One less dam, one more boon to fish

by Emily Platt and Bill Bakke , guest opinion

Tuesday July 07, 2009, 7:30 AM

from OregonLive.com

Hemlock Dam on the Wind River .

The Wind River watershed is a Northwest favorite. Less than an hour from Portland and Vancouver , the Wind River hosts the ancient forest groves of Paradise Creek, cliff-lined gorges favored by kayakers, as well as campgrounds, trails and picnic spots popular with families.

This month, the Wind River 's importance to the Northwest will grow as Hemlock Dam is removed from one of its main tributaries, Trout Creek. Hemlock Dam's removal will make the Wind River one of the few watersheds in the Northwest that is entirely free-flowing from its source to its confluence with the Columbia . And Hemlock Dam is the first dam to be removed from U.S. Forest Service lands in the Pacific Northwest .

Hemlock Dam is located on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and was built in 1935 to store irrigation water for the Wind River Nursery, which closed in 1997, leaving the dam with no purpose and a growing list of problems. The dam has become increasingly problematic over the past 70 years, not just because of its inadequate fish passage system but also because of the high temperatures the dam creates in the slack water of its reservoir -- temperatures that can be fatal to the threatened wild steelhead that make it past the dam to areas where the fish historically thrived.

Removing the dam and restoring the historic natural creek channel will cool water temperatures and allow steelhead to repopulate miles of ideal habitat above the current dam site. Of course, fish recovery has ripple effects across the ecosystem and will benefit other wildlife, including osprey and bald eagles.

The unique qualities of the Wind River steelhead led to its designation as one of the only genetic reserves for steelhead in the region, and Hemlock Dam's removal is an important step in conserving the genetic diversity of the Northwest's threatened steelhead populations. Genetic diversity enables species to adapt to changing climate and habitat conditions, so it has become even more important in recent years.

The restoration of Trout Creek and the removal of Hemlock Dam this month are cause for celebration. This project will play a significant role in restoring water quality, supporting healthy fish and wildlife populations and creating local jobs. Removing the dam and restoring this important tributary demonstrate that in the Northwest we can find ways to both protect our quality of life and create economic opportunities for local businesses.

That the real work of restoring Trout Creek coincides with the Fourth of July is fitting -- restoring the natural heritage of an area that is so beloved by local communities is an ideal way to celebrate America .

Emily Platt is executive director of the Gifford Pinchot Task Force. Bill Bakke is executive director of the Native Fish Society.