From T.U. web page on the Elwha dams;
In 1997, Congress included the full $113 million for the purchace and removal of the dams in it's allocation for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, but failed in 1997 and 1998 to appropriate the money to make it happen. In February 1998, the White House announced that it had allocated $86 million for removal of one of the two dams. On the positive side, Senator Gorton did allow $18.5 million to be allocated for Elwha River restoration in earlier Congessional action, enough to purchase the two dams. But during the 1999 budget negotiations Senator Slade Gorton tried to use the remainder of the Elwha River dam removal funding as a wedge to try and block future salmon restoation efforts on the Columbia and Snake Rivers. When the Administration-much to it's credit-wouldn't play his game, Senator Gorton killed the additional Elwha funding. It will be another year before another chance for that money comes around again, and the Elwha's salmon can ill afford to wait. www.tu.org/watch/elwha.html