The Salmon Elevator: How Science Aims to Tame the Columbia
A new basket-based mechanical lift promises to move migrating salmon over high dams, challenging the limitations of traditional fish ladders.
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Perfection by Dean John N. Cobb of the University of Washington College of Fisheries, of a new method to lift salmon over waterfalls, will make possible the construction of high-power dams on rivers where salmon run. Fish ladders are suitable for low dams, but salmon will not climb ladders higher than 30 feet. This prejudice of salmon against altitude has been overcome by a system of basket elevators which entice the salmon into pools on the upper side of the low waterfalls. From these pools, they are scooped up by dry baskets and dumped over the dam without injury. 'Half the objection to the issuance of a federal permit for the Priest Rapids dam on the Columbia River will be met by this new discovery,' Dean Cobb said. Work will soon begin on the problem of lowering baby salmon over power dams, which Cobb believes will resolve all remaining objections to high-power dam construction.
“This prejudice of salmon against altitude has been overcome by a system of basket elevators.”
Dean Cobb's optimism reflects the early 20th-century belief that human engineering could fully mitigate the environmental destruction caused by hydropower. Today, the struggle to save Columbia River salmon remains a central, unresolved tension in Washington's environmental and economic policy.
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