The Clallam Conservation District is teaming up with several partners to host free educational programs and volunteer restoration opportunities throughout the North Olympic Peninsula from Oct. 5-9.
The events, dubbed Orca Recovery Week, are designed to bring awareness to the plight of the southern resident orca and aid in salmon recovery efforts since the orca’s diet is comprised heavily of salmon, organizers said.
Partners include the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, Quileute Tribe, Clallam County Environmental Health, Dungeness River Nature Center and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Learning opportunities
Educational events kick off Tuesday, with a guided walk through the former Lake Aldwell lake bed to the Elwha River to learn how a variety of restoration efforts, including the removal of dams, enabled the river to return to its natural condition and helped native fish populations recover.
Later that evening, a webinar is slated about the health of Lake Sutherland and Indian Creek, with a look at past, present and future restoration activities on the waterways that provide fish habitat and contribute to fish populations in the Elwha River.
On Wednesday, event organizers will offer a guided walk along the Dungeness River to explain the many challenges the river has faced in the past century, including winter flooding, low flows during summer months and impacts to riparian habitat. The walk is followed with a briefing about projects that have been implemented to help restore the watershed.
Tree plantings
Volunteers are needed beginning Thursday, with a planting event that morning off Cooper Ranch Road near Forks. Help is needed to plant hundreds of conifer seedlings along the Sol Duc River and a tributary.
In time, organizers say, these trees will keep water temperatures cooler during the summer months and provide a future source of woody debris important to fish habitat.
On Oct. 8, volunteers are needed to help clean up debris from Indian Creek as it flows out of Lake Sutherland and makes its way into the Elwha River.
Trash removal
In August, volunteers removed more than two tons of trash and 30 tires, but there is still more left to collect. Debris removal is important because it displaces habitat, pollutes the water and harms aquatic life, event organizers said.
The final event will be conducted Oct. 9, with a large-scale planting on the Elwha River. Volunteers are needed to plant 2,000 conifer trees along the Elwha River as it flows throughout the former Lake Aldwell reservoir.
Dam removal left about 700 acres of former lake beds to return to native forests, and harsh growing conditions such as a lack of topsoil and direct exposure to wind, rain and sun have made it a challenge to establish conifers in the old lake beds.
All events are free and designed with COVID-19 safety protocols in mind.
For more information or to register, visit the Clallam Conservation District’s website.
