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Tribal Fishing site to be built west of the old ferry site in Dallesport

By
Real Estate Agent with Columbia Gorge Real Estate OR 940200312 WA92465

Corps buys land for tribal fishing site

Many traditional fishing grounds, originally set aside for local tribes by a series of 19th century treaties, were flooded by the construction of a number of dams along the Columbia River beginning in the 1930s. In 1988, after much lobbying by the tribes, Congress passed legislation directing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to buy 400 acres of riverside land for use by the tribes.
     On Tuesday, the Corps announced the purchase of a 50-acre parcel of land in Dallesport, completing a chain of 31 new fishing sites stretching about 150 miles along the Columbia between the Bonneville Dam and the McNary Dam near Hermiston.
     The narrow stretch of rocky, arid ground on the north side of the river, just west of the old ferry landing in Dallesport, will be used by the Nez Perce, Umatilla, Warm Springs and Yakima tribes to fish for sturgeon and several types of salmon, including Chinook and sockeye.
     According to the Gail Lovell, the Corps project manager for the site, Willard Gaul, the plot's previous owner, supported Indian fishing rights and wanted the land to eventually return to the tribes. After Gaul's death, the Corps bought the land from his surviving family for $500,000.
     Since buying the plot, the Corps has hired an American Indian construction and design firm to survey and improve the land. The site is set to be completed by September 2011.
          Local ATV enthusiasts,  may be less enthused about the sale. Gaul, who did not live on the land, had long allowed them to drive over the site's dunes.  "As soon as we go into construction, we're not going to be allowing that," said Lovel.  The adjoining landowners may appreciate the reduction in dust and noise as well, she said.

Comments (1)

Becky Schertenleib, Nan Wimmers
Columbia Gorge Real Estate - The Dalles, OR
"sisters by chance, partners by choice"

You may have heard the big booms recently...they are blasting the basalt cliffs along the river to make way for the state of the art ramp... the site will include camping sites & also restrooms!

Jan 19, 2011 03:37 AM