The people who LIVE here care

Before the Bonnevile dam Government Island was sandbars at low water levels, completely submerged at high. Haydn Island would be a 10th the size it is now. These are artificially created habitats by a dam that wouldn't exist if the dam was removed. The dam is the primary reason for the collapse of wild salmon stocks on the Columbia and it needs to be removed. I know the environmentalists hearts are in the right place and I do agree with them about preserving wild areas but Hayden Island isn't a truly wild place, it's an island park recently created by accident. They should be focused on the removal of the Bonnevile and other dams that have nearly destroyed salmon populations.

It's funny how so called environmentalists resist when someone tries to pull their head up to see more of the "forest" rather than the "trees". Ghassan where exactly are we supposed to be heading? Yes, the dam supplies electricity but is it worth the extinction of salmon? That's one way we're definitely headed, the salmon runs are utterly dependent on the miniscule and dwindling wild salmon runs, forget the hatchery numbers, without the infusion of wild fish genes the hatchery fish runs will not exist. The turbines are the number one killer of salmonoids and there is no solution to the problem. Removal of the dam is the only solution. Do we really "need" the electricity? Clean air, water, land, lakes and rivers to produce food are what keeps us alive not the technology that suffuses are lives. Perhaps we should focus on living less consumptive and more sustainable lifestyles rather than trying to produce more energy to feed our technology fixation.
The micro habitats in the island chains created by lowered water levels below the dam are nice but they aren't the way the river is supposed to be. Neither are the artificial lakes created by dams, they also create lake habitats favorable to certain types of fish but they also can severely damage native migratory fish populations.
I'm not saying you shouldn't be fighting against the Hayden Island project. I don't like it either, it's just more development contributing to more growth in the Portland area and we don't need it. Just be realistic about what the battle is about and the even greater background issues that people seem to be oblivious about.
Ms. Barnes, we're not exactly torturing sea lions but if there was no dam it wouldn't be an issue. The dam has created a choke point for salmon that the sea lions are taking advantage of, can't blame them for that, they are simply following their predator prey instincts, same as the salmon do. That being said, because of the fragility of the wild salmon runs and stability of sea lion populations I feel it's more important to protect the fish. Perhaps we could allow some hunting, maybe local native american tribes could be allowed to take some sea lions as they traditionally did in the past. The sea lions would learn to stay away from the dams and do their fishing away from where the dam makes salmon congregate and be easy prey. Sorry if you're an animal rights advocate but I have nothing against hunting done sustainably.

Thanks very much for this informative article. Those of us who live on the island will bear the brunt of these proposed developments and no one seems to care. Portland residents will have to pay for it, and yet very few people in Portland know a thing about what's being proposed on West Hayden Island. Please keep following this. It's a totally unnecessary project and the plan to annex this land should be nixed for once and for all. City Council: Just Say NO!