Utility has plans for fish, parks

VANCOUVER, Wash. — Pacific Power is proposing both fish and park improvements in its application to renew its license to operate Merwin, Yale and Swift dams on the North Fork of the Lewis River.

The Portland-based utility says it wants to return salmon and steelhead to the upper North Fork of the Lewis after a 60-year absence.

The proposal is additional compensation for fish losses caused by construction of the dams. The utility has for years financed hatcheries on the river and improved habitat.

Pacific Power also is proposing almost $14 million in park and campground improvements near the dams. The utility operates four campgrounds and 14 day-use parks on the three reservoirs and along the river downstream of Merwin Dam. Campground renovations and expansions, plus boat ramp improvements and trail construction are included in the proposal.

PacifiCorp, a subsidiary of Scottish Power, operates as Pacific Power in the Northwest. It filed its license renewal application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in late April. The three dams produce 510 megawatts of electricity, about half the utility’s hydroelectric capacity.

New licenses would be for 30 years or more.

The fish restoration plan calls for trapping adult spring chinook and coho, and winter steelhead at Merwin Dam and trucking them to Swift Reservoir. From there, the fish would have access to 117 miles of habitat. Young fish headed downstream would be collected at Swift Dam and trucked to Merwin for release.

The upstream portion of the plan would cost an estimated $6 million and the downstream collector would cost $60.3 million, the utility said.