Deputy Mayor Hall present for ceremony marking the removal of the Elwha Dam

The beginning of the demolition of the Elwha Dam.  A tribal elder watches.

The removal of the Elwha Dam has made national news recently, and The Seattle Times did a special report which includes photos and video.

But Shoreline had a piece of the action, as Deputy Mayor Will Hall was one of 400 invited guests at the ceremonies marking the start of demolition of the dam and restoration of the salmon runs.

In fact, Hall got the final word in an article in the LA Times.

Congressman Dicks addressing the group of people who have worked on this project for two decades

The largest dam removal project in the United States got underway last weekend on the Olympic peninsula. The two dams on the Elwha River, which have blocked salmon from returning to their historical spawning grounds for a century, are being taken down.

Shoreline Deputy Mayor Will Hall was one of 400 people invited to watch the event live at the dam.

"This is the most significant habitat restoration project ever undertaken," said Hall. "It was truly an honor to be there in person. I appreciate everything Congressman Norm Dicks and his staff did to make it possible for me to attend."

Deputy Mayor Will Hall and his wife Laurie Lindblad with Tom Skerritt on the Elwha Dam

Actor Tom Skerritt, a Board Member of American Rivers, was the Master of Ceremonies for the event. Deputy Mayor Hall and his wife Laurie Lindblad chatted with Skerritt while standing on the dam itself. Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell spoke at the event, along with Congressman Dicks, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, and local tribal leaders.

Deputy Mayor Hall has been working on salmon habitat and Puget Sound restoration issues for over 15 years. He drafted the legislation to create the Snohomish County Marine Resources Committee, a citizens advisory group, in 1999. He currently represents cities on a committee tasked with cleaning up Puget Sound as part of the Puget Sound Partnership.

Chinook salmon at the base of the Elwha Dam

"I've camped and hiked near the Elwha River several times since I was a teenager. Every year, a small number of salmon still return and spawn in the lower few miles of the river, but they can't get past the dams to the hundreds of miles of rivers and streams above them."

Deputy Mayor Hall said he saw dozens of large Chinook salmon at the base of the dam, and several more spawning downstream. Scientists and tribal leaders estimate that several hundred thousand salmon used to return to the Elwha River every year.