Citizens for the Preservation of Fish and Dams

About CFPFD

Read more about our mission, who we are, and what you can do to help.

Education

Learn more information about the preservation of fish and dams, from barging and transportation to dam statistics.

Resources

See our collection of white papers, graphs, and videos.

What's New

Stop Killing Our Fish – Summary – Fred Mensik

March 21, 2024

This is a 5-minute summary of Fred Mensik’s 17-minute presentation.

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Stop Killing Our Fish – Fred Mensik

March 20, 2024

This is the full 17-minute presentation by Fred Mensik.

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Upcoming Events

Our Mission

Our mission is to provide education and factual information regarding the preservation of fish and dams.

We are dedicated to raising awareness and understanding, not only about the four lower Snake River Dams but also the broader context of river ecosystems and their inhabitants.

Dams

Along with the three Columbia River dams in Portland District, the five Walla Walla District dams provide a safe passage for juvenile salmon to reach the ocean and for returning adults to reach their spawning grounds that is critical to the survival of the species. When the dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers in the Walla Walla District were installed in the 1950’s, 1960’s, and 1970’s, the importance of fish passage was well understood and all of the lower Snake River and lower Columbia River dams were built with upstream fish passage structures.

2023-07-05 10_29_37-inside brocure.pdf

Fish Counting

The numbers depicted on the graph were taken from 83 years of fish counts at Bonneville Dam. From 2001/2015, over 25 years after the last Snake River Dam was finished, 8.2 million fish crossed the dam. That's over a 300% increase from previous years. This increase in fish numbers was due to better ocean conditions and improved barging and hatchery capabilities.

Juvenile Fish Transport

The US Army Corps of Engineers has been transporting ESA-listed juvenile fish collected at the Snake River dams via barge or truck since 1977. The current fleet includes eight barges and five specially made transport trucks & trailers. The juvenile fish are released below Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River.

2023-07-06 10_38_12-Fish Passage Thru the Lower Snake & Columbia Rivers