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Falling Waters: Hydropower and Renewable Energy

Daniel McCool

in River Republic: The Fall and Rise of America's Rivers

This chapter examines how hydropower and renewable energy diminished the value of American rivers as a whole and instead allocated them to narrow, extractive uses. There is an ongoing debate about ... More

This chapter examines how hydropower and renewable energy diminished the value of American rivers as a whole and instead allocated them to narrow, extractive uses. There is an ongoing debate about whether hydropower should be considered “renewable” energy and lumped in with other green sources, such as wind and solar. On the one hand, the “fuel” for hydro is water, which renews itself as precipitation. On the other hand, dams have a finite life, reservoirs fill with silt, and hydro dams can have devastating effects on riverine environments. Nonfederal hydropower in the United States is regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which has enormous power over the fate of rivers. This chapter considers the politics and legal history of the conflict between fish—specifically salmon and steelhead smolts—and four hydro dams on the lower Snake River in the Columbia River Basin.Less

Polaklie Illahee (Land of Darkness): Identity and Genocidal Culture in Oregon

Gray H. Whaley

in Oregon and the Collapse of Illahee: U.S. Empire and the Transformation of an Indigenous World, 1792-1859

This chapter discusses the years between 1851 and 1858, which saw intermittent armed conflict among Native peoples and colonials in western Oregon Territory, and notes that in 1853, Congress formally ... More

This chapter discusses the years between 1851 and 1858, which saw intermittent armed conflict among Native peoples and colonials in western Oregon Territory, and notes that in 1853, Congress formally separated Oregon and Washington territories at the Columbia River. It observes that conflicts produced tragic losses of life, land, and property for colonials and indigenes, and exacerbated intraterritorial political feuding and federal–territorial tensions. The chapter notes that during the tumultuous and often violent 1850s, colonists quickly claimed the lands of the Willamette and lower Columbia River valleys, then moved on to the southern valleys of the Umpqua, Rogue, and Coast Range Mountains. It observes that the newcomers found the valleys of southwestern Oregon attractive both because the climate was like “baby bear's porridge”: drier than the Willamette Valley, wetter than California's Sacramento Valley.Less

Introduction: Historical Constructions of Oregon and Illahee

Gray H. Whaley

in Oregon and the Collapse of Illahee: U.S. Empire and the Transformation of an Indigenous World, 1792-1859

This introduction, which deals with the southwestern portion of the Oregon Country, modern-day western Oregon and Washington, notes that both the indigenous and the newcomer populations saw the lower ... More

This introduction, which deals with the southwestern portion of the Oregon Country, modern-day western Oregon and Washington, notes that both the indigenous and the newcomer populations saw the lower Columbia River as a central feature, but the Indians did not conceive of a “lower Oregon” the way Westerners did. It points out that prior to the arrival of Western traders, Illahee was already a dynamic and diverse place, featuring trade and kin networks that reached east of the Rocky Mountains and hundreds of miles to the north, south, and interior of the vast “Oregon Country.” The chapter also notes that the subsequent colonial fur trade joined and altered the existing networks of Illahee; it did not create them.Less

ROLL ON, COLUMBIA, ROLL ON: Down the Snake and Columbia Rivers

Daniel B. Botkin

in Beyond the Stony Mountains: Following in the Footsteps of Lewis and Clark

This chapter sees Lewis and Clark reach the now-famous Columbia River Gorge, which introduced them not only to great beauty but also to new challenges. The geological history of the Columbia River ... More

This chapter sees Lewis and Clark reach the now-famous Columbia River Gorge, which introduced them not only to great beauty but also to new challenges. The geological history of the Columbia River Gorge, the ecological transition from grassland to forest down the Columbia River, the importance of salmon as food, and major dams on the Columbia are described.Less

CHANGING OLD FORESTS AT THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA

Daniel B. Botkin

in Beyond the Stony Mountains: Following in the Footsteps of Lewis and Clark

This chapter has Lewis and Clark arrive at the mouth of the Columbia River in early December 1805. Lewis and Clark organized the men and built a wooden fort here at a site that was south of the ... More

This chapter has Lewis and Clark arrive at the mouth of the Columbia River in early December 1805. Lewis and Clark organized the men and built a wooden fort here at a site that was south of the Columbia along the wide mouth of an estuary, away from the strong winds that poured down the Columbia from the interior mountains, and protected by coastal hills and forests from direct exposure to the storms coming from the Pacific. They named the site “Fort Clatsop” after the local Indians. The identification of new species, the California condor, conifer rain forests of the Pacific Northwest, and role of Indians in forest conditions are described.Less

Around the Pole

in The Constitution in Congress: Descent into the Maelstrom, 1829-1861

This chapter elaborates three portentous issues that arose along the southern boundary during the 1840s—(1) the celebrated rebellion of 1841 in Rhode Island, (2) the settlement of U.S. and British ... More

This chapter elaborates three portentous issues that arose along the southern boundary during the 1840s—(1) the celebrated rebellion of 1841 in Rhode Island, (2) the settlement of U.S. and British claims to the Oregon territory in 1846, and (3) a little-known but instructive incident involving the termination of a commercial convention with Denmark in 1855. The first of these scenarios allows the pursuit of questions over the use of forces. The second scenario highlights diplomatic confrontation with Great Britain. The third scenario focuses on a still disputed issue respecting the treaty power that was suggested, but not debated, during the Oregon controversy itself. 54° forty minutes was the upper extremity of the U.S. claim to Oregon. The British, in return, claimed as far south as the Columbia River. Successive administrations had offered to settle the controversy by extending the existing border of 49° westward to the Pacific.Less