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This content was published: May 16, 2016. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.

Breaching the dam subject: Speaker talks about damage from Northwest dams

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James Waddell came to PCC to discuss the problems associated with Northwest dams and their impact on wildlife.

Waddell worked as a civil engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for 35 years and served as the Deputy District Engineer for Programs in the Corps’ Walla Walla District where he helped to oversee four dams on the lower Snake River. Waddell has called for immediate breaching of those dams to prevent the impending extinction of naturally-producing (“wild”) salmon and steelhead in the Snake River basin, as well as Orca populations in Puget Sound. During a public lecture at the Sylvania Campus on May 11, he described his recent efforts to persuade the Obama Administration of the imperative of dam removal, focusing on the costs and benefits of breaching in terms of long-term environmental and economic sustainability.

About James Hill

James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »