
Turbidity
0
500
1000
1500
2000
6/2011 12/2011 6/2012 12/2012 6/2013 12/2013 6/2014 12/2014 6/2015 12/2015 6/2016 12/2016 6/2017
FBU
/ F
NU
FNU
FBU
Dam removal begins
Elwha Dam removed
Glines Canyon Dam removed
Glines rockfall blasting
Approximatelethal threshold
Data from USGS
Information subject to changesWashington Fish & Wildlife Commission, Sept 9 2017
Elwha River mouth, estuary & nearshore
Elwha River mouth 2006 Elwha River mouth 2015
1km0.5km
Slide courtesy of George Pess, NOAA
How have the fish responded?Chinook salmonCoho salmon Pink salmon
Chum salmon Sockeye salmon
John McMillan
John McMillan John McMillan
Jonny Armstrong
John McMillan
John McMillan
Bull trout Pacific lampreyEulachon
Steelhead
Slide and photos courtesy of George Pess
Monitoring and Adaptive Management1. PreservationPrevent extinction when river conditions at times are lethal to fish
2. RecolonizationEnsure continual access to habitat above former dam sites with some successful spawning
3. Local AdaptationPromote evolution of traits advantageous for natural river, increase life history diversity
4. Viable Natural PopulationSelf-sustaining natural population productive enough to withstand harvest without hatchery supplementation
Information subject to changesWashington Fish & Wildlife Commission, Sept 9 2017
Triggers dictate movement between phases
Information subject to changesWashington Fish & Wildlife Commission, Sept 9 2017
AbundanceHow many adult salmon return to the Elwha River?
Information subject to changesWashington Fish & Wildlife Commission, Sept 9 2017
Estimate abundance using SONAR
Evaluate hatchery marks
SONAR images:Keith Denton
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Ste
elh
ead
Natural + hatchery origin
Natural origin
AbundanceHow many adult salmon return to the Elwha River?
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Ch
ino
ok
salm
on
Natural + hatchery origin
Natural origin
Natural origin goal for viable population Natural origin goal for viable population
Data sources:Denton et al. 2017, Weinheimer et al. 2017
Information subject to changesWashington Fish & Wildlife Commission, Sept 9 2017
Productivity
0.00
0.20
0.40
0.60
0.80
1.00
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Ret
urn
ing
adu
lts
pe
r sp
awn
er
Naturally spawning Chinook salmon
Replacement Line
Information subject to changesWashington Fish & Wildlife Commission, Sept 9 2017
Data sources:Denton et al. 2017Weinheimer et al. 2017
Spatial structureSteelhead spawning distribution 2016
Source: McMillan et al 2017
Information subject to changesWashington Fish & Wildlife Commission, Sept 9 2017
Elwha Dam to mouth Glines Canyon to Elwha Dam Upstream of Glines Canyon
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Nu
mb
er
of
Ch
ino
ok
salm
on
re
dd
s
Above Glines
Above Elwha Dam / Below Glines
Below Elwha Dam
Chinook salmon
Information subject to changesWashington Fish & Wildlife Commission, Sept 9 2017
Spatial structure
Source: McHenry et al 2017
DiversityLength ~ 150mm Length ~ 70mm
Slide courtesy of George PessData from Liermann et al 2017 Trans Amer Fish Soc
Information subject to changesWashington Fish & Wildlife Commission, Sept 9 2017
How long will recovery take?
Site
(100km)
Reach
(101km)
Turbidity
Suspended sediment
concentration
Streambed particle size
Juvenile fish density
Invertebrate density &
species composition
Watershed
(102-103km2)
Salmon populations
Vegetation
Wood recruitment
Month
s/Y
ears
Hours
/days
Decades
Information subject to changesWashington Fish & Wildlife Commission, Sept 9 2017
Outlook for the future
• Encouraging signs: fish accessing areas upstream of dams, massive physical disturbance tapering off
• Chinook, steelhead populations far short of long term recovery goals
• First step is to ensure colonists reach newly accessible spawning and rearing habitats
• Interagency collaborative monitoring effort intended to adaptively manage Elwha fish populations
• Unique opportunity for salmon recovery
Information subject to changesWashington Fish & Wildlife Commission, Sept 9 2017
AcknowledgementsLower Elwha Klallam TribeMichael McHenry, Ray Moses, Larry Ward, Mel Elofson, Sonny Sampson, Wilson Wells, John Mahan, Doug Morill, Lyle Almond
National Park ServiceBrian Winter, Heidi Hugunin, Anna Geffre, Josh Geffre, Phil Kennedy, Sam Brenkman, Andy Ritchie, Pat Crain
NOAA FisheriesGeorge Pess, Todd Bennett, Sarah Morley, Oleksandr Stefankiv, Amilee Wilson, Zach Hughes, Tim Tynan, Martin Liermann
USGSAmy East, Jeff Duda, Jon Warrick, James Starr
Trout UnlimitedJohn McMillan
WDFWJoshua Weinheimer, Scott Williams, Randy Cooper, Michael Gross, Mara Zimmerman, WDFW Fish Ageing and Otolith Thermal Marking Laboratory, WDFW CWT Laboratory, Troy Tisdale, Vern Madison, Chris Byrnes
K Denton and AssociatesKeith Denton
Information subject to changesWashington Fish & Wildlife Commission, Sept 9 2017
US Fish and Wildlife ServiceRoger Peters
US Bureau of ReclamationJennifer Bountry
Coastal Watershed InstituteAnne Shaffer
Questions?