Elwha & Glines Canyon Dams Draining; Serious Demolition Begins 17 September

Dam removal picks up steam in the Northwest this fall with the removal of two dams on the Olympic Peninsula's Elwha River and the Condit Dam in the Columbia River Gorge. Activists are hoping for more. The Seattle Times reports that the drawdown of two reservoirs along the Elwha in preparation for the start of dam removal on Sept. 17 is already transforming the landscape.

"The river is re-emerging, the lakes disappearing and the shoreline showing," the paper reports. "So are acres of sediment impounded by the dams, once under the lakes, but now high and dry."

Fishery scientists are hoping removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon hydropower dams will restore the river's legendary salmon runs. Last month, PacifiCorp won regulatory to begin removing Condit Dam on Washington's White Salmon River in October. The breaching will open the Columbia River tributary near Hood River to salmon, steelhead and lamprey for the first time in nearly a century.

The Spokesman-Review reports that detours for rafters have already started while PacifiCorp rebuilds a bridge as part of the removal process. If other projects are an indication, dam removal should show quick benefits for fish, allowing adult salmon upstream, restoring spawning grounds long submerged under reservoirs and speeding up the journey of young salmon downstream.

EDIT

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2011/07/hydropower_dam_removal_ramps_u.html

It looks like it takes just a few seconds for nature to reclaim its natural course. A most amazing photo of grass coming up through the delta is in this photo series. This is all rather exciting!

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/photogalleries/localnews2015718934/?cmpid=2654