By Pepper Fisher
PORT ANGELES – On Friday, U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer introduced new legislation that would restore more than 1,000 acres of ancestral land along the Elwha River to the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe.
The land was acquired by the National Parks Service under the Elwha River Ecoystems and Fisheries Restoration Act of 1992 to facilitate the removal of two dams on the Elwha River. Kilmer says the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe Project Lands Restoration Act would protect and restore sacred and cultural lands, including the Tribe’s Creation Site. The legislation would also allow for the continued restoration of the ecosystem, including the protection and repopulation of native fish.
We spoke with Tribal Chair Frances Charles soon after the announcement on Friday.
“We’re very humbled and looking forward to the transfer of the property into the Tribe’s name. It’s something that we have been working on since the 1992 Elwha Act, and we’re so gratified for the Congressman, and even prior, Norm Dicks, Congressman Norm, when he was at the table at that time. But, it’s something that our community, our elders, our youth and surrounding community has been working on for many years. And we’re looking forward to having the property transferred into the protection of the Tribe for the river restoration conservation aspects of it.”
Congress passed the so-called Elwha Act in 1992 to remove the dams and restore the river ecosystem and fisheries. In order to remove the dams, the dam and reservoir sites were transferred to the National Park System. The dam removal project was completed in 2014, and ecosystem and fisheries restoration efforts are under way. This legislation would complete provisions in the Elwha Act to restore land to the Tribe by placing it into trust with the U.S. Department of Interior.
Charles said no timeline for the transfer of the lands has yet been given.