Organizations Join Together to Stop Harmful Dam on the Chehalis River

Photo courtesy of Shane Anderson, Pacific Rivers.

This week, 50 organizations and businesses joined Washington Wild and the Chehalis River Alliance to speak out against the proposed dam on the Chehalis River. The proposed dam, to be built near the town of Pe Ell, would be destructive to critical salmon habitat. A few of the significant impacts the proposed dam would have on salmon include the destruction of over 12 miles of riparian habitat, the elimination of critical spawning and rearing habitat for spring Chinook and steelhead, and the increase of river temperatures to near-lethal levels.

Image courtesy of Mark Nowlin, The Seattle Times.

We want to thank the outstanding folks at the Chehalis River Alliance for asking us to put together this letter and for all the hard work they have done on this issue. The letter was submitted to the Chehalis Basin Board and the Washington Department of Ecology, along with the offices of Senator Cantwell, Senator Murray, Representative Beutler, and Representative Heck.