Washington Dams With Fishery or Recreation Issues
By: Thomas O’Keefe
Several dams in Washington State have known issues impacting fishery resources or river-based recreation. Some represent partial or complete barriers to fish passage that should be addressed; additionally impacts to geomorphology degrade habitat for fishery resources at many of these dams. In other cases the primary impact of the dam is on river-based recreation where the dam represents a hazard to navigation or public safety. Some of these dams may be candidates for removal while others could be modified to eliminate or reduce impacts. Several successful dam removals are also included in this story map.
American Whitewater has developed a Story Map to show where these dams are located with a photo and basic overview.
Examples of dams with impacts included on map are the Middle Fork Nooksack Dam, Rocky Creek Dam on a tributary of the Baker River, Buckley Dam on the White River, Electron Dam on the Puyallup River, Chambers Creek Dam, 5th Avenue Dam on the Deschutes River, Enloe Dam on Similkameen River, Tumwater Dam on the Wenatchee River, Nelson Dam on the Yakima River, and the Lower Snake River Dams. Examples of dams that have been removed include two dams on the Elwha River, Condit Dam on the White Salmon River, Mill Pond Dam on Sullivan Creek, and others.
