Northwestern Lake

I grew up in the small town of Bingen, Washington, in the Columbia Gorge.    I left there in 1954.     This isn't going to be a memoir but merely setting the scene for this film documenting a recent event.

When we were kids one of the family activities we irregularly engaged in was a picnic at Northwestern Lake.     I never gave it any thought at the time but Northwestern Lake was the result of a hydroelectric project on the White Salmon River between Klickitat and Skamania Counties called the Condit Dam.

Recently, it was decided to reverse that project.    If you have half an hour to spare, this is an interesting narrative of the blowing of the Condit Dam and the resulting changes to the White Salmon River.
[I suggest watching it 'full screen' by clicking the small square in the lower right corner of the display.]

Watch The White Salmon River Runs Free: Breaching the Condit Dam on PBS. See more from Oregon Field Guide.

Additional information:

White Salmon Restored: A Timelapse Project ~ documenting the removal of condit dam