For several months, Jeff Ament has been watching tension simmer along the banks of the North Santiam River, as it churns and empties its frustrations into the Willamette River as residents voice a mix of anxieties about a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ project at Detroit Dam.
The proposed project, a temperature control tower and fish collection facility, will provide temperature regulation and fish passage through the dam for endangered fish – and have impacts on residents throughout the watershed, from Sweet Home, Salem, Detroit and Albany.