By Dac Collins. March 8, 2018. The White Salmon River is choking, its mouth clogged with sand. But a restoration project currently underway at the Underwood In-Lieu Site aims to remove some of that blockage. Spearheaded by the Yakama Nation Fisheries Program, the project will focus on improving fish habitat and re-establishing fishing access at the silt-laden river mouth.
Taken on Feb. 9, this aerial photo shows the scope of the restoration project currently underway at the mouth of the White Salmon River. Photo courtesy of Yakama Nation Fisheries Program.
“We have sort of a unique opportunity here on this bar,” says Bill Sharp, project manager and fisheries research scientist for the Yakama Nation. Sharp explains that the breaching of Condit dam in 2011 released huge amounts of sediment into the river. Tons upon tons of sandy silt and gravel, which had been building up at the bottom of Northwestern Lake for nearly a century, made its way downstream and eventually settled along the mouth of the White Salmon, effectively smothering the stream bed and forming a large sandbar that rendered the Underwood In-Lieu fishing site unusable.
In-lieu fishing sites, Sharp admits, have been a contentious topic ever since their inception during the construction of Bonneville Dam. Given to the Yakama, Umatilla, Warm Springs and Nez Perce tribes, whose historic villages and fishing grounds were inundated by the Bonneville, Dalles and John Day dams, these sites were the Army Corps of Engineers’ way of mitigating the damage done to the river tribes.
Underwood was one of the five original in-lieu sites set aside by Congress in 1945. Another 26 ‘treaty fishing access sites’ have been established along the Columbia in the years since, but a loaded question remains: Are these sites adequate?
While the answer to that question is still being hashed out on the federal level today, everyone involved with the restoration project at Underwood agrees that uncovering the in-lieu site is a step in the right direction.
Michael Broncheau manages the operation and maintenance of each of the 31 tribal fishing sites along the Columbia. As a member of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, he is glad to see this sort of work being done at the mouth of the White Salmon. “This site has been out of service for way too long,” he says, adding that “it’s always a positive when we can get tribal fishers back on site.” Broncheau hopes that the restored Underwood site can serve as an example for future projects on other Columbia River tributaries that have been similarly affected by sedimentation.
Sharp explains that before Condit dam was breached in 2011, “there was 30 feet of deep water with cobble bottom just off the [Underwood] boat ramp. Now that’s filled with silt, mostly sand.” That sedimentation, he says, has proven detrimental to the anadromous fish that pass through this now broad and shallow river delta. Sharp cites multiple observations of juvenile salmon being stranded at the head of this newly created bar when Bonneville Pool rises and drops during the summer months.
The creation of this shallow, sandy delta was not an unforeseen consequence. When the dam-breaching project was proposed in the late 90’s, engineers and fisheries researchers anticipated that the river mouth would be inundated with sediment and that the Underwood In-Lieu Site would be impacted severely. This realization led to the Condit Hydroelectric Project Settlement Agreement with PacifiCorp Energy in 1999, which set aside funds for mitigation projects. 19 years later, after significant planning and forethought, those funds are now being put to use. (Additional funding for the project is being provided by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.)
“We wanted to wait a few years to watch that bar settle,” Sharp explains. “We looked at how it reacts to flow events and pool elevations, and we feel like it’s in a stable enough condition to do this work.”
Another bird’s eye view, also taken Feb. 9, gives a better idea of how the sandbar will be dredged and reshaped. Photo courtesy of Yakama Nation Fisheries Program.
The work Sharp refers to is a collaborative process. Designed by InterFluve, Inc. of Hood River, OR and implemented by construction contractor Tapani, Inc. of Battle Ground, WA, the first phase of the restoration project is to excavate a boat basin to a depth of around seven feet. The second phase is to use that excavated material, approximately 15,000 cubic yards of it by Sharp’s estimation to build three small islands at the top of the existing sandbar. These riparian islands will then be revegetated with native grasses, sedges and trees sometime this spring.
While it’s impossible to fully restore the mouth of the White Salmon to pre-Condit conditions, the installation of these islands will at least push the river in the right direction, forcing its flow into a series of deeper side channels. This deeper, cooler water will provide critical refuge for out-migrating juveniles, as well as for the adult salmon and steelhead headed up the free-flowing river to spawn. And in terms of how the project might affect the river tribes, the bottom line is: what’s good for the fish is inherently good for the fishermen.
I hope the debris around the buildings on this site is hauled away and it can be somehow maintained to look at least a little attractive, any clean up would be an improvement. People not knowing any better would think it was a dump.
Yay I’m so happy for this much-needed Improvement it did look like a dump and thank goodness it’s looking beautiful again… I hope it won’t flood…
Cookie, we can only assume that InterFluve took flooding into consideration. That being said, a free-flowing river is constantly changing and therefore unpredictable. Only time will tell how the restored river mouth will react to high water events.
I sure hope all the garbage, trailers and junk are cleaned up. It has looked like a trash heap for years. Having the privaledges of using such a pristine area is a responsibility of all who use this gift from God.keep it beautiful and show visitors we all have pride and dignity.
We hope so too, Harry and Paul. Maybe with the site back in service there will be more of an incentive to maintain it.
I hear you about the mess at the site. However, remember that the residents were living in extreme poverty. People in these conditions have a different set of needs facing them each day. Usually poor people keep everything in case it can be recycled, re-used, or re-purposed (which is actually quite efficient/environmental) And even when items become unusable, they do not have the money and/or resources to haul the stuff away.
Suggesting the residents did not have pride or dignity is insensitive at best. Remember that people living in poverty have a much smaller environmental impact that rich people, even if their backyard looks terrible.
Hey Harry, Perhaps you should look a mile up the Cook-Underwood road to the trash heap that belongs to the sheriff in Klickitat county just past the communitty center, I really don’t see much difference other than the color of skin. SQ
Steve and Paul,
I make no inference to skin color. It makes no matter. I am aware of numerous locations that have the same “conservation” going on. White, black, red or yellow skin. How each chooses to live is a choice. I agree that economically impacted cultures struggle with the logistics of life more. I don’t agree that it is a better way to deal with garbage, if your referring to the trashy locations along the river, in various locations. Especially when it has the ability to impact the river in a negative fashion, which is a source of life and income for numerous cultures. Leaking oil, net and line fragments, debris and fiberglass are all detrimental to the river. And if the statement is true about the sheriff, shame on him, he should lead by example.
How about community assistance in the form of volunteer labor and transportation of said items to a central “gathering area” away from the water, where the use of said items is still available to all at a later date? I know of numerous folks who would be willing to volunteer. Lets find solutions to help each other. Thoughts?
Amigo, I get it, I find it deplorable also, but maybe they don’t want your or our help. Your not familiar with the Sheriffs house? Just drive up C-U rd 1/4 mile past the center, it’s on the left. Do you think they want our help in cleaning up their yard also? I don’t think so. This land is your land, this land is my land….. everyone lives differently. SQ
Thanks Jill.
Hello Harry,
Generally speaking, I try to just look inward and see how I can lessen my personal impact on the environment. Externalizing, shaming, and blaming are usually a non-starter. My carbon emissions, my consumption, etc are my focus first. Of course, responding to, helping. and solving other pollution problems is a good idea too, but the righteousness doesn’t help. Unfortunately the “call-out” culture seems to dominate the USA now. It seems like a step backwards in terms of making lasting and sustainable change.