WHO WE ARE:
White Salmon Conservation League is a non-profit corporation dedicated to preserving the fish and
wildlife habitat created by the Northwestern Lake reservoir behind Condit Dam in the White Salmon River valley in Washington.
WHY WE ARE FIGHTING REMOVAL OF NORTHWESTERN LAKE:
Northwestern
Lake is a pristine flat-water experience for trout fishermen, families, the disabled, boaters, and recreationists in an area where wild rivers prevail. The trophy Trout fishery, Bald Eagle, Osprey, Blue Heron, Deer,
Fox, Coyote, Bear, Beaver, Muskrat, Western Pond Turtle, Canadian Geese, Ducks, and varied waterfowl and wildlife have depended upon this body of water for almost a century.
WHY IS NORTHWESTERN LAKE THREATENED:
PacifCorp, owner and operator of Condit Dam filed for relicensing of the Condit Dam with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in 1993. FERC rejected a proposal to remove the dam with a "Blow and
Go" methodology in their Environmental Impact Study completed in 1996, and proposed a Preferred alternative of a Fish Ladder. PacifiCorp rejected this option as too expensive at 1996 Power Market prices and looked for a
least cost alternative to abandoning the energy project which would allow them to generate power as long as possible. What developed was action by American Rivers to spearhead an effort and enjoin other groups to
provide a political sacrifice of a Northwest Hydro-power project at the expense of the environment. Ignoring the tremendous cost to the trout fishery in the Lake, the salmon fishery below the Dam, the wildlife,
wetlands, and endangered species dependent upon the lake, the water quality of the White Salmon and Columbia Rivers, these groups capped PacifiCorp's liability at 17.2 million dollars and provided them their least cost
alternative. FERC is still evaluating the Environmental impact of this proposal. It has already determined that the Agreement filed as an Amendment to PacifiCorp's re-license application doesn't meet FERC's legal
procedures for decommissioning a dam.
Currently, PacifiCorp is requesting that the FERC commissioners declare the Agreement valid as submitted rather than dismiss it.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE:
We are asking
you to join us by raising funding to continue the legal battle over PacifiCorp's responsibility to the Northwestern Lake area to provide the FERC preferred alternative of a fish ladder over Condit Dam rather than its
removal.
Further scientific information is available at WSCL's website at
