Elwha River Watershed

The Elwha River Watershed covers 300 square miles and contains rivers that flow from the Olympic Mountains to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This Watershed is of critical ecological importance as a temperate rainforest with high biodiversity of plants and animals, old-growth and legacy forests, is of cultural significance to the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and S’Klallam people, and is the sole water source for residents and businesses of Port Angeles, WA, equaling 25% of Clallam County’s population.

With the removal of the 2 dams on the Elwha River, there’s over a $320 million dollar effort to restore the Elwha Watershed. This includes work to restore salmon access to the Little River, Indian Creek, Lake Sutherland, and other tributaries. Counter to these restoration efforts, clearcut logging still takes place in the watershed.

In 2025, we made big progress! The WA State Legislature gave DNR $250,000 to conduct an analysis of the ecological and conservation values of the Elwha watershed on state-owned lands managed by DNR. This gives us a chance to protect the last remaining legacy forests and reimagine stewardship on a watershed scale.

DNR’s study process culminates in a report to the WA state legislature (due Oct. 1, 2026). The report includes recommendations as to what should be included in the new conservation area and public comments gathered through DNR’s Elwha Watershed public survey form.

Specifically, the report includes:

1.  A Washington Natural Heritage Program site survey to identify rare flora, native ecological communities 
2. Locations of structurally complex forests 
3. Scenic or other natural features worthy of consideration for conservation 
4. Current uses, including recreation and cultural practices 
5. Identification of lands appropriate for NAP or NRCA conservation

The values protected by natural areas can range from maintaining critical habitat to enhancing primitive recreation to fostering outdoor environmental education.

Your input about scenic and other natural features worthy of consideration for conservation in response to Question 3 is particularly important. There is no definition for “scenic feature”, so don’t feel too limited! Perhaps you know of unique trees, viewpoints, rocky outcroppings, waterfalls, unmapped creeks, or unusually large, culturally-modified, or charismatic trees.

Please share your survey responses with us by filling out our Elwha Watershed Natural Form. This helps us make sure your responses are being considered! In this form, we are looking for information such as GPS coordinates of where the particular feature(s) can be found, more details about the natural feature(s), a description of the area(s), and photographic evidence.

Legacy forests play a crucial role in protecting water quality. Trees in these forests act as natural filters, removing pollutants and contaminants from the water before it reaches streams, rivers, and lakes. They also help to prevent soil erosion and sedimentation, which can clog water sources and decrease their quality. Additionally, the root systems of trees in legacy forests help to regulate water flow and reduce the risk of flooding. Cutting down these legacy forests will impact the quality of water sources in the area.