Whistling Past the Tombstones: Or Remove These Dams

Over half a million fall Chinook once spawned in the middle and upper Snake River. Today, 100 percent of that prime spawning area is behind dams that do not have fish ladders. Hells Canyon Dam, the third dam of the Hells Canyon Complex was completed in 1961. Fall Chinook numbers were estimated at 15,000 in 1957 and dwindled to less than 10 fish by 1971. On the North Fork Clearwater River in Idaho, steelhead returning from the ocean once produced 1,000 redds (nests) per mile. The North Fork ...