SEQUIM — Construction of an Olympic National Park greenhouse — in which plants will be grown to revegetate areas laid bare by the removal of two dams on the Elwha River — is expected to begin in the summer.
The National Park Service has selected Northcon Inc. of Hayden, Idaho, to design and build the facility in Robin Hill Farm County Park near Sequim, park spokeswoman Barb Maynes said in a written statement this week.
Construction of a greenhouse, tool shed, cold frames and nursery beds is expected to be finished in the fall.
The total project cost, which includes both design and construction of the new facility, is $358,000.
In March 2008, the three Claallm County commissioners approved leasing a 5-acre section in the northwest corner of Robin Hill Farm Park to the National Park Service for $6,000 a year from the park service for 10 years.
At the site, Olympic National Park personnel will grow native vegetation they will transplant on some 700 acres of land in the Elwha River Canyon that will emerge after Lakes Aldwell and Mills are drained when the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams are removed.
Hundreds of thousands of native plants will be needed, Maynes said.
Dave Allen — a plant propagation specialist working under Steve Acker, the park’s lead botanist — is leading the effort to re-vegetate the riverbanks once the dams are taken down.
“We’re grateful for the creativity and collaboration with Clallam County staff that is making this new facility possible,” said Olympic National Park Superintendent Karen Gustin.
“The project meets both park and Clallam County goals, and with construction of the new greenhouse and nursery, we are another step closer to restoring the Elwha ecosystem.”
Robin Hill County Park is located off Dryke Road just north of Highway 101 between Port Angeles and Sequim.
Since its inception in 1987, the park’s native plant propagation program has produced more than 400,000 native plants for restoring damaged areas throughout the park including the Seven Lakes Basin, Lake Constance, Hurricane Ridge and several sites along the wilderness coast, Maynes said.
