News Stories

Precious cargo at The Dalles Dam

The Dalles Lock and Dam
Published Feb. 25, 2013
Corps of Engineers and Wash. Department of Fish and Wildlife employes dewater The Dalles Dam fish ladder. As water levels decrease, employees guide fish toward the downstream exit of the fish ladder.

Corps of Engineers and Wash. Department of Fish and Wildlife employes dewater The Dalles Dam fish ladder. As water levels decrease, employees guide fish toward the downstream exit of the fish ladder.

Corps of Engineers and Wash. Department of Fish and Wildlife employes dewater The Dalles Dam fish ladder.

Corps of Engineers and Wash. Department of Fish and Wildlife employes dewater The Dalles Dam fish ladder.

Corps of Engineers and Wash. Department of Fish and Wildlife employes dewater The Dalles Dam fish ladder. Fish remaining in the ladder are collected and returned to the Columbia River.

Corps of Engineers and Wash. Department of Fish and Wildlife employes dewater The Dalles Dam fish ladder. Fish remaining in the ladder are collected and returned to the Columbia River.

Corps of Engineers and Wash. Department of Fish and Wildlife employes dewater The Dalles Dam fish ladder.

Corps of Engineers and Wash. Department of Fish and Wildlife employes dewater The Dalles Dam fish ladder.

Corps of Engineers and Wash. Department of Fish and Wildlife employes dewater The Dalles Dam fish ladder. Fish remaining in the ladder are collected and returned to the Columbia River.

Corps of Engineers and Wash. Department of Fish and Wildlife employes dewater The Dalles Dam fish ladder. Fish remaining in the ladder are collected and returned to the Columbia River.

Corps of Engineers and Wash. Department of Fish and Wildlife employes dewater The Dalles Dam fish ladder. In order to access the ladder employees crawl through holes in the wiers usually used by fish.

Corps of Engineers and Wash. Department of Fish and Wildlife employes dewater The Dalles Dam fish ladder. In order to access the ladder employees crawl through holes in the wiers usually used by fish.

Corps of Engineers and Wash. Department of Fish and Wildlife employes dewater The Dalles Dam fish ladder. Fish remaining in the ladder are collected and returned to the Columbia River.

Corps of Engineers and Wash. Department of Fish and Wildlife employes dewater The Dalles Dam fish ladder. Fish remaining in the ladder are collected and returned to the Columbia River.

Corps of Engineers and Wash. Department of Fish and Wildlife employes dewater The Dalles Dam fish ladder. If large sturgeon are found in the fish ladder, employees will use a crane to lift the fish out of the ladder and place it back into the river.

Corps of Engineers and Wash. Department of Fish and Wildlife employes dewater The Dalles Dam fish ladder. If large sturgeon are found in the fish ladder, employees will use a crane to lift the fish out of the ladder and place it back into the river.

Corps of Engineers and Wash. Department of Fish and Wildlife employes dewater The Dalles Dam fish ladder. Fish remaining in the ladder are collected and returned to the Columbia River.

Corps of Engineers and Wash. Department of Fish and Wildlife employes dewater The Dalles Dam fish ladder. Fish remaining in the ladder are collected and returned to the Columbia River.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife employees  dewatered the east fish ladder at The Dalles Lock and Dam Dec. 3. Dewatering is done during the winter months so the fish ladders can be inspected and workers can perform needed maintenance or repairs when fish are not migrating. This is important because the ladders are the only channel for fish to get upriver and around the dam.

 

Workers began by lowering bulkheads, or doors, into the ladder to reduce the flow of water and lower the depth. Once the water was at a safe level, the work began. Employees climbed down into the chilly, 30-foot-wide concrete canyonand started directing fish through a maze of weirs toward the downstream exit. This slippery fish ladder is over a third of a mile long, or 1,801 feet. The weirs are staggered every 16 feet, with holes in the bottom to allow fish to swim through. Contrary to what many people think, fish usually swim through the weirs rather than jump over them.

 

Fish that were not guided to the downstream exit were carefully scooped into nets and placed in bags. Once contained, the precious cargo was attached to a rope and pulled out of the ladder. Up top, the staff gently took the package and lowered it over the dam and safely back into the Columbia River. Adult salmonids were released upstream of the dam and juvenile salmonids were released  downstream. All other fish were released at the most convenient location except lamprey, which were held for the Nez Perce tribe for a reintroduction program. Occasionally, a crane was needed to lift large sturgeon out of the ladders. Other fish commonly seen are steelhead, carp and shad.

 

After the fish were carefully returned to the river, The Dalles Dam employees moved forward with the maintenance and repair work in the fish ladder. After the work was finished, the bulkheads were removed and the ladder was ready to again offer safe passage around the dam.


How to Subscribe to RSS

Use Edge Browser
How to follow feeds in Microsoft Edge

  1. Visit the Microsoft Edge Add-on store: https://microsoftedge.microsoft.com/addons/Microsoft-Edge-Extensions-Home. ...
  2. Search for “rss feed reader”: ...
  3. Click “Get” Next to “Feeder – RSS Feed Reader”, then Confirm by clicking “Add Extension”
  4. ​ Setup your feeds: Search for feeds one-by-one, browse the library of sites or import feeds with OP
    Use Outlook
 
  1. In Outlook, right-click the RSS Feeds folder and choose Add a New RSS Feed.

  2. In the New RSS Feed dialog box, enter the URL of the RSS Feed.

    Enter the URL for the RSS Feed

    Tip: If you need help finding the RSS feed URL on a website, look for an RSS icon.
     Button image Right-click that icon, and then copy the shortcut to the Clipboard.
    Press Ctrl+V to paste the information from the Clipboard into the RSS Feed location box.

    Choose Add > OK.                                                                

    Additional Subscription Information: Microsoft How to Subscribe to RSS feed in Outlook

Use Internet Explorer

Open Internet explorer and open any USACE website. Look for the small RSS icon and click on that icon as show in this image:

Once it opens in Internet Explorer, it will have an option at the top to subscribe to this RSS feed as show here:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Use Google Chrome
Chrome Extension allows RSS Feed Subscriptions

Free RSS Feed Readerhttps://feeder.co