Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 18, 2015)
LIFESTYLES Our glorious Columbia 1C WEEKEND, APRIL 18-19, 2015 AP Photo/Elaine Thompson A U.S. flag flies near the Grand Coulee Dam on the Co- lumbia River in Washington state, with Lake Roosevelt shown at left. May 26, 2000. Many lay claim to the Columbia River. Its basin stretches across seven states, one Canadian province and through 13 Indian reservations. At its peak, 116,688,000 gallons of water are poured every minute from the mouth of the river near $VWRULDLQWRWKH3DFL¿F2FHDQ It’s literally a lifeline for many farmers who withdraw about 1.5 trillion gallons each growing season for their crops. This helps grow billions of dollars worth of produce in the northwest, many of which are then barged down the river itself to foreign markets. ,W¶VDOVROLIHIRUVSHFLHVRI¿VK²ZKLFK DUHQDWLYHDQGLQWURGXFHG²IURPVDOPRQDQG VWXUJHRQWRFDW¿VKDQGSHUFK,QGLJHQRXVSHRSOH have used the river and its tributaries as a source of food for centuries and both recreational anglers and FRPPHUFLDO¿VKHUPHQWDSLQWRLWVERXQW\ There are 14 dams with the capacity to produce around 23,000 megawatts of energy. Five of these churn on the Oregon/Washington border and are owned by the Army Corps of Engineers, providing an ever-renewing source of electricity to millions of people. This crossroad of ecology, commerce and recreation can be a tricky path to navigate. But the ULYHUZLOOÀRZRQSURYLGLQJWKHEDFNERQHRIOLIHLQ WKH3DFL¿F1RUWKZHVW AP photo by Rick Bowmer A chinook salmon, second from the bottom, swims with sockeye salmon at the Bonneville Dam fish-counting window near North Bonneville, Wash., on the Columbia River. June 27, 2012 AP photo by Elaine Thompson Circular irrigated fields line the Columbia River on the Oregon-Washington border near Umatilla. Congressional delegations from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana are demanding that the Obama administration begin negotiations with Canada to update a landmark treaty that governs the operation of dams — such as the Mc- Nary dam shown in this photo — on the Columbia, which is North America’s fourth-largest river. July 11, 2006 AP photo by Rick Bowmer The Columbia River flows near the John Day Dam, east of The Dalles. June 3, 2011 AP Photo/Don Ryan A bicyclist glides past a background scene of puffy clouds and blue sky reflected in silky smooth Columbia River waters in Portland. March 7, 2013. AP photo by Rick Bowmer Water flows through the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River near Cascade Locks. June 3, 2011 AP Photo/Don Ryan, The Columbia River flows past the Vista House on Crown Point, at right near, Corbett. March 7, 2012. “Green Douglas firs where the waters cut through, Down her wild mountains and canyons she flew. Canadian Northwest to the ocean so blue, Roll on, Columbia, roll on.” — Woody Guthrie, ”Roll on Columbia”