Lower Elwha Klallam: Warm welcome planned for cruise ship in Port Angeles on Friday - Port Angeles is dusting off the red carpet to welcome cruise ship passengers when the ms Zuiderdam docks at Terminal 1 on Friday. Holland Cruise representatives will be greeted by a representative of the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe, who will grant ceremonial permission for the crew and passengers to disembark, said Mary Brelsford, communications manager for the Olympic Peninsula Visitors Bureau.

Lower Elwha Klallam: Lower Elwha council members re-elected - Edward V. Johnson and Anthony S. Charles were re-elected Saturday to the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribal Council. Johnson received 91 votes, and Charles got 77 votes to be returned to their seats on the tribal council for a second term. The five council members serve for a term of three years, said Elaine McFadden, executive secretary to the council.

Lower Elwha ­Klallam: Restoration work planned on Ediz Hook this summer - Habitat restoration is planned on a 1,200-foot stretch of Ediz Hook this summer. The Lower Elwha ­Klallam tribe and state Department of Natural Resources will restore the “A-frame” site on the spit, a former log dump area that was used until the 1970s. It will be cleared of fill and existing structures during an eight-week period starting June 16.

Lower Elwha Klallam: Salmon revival in sight as Elwha River dams fall in U.S. Northwest - Tribal lore recalls that Elwha's five species of salmon were so plentiful that one could walk across the 50-foot-wide (15-metre) river, at the Elwha Dam site, on the backs of the fish. "Culturally, the salmon are very important to the tribe and in everything the tribe does," said LaTrisha Suggs, a spokeswoman for the 1,000-member Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe.

Lower Elwha Klallam: Elwha sediment not just mud, it's nourishment - Tribal members at the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe's reservation in the lower river have for decades watched acres of their land simply wash away. They hope one day to see the erosion stop, and to harvest clams again from the beach, as their elders did. It will never be the way it was: construction of a water line in the 1930s along the beach armors the feeder bluffs that should build the beach. But turning the flow of sediment back on in the river will help. Comment: This problem is even worse in the Toutle watershed, where the Sediment Retention Structure erected following the eruption of Mount St. Helens has magnified the problem.

Lower Elwha Klallam: Hoko River salmon restoration proposed - The Lower Elwha Klallam tribe and Rayonier have proposed a partnership to restore salmon habitat on the Hoko River in the North Olympic Peninsula. The project would add nearly 2 miles of salmon habitat to the river, in conjunction with the Elwha River restoration project that is expected to add 70 miles of salmon habitat.

Lower Elwha Klallam: ‘River as Spirit' film premieres Saturday at Elwha Heritage Center - “River as Spirit: Rebirth of the Elwha,” a 30-minute documentary by Leaping Frog Films, will have its Port Angeles premiere at 7:45 p.m. Saturday at the Elwha Heritage Center, 401 E. First St. Admission is $7 for the general public and free for Lower Elwha Klallam tribal members.

Lower Elwha Klallam: Cruise liner port of call: Port Angeles - A Holland America crew member stood above the stern of the ms Oosterdam and asked a group of Lower Elwha Klallam tribal members for permission to come ashore. “I'm glad that you arrived in Port Angeles,” Harmony Arakawa replied. “We're honored to share our songs and traditions with you. Come ashore!”

Lower Elwha Klallam: Elwha River back in its natural channel; first time in a century - At 7:30 Friday morning, contractors started shifting the Elwha River back into its natural channel. Within four to five days, the river will be fully back in its native channel -- for the first time in a century. Monitoring of out-migrating smolts, or baby salmon by the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe so far shows that the young fish headed to salt water this season have been unaffected by elevated levels of sediment in the river, said Mike McHenry, habitat biologist for the tribe.

Lower Elwha Klallam: Fish debate needs time - A temporary truce has been called in the bid by the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe to introduce nonnative steelhead this spring in the recently restored Elwha River.

Lower Elwha Klallam: Tribal chair at D.C. conference - Lower Elwha Klallam tribal Chairwoman Frances Charles will participate today in a White House-sponsored conference in Washington, D.C., that will focus on the link between conservation and strong local economies, the White House announced Thursday.

Lower Elwha Klallam: Elwhas won't release hatchery steelhead this year - The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe has agreed not to release any hatchery-raised steelhead into the Olympic Peninsula's Elwha River this year. The tribe is facing a lawsuit brought by the Wild Fish Conservancy and other groups arguing that the nonnative steelhead will hurt the recovery of protected native salmon once the river's two dams are removed.

Lower Elwha Klallam: Tribe, Olympic National Park sued over hatchery fish on Elwha - The Lower Elwha Klallam tribe and Olympic National Park are being taken to court over the use of hatchery fish to kick-start restoration of the Elwha River's once-famous salmon runs. Four fish conservation groups filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court on Thursday challenging the use of hatchery fish, which they said undermines ecosystem recovery during and after removal of the river's two dams and violates the federal Endangered Species Act.

Lower Elwha Klallam: Suit filed to block hatchery salmon in Elwha River - Four environmental groups filed suit Thursday against Olympic National Park, two federal agencies and the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe, seeking to block restocking the Elwha River west of Port Angeles with hatchery-raised salmon as part of the Elwha dam-removal project.

Lower Elwha Klallam: Old tribal hatchery to be decommissioned - Plans are in the works to decommission the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe’s first fish hatchery. The hatchery, built in 1978, was replaced by a new one last May as part of the $325 million federal Elwha River restoration project.

Lower Elwha Klallam: Lead-contaminated soil found at Elwha Dam site - The National Park Service is working on a plan to remove lead-contaminated soil from the Elwha Dam site. Lead paint used on the dam’s penstocks, now removed, contaminated the soil on the north slope of the hill between the two channels of the Elwha River.

Lower Elwha Klallam: Outlook good on restoring salmon runs in Elwha River - After the dams are gone and sediment levels return to equilibrium, between 300,000 and 400,000 salmon will return to the pristine waters of the Elwha River, Lower Elwha ­Klallam River Restoration Director Robert Elofson said. The new fish hatchery at the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe and the Department of Fish and Wildlife rearing channel will preserve the Elwha salmon from lethal sediment levels, Elofson said. Elofson said it will take three to seven years for the sediment in the river to reach a natural equilibrium.

Lower Elwha Klallam: Empire Of Dirt Gives Way To The Return Of The Salmon - John McMillan, a biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, stands in a sheltered side channel of the Elwha...(and) points into the water nearby. It’s hard to see, but down in the gravel on the river bottom, a coho salmon has dug out a nest and laid eggs. McMillan and biologists with the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe have found almost 100 other egg sacks like this one in the Elwha and her tributaries. Mike McHenry, a biologist with the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe, says even though the parents of these eggs are from the hatchery, the offspring will grow up wild.

Lower Elwha Klallam: 'After the Dam' subject of presentation - Robert Elofson, Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe river restoration director, presents "Elwha River Ecosystem: After the Dam" at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26, at the Elwha Klallam Heritage Center, 401 E. First St., Port Angeles. He will discuss the tribe’s view of the dam removal and what to expect in the future.

Jamestown S'Klallam-Lower Elwha-Port Gamble: Smiles abound as Kennewick welcomed - It is not just another ferry, as evidenced by the political and personal messages delivered when the MV Kennewick was officially welcomed Jan. 6 in Port Townsend. Community and political leaders from the Kennewick area of Eastern Washington are ecstatic to have the name on the newest state ferry. The new ferry also has been welcomed by the Native Americans of Washington who historically have used the inland waterways. Eleven musicians representing the Jamestown S’Klallam, Lower Elwha and Port Gamble tribes offered a blessing in the form of two traditional songs.

Lower Elwha Klallam: Tse-whit-zen museum, curation center held up by dispute over three words - An impasse over three words in the 2006 Tse-whit-zen settlement agreement is holding up progress on building a curation facility and museum on Marine Drive, federal and tribal officials said. The agreement — signed by the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe, the city of Port Angeles, the Port of Port Angeles and the state Department of Transportation — brought "positive closure to a difficult and painful experience," Gov. Chris Gregoire said at the signing ceremony. But six years later, more than 67,000 Native American artifacts unearthed from 2003 to 2005 at the ancient Klallam village site — estimated to be some 2,700 years old — still need a permanent home. Development of a curation facility is at an impasse because the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs won't provide trust status for the site as long as a "subject to reversion" clause remains in the 2006 settlement agreement and the deed.

Lower Elwha Klallam: Atkins works on US river restoration project - A long-awaited element of a multi-stage plan to restore the ecosystem of the Elwha river in north-west USA has been completed, with the involvement of Atkins. The restoration project included the creation of a fish hatchery in order to re-introduce salmon and trout species to the river whose ecosystem has been severely disrupted by the presence of hydro-electric dams. The $16.4 million (£10.6m) hatchery will allow the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe in Washington state to restock the river.

Lower Elwha Klallam: Man arrested for tribal center crimes - Joseph L. Johnson, alleged to have burglarized the Lower Elwha Klallam tribal center and stolen a car Wednesday, was arrested Saturday at a Port Angeles convenience store. Port Angeles police, acting on a tip from the tribal police, arrested the 42-year-old Port Angeles man without incident.

Lower Elwha Klallam: Car stolen from tribal center found; suspect at large - Port Angeles police this morning found a Ford Focus stolen from the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribal Center’s parking lot two days ago. The vehicle, used by the Tribal Council, was found at the Welcome Inn Trailer & RV Park in west Port Angeles, Deputy Police Chief Brian Smith said. Joseph L. Johnson, 42, allegedly stole the vehicle early Wednesday morning after attempting to assault a tribal employee with a screwdriver and running off with a camera, Smith said.

Lower Elwha Klallam: Tribe to rebury skull found on beach near mouth of river - The Lower Elwha Klallam tribe plans to rebury a skull found on a beach near the mouth of the Elwha River. Tribal Chairwoman Frances Charles said the skull was found Monday afternoon by tribal members. It has been placed in a cedar box pending reburial. Bill White, tribal archeologist, said the skull belonged to a set of remains repatriated from the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle in 1980 and buried near the river mouth. It was apparently unearthed through erosion, he said.

Lower Elwha Klallam: Armed burglar swipes car, electronics from tribe - Elwha police are searching for a suspect believed to be armed and dangerous after a burglary was discovered at the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribal Center Headquarters the morning of Jan. 4. Elwha police report the suspect took a General Service Administration vehicle and electronics. Six offices were broken into and ransacked.

Lower Elwha Klallam: Hope for Salmon as Dams Come Down - The largest dam removal project in U.S. history began in September, marking a victory for a campaign that spanned more than two decades. The dams were built across territory belonging to the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe, which had fished the Elwha for generations. The tribe fought for dam removal from the beginning, and was joined in its efforts in the mid-1980s by conservation groups including the Seattle Audubon Society, Friends of the Earth, Olympic Park Associates, and the Sierra Club. Together, they eventually forced a dam removal settlement with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Removal of the dams will take about three years; experts believe fish will return to the upper reaches of the Elwha as soon as one year after that. Brian Winter, the Elwha project manager, estimates it will take a further 25 to 30 years for the river to return to its natural state.

Lower Elwha Klallam: Wireless Internet for whole city, Port Angeles City Council decides - The Port Angeles City Council gave the go-ahead Tuesday evening to a $3.7 million project that will turn the city into one large Internet hot spot, allowing residents and visitors to connect to the Web wirelessly from anywhere in town. The Lower Elwha Klallam tribe, which will also receive a few wireless hot spots, will equip about eight of its police vehicles as well, said acting Police Chief Phil Charles. But connecting the vehicles to the network comes at a cost — $70 per month for each vehicle.

Lower Elwha Klallam: Clallam County program celebrates first Native American master gardeners - Celebrated as the North Olympic Peninsula’s first Native American master gardeners, tribal members Ruth Charles and Sheryl Charging Whirlwind were handed their badges last week.

Lower Elwha Klallam-Jamestown S'Klallam-Port Gamble S'Klallam: Ecology rejects Port Angeles' bid for seat on council assessing natural resource damages at former Rayonier site - The state Department of Ecology has rejected the city's request to be represented on a committee that is assessing natural resource damages inflicted on property occupied for seven decades by the Rayonier pulp mill before it closed.

Lower Elwha Klallam: Dam demolition to resume as fish window closes early - Demolition of the two dams on the Elwha River will resume earlier than expected. They had to quit dam removal work temporarily Nov. 1, the concern being that any further lowering of the two dams’ reservoirs would harm fish through the release of sediment. An interagency team of biologists monitoring the return of fish to the Elwha River determined that the late fall runs of chum salmon had trickled to an end.

Lower Elwha Klallam: North Olympic Peninsula gets more than $4 million for salmon projects - The Washington Salmon Recovery Funding Board has given more than $4 million in grants to North Olympic Peninsula projects. Restoration planner Randy Johnson and his team at the Jamestown S'Klallam tribe deserve credit for their Washington Harbor Project, which was recognized as one of eight noteworthy projects by the Salmon Recovery Funding Board review panel, Baumann said.

Lower Elwha Klallam: December fish runs wind down on Elwha; dam demolition restarts Monday - Adult chum salmon were collected and transferred to the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe’s fish hatchery, which is acting as a clear-water refuge during the dam removal period when extensive sediment is being released into the river. Offspring of the collected chum will be released into the river this spring.

Lower Elwha Klallam-Port Gamble S'Klallam-Stó:lo-Yakama: Lower Elwha Gallery exhibit to showcase native art - The spirits of the native people of the Strait of Juan de Fuca will be unleashed in an art exhibit Saturday. Artists include Darrel Charles Jr., Roger Fernandes and Robert Francis III of the Elwha Klallam; Ivan Francis of the Stó:lo tribe of British Columbia; Darryl Barkley of the Yakima tribe; and Jimmy Price of Port Gamble.

Lower Elwha Klallam: Tribe hosts festive bazaar - The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe hosts its annual Christmas Bazaar from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16, and from 10 a.m-3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, at the Tribal Center gymnasium, 2851 Lower Elwha Road, Port Angeles. The event includes jewelry, glass-works and many other gifts, as well as baked goods.

Lower Elwha Klallam: Two tribal officers commissioned in Port Angeles - Two officers with the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribal Police Department have been sworn in as special commissioned officers of the Port Angeles Police Department.

Lower Elwha Klallam: Washington tribe advances fish restoration work at Elwha and Glines Canyon dams - Tribe begins transferring coho salmon into Elwha River

Lower Elwha Klallam: Let's see your displays! Enter PDN's holiday lights photo contest

Lower Elwha Klallam: Data from largest U.S. dam removal could shape future river restoration, scientists say

Jamestown S'Klallam-Lower Elwha-Makah: High-speed Internet tapped for Peninsula by August 2013

Lower Elwha Klallam: Clallam County Drug Court coordinator earns award

Lower Elwha Klallam: Natives share cultural perspective at Port Angeles reading

Lower Elwha Klallam: Cake and all on ‘eTown' radio show

Lower Elwha Klallam: Flood, wind watches in place through Thanksgiving

Lower Elwha Klallam: Storm puts Elwha River, others under flood watch; heavy winds due to subside this afternoon

Lower Elwha Klallam: Road nearly finished; only 3,450 feet of route needs paving

Lower Elwha Klallam: Lower Elwha event to be feast of viewpoints

Lower Elwha Klallam: Indian voices to address Thanksgiving

Lower Elwha Klallam: McEntire headed for commissioner seat; Port Angeles councilman concedes in council race

Lower Elwha Klallam: McEntire’s lead nears 1,000 votes in Clallam County commissioner race

Lower Elwha Klallam: World's Largest Dam Removal Set to Restore Ecosystem

Lower Elwha Klallam: Scouts tour Elwha Dam site

Lower Elwha Klallam: Incumbent garners more than 60 percent in Port Angeles School Board race

Lower Elwha Klallam: Three incumbents, one challenger ahead in Port Angeles council races

Lower Elwha Klallam: City of Port Angeles seeks role regarding former Rayonier mill site

Lower Elwha Klallam: Elwha River Restoration project underway at Olympic National Park, USA

Lower Elwha Klallam: Giving voice to their tears and laughter: Real-life comic, tragic tales told at Elwha Heritage Center in Port Angeles

Lower Elwha Klallam: Tribe celebrates, works to help river recover