Who We Are

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Since 1976

Preserving the White Salmon River

Our History

Friends of the White Salmon River was founded in 1976 to oppose the construction of a system of seven dams and generation stations on the White Salmon River above BZ Corner.  We have been a small but mighty, largely volunteer organization since that time.

Our Victories
  • We won the 1976 fight, so the river lived on.
  • We worked alongside many partners and with PacifiCorp for over 15 years to secure the removal of Condit Dam.
  • We were instrumental in creating a good management plan for the Wild & Scenic segment of the White Salmon River.
  • We kept SDS lumber from harvesting the Spring Creek parcel, near Husum.
  • We kept the county from rezoning hundreds of acres along the White Salmon from forest land to two-acre residential, including the parcel above Northwestern Park that is now transferring to US Forest Service ownership.
  • We facilitated a six-year collaborative process that will result in acquisition by the Yakama Nation of most of the land owned by PacifiCorp around the Condit dam site. This process also resulted in cabin owners being able to purchase the land under their cabins.
  • We have engaged in numerous appeals of land use actions by Klickitat County that would fragment parcels or cause other environmental damage.
  • We comment on Klickitat regulatory policies and actions, such as the CAO, although those comments have mostly landed on deaf ears at the County level.
  • We joined with others in opposing Under Canvas, sadly without success.
  • We pushed for conservation ownership of the land being sold by SDS and made a movie about those lands.
  • We have commented on forest practice applications, although that permitting process is largely unresponsive to outside comment.
  • We merged with Friends of Mt. Adams and presented the “Climate Change in the Gorge” conference in 2023, accomplishing one of their primary goals.
  • We have long opposed the Goldendale Pumped Storage project, working with a group of Gorge-based and state-wide environmental groups, and we are sponsoring, with Riverkeeper, a movie by and about the Rock Creek Band of the Yakama Nation about the social justice aspects of green energy.
  • We have revised our mission to include the concerns of Friends of Mt. Adams and expand our geographic area of concern, focused on Klickitat and Skamania counties.
  • We are currently fighting hard to prevent extinction for Western Gray Squirrel in Klickitat County, something we have been involved with for more than 20 years.
  • We are organizing to restart monitoring and research about the return of salmon and steelhead to the river.
  • We bring our energy and voice to relevant issues at the state level, to the extent we can.
What Drives Us

Our Mission

Protecting watershed health and biodiversity in Klickitat and Skamania counties and the Mt. Adams region; raising public awareness of threats and opportunities; speaking up for streams, forests, and wildlife; and supporting the Yakama Nation in their protection of cultural and natural resources.

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Why Donate?

Donating to the White Salmon river preservation is important because the river provides vital ecosystem services like clean drinking water, irrigation, recreation, and habitat for diverse wildlife, and its health is crucial for maintaining a balanced environment, especially in the face of climate change;by supporting preservation efforts, you contribute to protecting these benefits for current and future generations. 

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