NATIONAL FISH HATCHERIES
BONNEVILLE LOCK AND DAM
CARSON NATIONAL FISH HATCHERY Since 1960, hatchery production has helped spring Chinook population recover in the Columbia River. Today Carson releases more than 2 million smolts (young salmon) annually. The best time to visit is May-August to view adult salmon returning up the ladder. Located 14 miles north of Carson on Hwy 30. 509-427-5905 www.fws.gov/gorgefish/carson
THE MIGHTY BONNEVILLE DAM IS A MUST-SEE ATTRACTION. Located in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, Bonneville Lock and Dam spans the Columbia River and links the two states of Washington and Oregon. Built and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bonneville Lock and Dam was the first federal lock and dam on the Columbia and Snake rivers. The Dam is 3,463 feet long and produces over one million kilowatts of electricity. Visitors can experience first-hand the operation of two hydroelectric powerhouses and watch migrating fish traveling upstream at the underwater viewing rooms next to the fish ladders. The Washington Shore Visitors Center offers one of the world’s most accessible views of a powerhouse. Inside, generators can be seen from a walkway 85 feet above the powerhouse floor. Visitors can ride an escalator down into the powerhouse to get a closeup view of a generator and rotating turbine shaft through special viewing windows. Fish viewing windows offer a chance to watch coho, sockeye, and king salmon, along with steelhead, shad, lamprey and other fish, as they head upstream each summer and fall.
SPRING CREEK NATIONAL FISH HATCHERY The Spring Creek National Fish Hatchery raises more than 15 million Tule Fall Chinook salmon annually. Adult Tule Fall Chinook salmon return in September and visitors can watch the fish being spawned in mid- to late September. Located 16 miles east of Stevenson on Hwy 14. 509-427-1730 www.fws.gov/gorgefish/springcreek LITTLE WHITE SALMON FISH HATCHERY An underwater viewing area and wildlife viewing opportunities at the hatchery make this a favorite for visitors year-round. Chinook and coho can be seen spawning in the river below the hatchery, particularly in the fall. The mile long entrance road begins at the west end of the bridge, over the Little White Salmon River at Drano Lake, 12 miles east from Stevenson. 509-538-2755 www.fws.gov/gorgefish/littlewhite
The Bradford Island Visitors Center, located on the Oregon side of the Columbia River, is a five-level-facility, offering amazing underwater views of migrating fish, a large theater, and displays that offer incites into the history and workings of a hydropower plant. The adjacent Bonneville Fish Hatchery has informative displays and ponds filled with rainbow trout and a half-dozen massive white sturgeon. Sturgeon still spawn in the area below the dam and the lower Columbia River supports a healthy sturgeon population. Bonneville Lock and Dam was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as an historic district in June 1986. Visitor centers are open daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day. Admission is free. For further information call 541-374-8820 or 509-427-4281. https:/www.nwp.usace.army.mil
www.skamania.org
2010 SKAMANIA COUNTY VISITORS’ GUIDE
35