Condit Dam

Condit Dam was a good opportunity for Columbia River Studies students to examine all sides of a controversial land-use issue. The dam, owned by PacifiCorps, provides electricity to several thousand people. It's construction created Northwestern Lake, where recreationists and homeowners have fished and boated for almost a hundred years. Its construction also destroyed miles of salmon habitat on the White Salmon River, a fishery that had been used by native peoples for thousands of years. Residents, conservationists, tribal members, fishers, kayakers, dam-haters, and dam-lovers have all weighed in on the issue.

The Columbia River Studies class tried to provide students with as many perspectives as possible. Before our trip, they heard from a member of the Cascades Alliance, a group that supports the breaching of the dam. At the lake, they heard from a resident, and at the dam they heard from a representative from PacifiCorps. It was difficult to find a person to represent the tribe on this trip, so we attempted as best we could to remind students that 100 years for Indian people isn't a very long time. Their interests are in restoring the river and the fishery, even if there will be short-term destruction of habitat downstream from the dam.

Condit Dam was the first of many stops on the CRS field trip. It is a small hydroelectric dam located three river miles from the Columbia on the White Salmon River. PacifiCorps, thencompany that operates the dam, is considering removing this dam. The company's license to operate the dam has expired, and FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) is requiring the company to provide for fish passage on the river in order to renew their license. For PacifiCorps, this means that they either need to build a fish ladder at the dam, breach the dam to allow fish passage, or remove the dam completely. The company sees the decision in purely economic terms, according to PacifiCorps fish biologist Brian Barr. The company estimates that removing the dam will cost about half of what it would cost to install fish ladders and other devices on the existing structure.

Conservation groups want the dam removed so that salmon and steelhead habitat above the dam will be reopened for spawning. The White Salmon River is also designated as a wild and scenic river above Northwestern Lake (the reservior behind the dam). Removing the dam would return the river to its free-flowing state, and the entire length of the White Salmon could be designated as wild and scenic. This would make the White Salmon River the only river in the United States that is designated as wild and scenic for its entire length.

But there is opposition. Northwestern Lake is home to trophy-size trout, and local fishermen don't want that to change. A rare turtle lives in the lake as well, and many cabins and homes are built near the lake. Homeowners would lose their lakefront views, and the wetlands along the edge of the lake would be destroyed. Some argue that the sediment that has built up behind the dam will destroy the salmon habitat that is below the dam. Experts do not agree on how long it will take for the river to naturally wash this sediment out. The tribal fishing site at the mouth of the White Salmon could be destroyed, and there is concern that the sediment could clog the shipping channel in the Columbia. Negotiations continue between PacificCorps and the US Army Corps of Engineers to work out an agreement as to who would pay for dredging and other cleanup, if needed.

Local Indian tribes are supporting dam removal. Traditional fishing sites are located at Husum Falls above the dam and at the confluence of the White Salmon and the Columbia below the dam. Removing the dam would open up traditional fishing areas to salmon spawning above Northwestern Lake.

Back to 3-Day Trip