Follow the progress of Condit Dam removal.

Video of Condit Dam Breach Explosion

In 1992 we made our original request for a dam removal study (read our request). In our request we wrote that a study was needed to “determine the recreation, fishery, flood damage mitigation, power production and other impacts associated with the removal of impoundments and in returning the White Salmon River to its truest sense of 'run-of-river'.” In 1993, during scoping for the Environmental Impact Statement, we requested “a detailed analysis of the whitewater boating opportunities in the lower White Salmon River that would be reestablished under a dam removal alternative, as well as the economic value associated with those expanded whitewater boating opportunities” (read our request).

American Whitewater joined conservation groups and resource agencies as a signatory to the 1999 Settlement Agreement for the removal of Condit Dam. Over the past several years, we have served in a leadership capacity in guiding this important project through a complex regulatory process. With the dam breached in October 2011, the deconstruction of Condit Dam is a benchmark for national river restoration. The project has opened thirty-three miles of critical cold spawning habitat for steelhead and fifteen miles for salmon, both endangered species. Removing Condit Dam has revealed five miles of restored river that will provide future recreational opportunities. After a century, the White Salmon River is once again completely free-flowing from Mt. Adams to the Columbia River.

Since that original request for a dam removal study in 1992, American Whitewater worked over two decades on this high-profile river restoration project. The dramatic draining of the reservoir, taking only an hour, and rapid return of the river was the first of its kind, enhancing our knowledge base on dam removal and river restoration. The White Salmon will continue to serve as a premier example of successful river stewardship endeavors for future generations.

More technical details on the current timeline for removal and key documents filed with federal regulators.

American Whitewater has represented recreational users on the White Salmon as part of the community effort to gain additional protection for the White Salmon River and keep it free-flowing. The Middle White Salmon, one of the most popular commercially run sections of river in the Pacific Northwest, received federal Wild and Scenic designation in 1986 through the Columbia Gorge Scenic Act. American Whitewater also worked closely with Friends of the White Salmon and American Rivers to designate an additional twenty-two mile stretch near the river’s headwaters in Gifford Pinchot National Forest in 2005. These efforts represent a remarkable achievement for a river that at one time was only valued for its hydropower potential.

American Whitewater helped rally public support for the Trust for Public Land and their efforts to bring a key access point in the town of BZ Corner into public ownership. The eleven-acre parcel is managed by the Forest Service and guarantees future enjoyment of the White Salmon River. Upgrades to the site have included installation of a raft slide to minimize impact and improved restroom facilities for the public. American Whitewater continues to work toward gaining additional access points along the river.