Bonneville Dam Project

This aerial view was reproduced from a glass slide. (ca. 1941)

Bonneville Dam was the first of a series of dams built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers along the Columbia River in response to the Corps’ 1932 “308 Report”. Designed to replace a canal and locks that had been in place since 1896, the dam was intended to serve shipping up the river, control flooding, and provide electric power. Construction began in 1933, and the jobs provided helped to lessen the impact of the Great Depression in the area. 

Although fish ladders were included in the construction plan, it has become clear that, as far as salmon were concerned, this system could not replace the free flowing river.