Tribe one signature away from reclaiming 1,100 ancestral acres along undammed Elwha River

A federal bill to return 1,100 acres along Washington’s Elwha River to the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe has passed both chambers of Congress and is awaiting the president’s signature. The land was flooded for more than a century behind the Elwha Dam, which was removed to help restore the river. It holds sacred tribal sites and provides habitat for wildlife, including salmon, whose access to spawning grounds is returning. Tribal members have enjoyed their fishing rights along the river for four years in a row, and the land transfer could offer a meaningful homecoming for the Klallam people.