PORT ANGELES — In the “Elwha: A River Reborn” series, we get to revisit and re-enjoy one of the biggest events in Olympic Peninsula history.
The program, with its seven events and a concurrent exhibition opening today at the Port Angeles Library, is a look at the Elwha River restoration — and “what a great and cool project it is,” said Noah Glaude, the library manager who’s bringing the series here from Seattle’s Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture.
All of these activities, starting Wednesday and continuing through the summer, are free at and around the library, 2210 S. Peabody St.
They offer a sweeping view of the three-year, $325 million project, from the viewpoints of science as well as art.
The library’s “A River Reborn” exhibit is the series’ cornerstone.
It explores the dam-removal project through first-person accounts, photographs and text on free-standing banners, Glaude noted, so visitors can follow the Elwha’s passage through the 20th century into the 21st. The exhibit opens today and will stay through Aug. 29.
It’s stunning, Glaude said, “to look back and see all the change that’s happened.”
The first live presentation, titled “Free at Last,” comes to the library at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Its highlights include short time-lapse and fly-through videos over the Elwha. Olympic National Park geomorphologist Andrew Ritchie, the creator of the videos, will provide discussion.
Ritchie has cruised above the river in a Rite Bros. plane, camera attached, and used the resulting photographs to construct what he calls a virtual fly-through.
He’ll also show some time-lapse images of the river’s restoration including, of course, the removals of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams.
In these videos, it’s one frame per day of the process, “so time passes pretty quickly,” Ritchie said.
As spring passes into summer, the library’s “Elwha: A River Reborn” series will also include these free, public events.
■ June 11, 6:30 p.m.: In “Half Empty or Half Full? A Balanced Rationale About Dam Removal,” scientist Dennis Dauble, a member of the Humanities Washington Speakers Bureau, will share several case studies of dam removal projects around the country.
■ June 18, 6:30 p.m.: “The Return of the River,” a documentary film about the activists, scientists, tribal members and politicians who sought to change the Elwha’s fate, will be shown; filmmaker John Gussman will answer questions afterward.
■ June 24, 6:30 p.m.: Olympic National Park restoration ecologist Joshua Chenoweth will discuss “Jump-Starting Recovery: Revegetating the Elwha,” and how more than 200,000 native trees and shrubs have been planted since late 2011 along the Elwha’s banks.
■ June 29, 6:30 p.m.: Guidebook author Craig Romano will talk about hiking in the Elwha Valley.
Drawing from his book, Day Hiking: Olympic Peninsula, he’ll survey trails for family outings or multi-day adventures.
■ July 10, 7 p.m.: The library’s Summer Art Blast will feature Lower Elwha Klallam tribal member and artist Roger Fernandes, with a welcoming song and stories of the Lower Elwha.
The Elwha tribe’s drum group also will share songs and rhythms during this art party, which also features the 6:30 p.m. opening reception for the summer Art in the Library exhibit.
The show features Lower Elwha Klallam tribe artwork, to be on display at the library from July 9 through Oct. 6.
■ July 19, 9 a.m.: Washington State Poet Laureate Elizabeth Austen invites everyone on a short, meditative hike on the Smokey Bottom (formerly West Lake Mills) Trail and a brief, guided writing session in response to the hike.
No previous writing or hiking experience is needed, but participants must be at least 18 years old. Space is limited, so registration is required and will open June 15.
For more about the “Elwha: A River Reborn” program, phone the Port Angeles Library at 360-417-8500, visit the North Olympic Library System website at www.nols.org, or follow NOLS on Facebook.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
