PETER YAGER

Park Ranger

Lower Granite Dam Visitor Center

August 22, 2024

We got our first view of the Lower Granite dam as the five-vehicle caravan cruised up the stagnant Snake River. We visited the Lower Granite dam to learn about hydropower, navigation, and salmon on the Snake River, which perfectly fits into this semester’s theme of Water in the West. The Lower Granite is a run-of-the-river dam in Southeast Washington. It is the highest dam on Marine Highway M-84, which carries barges for 465 miles between Lewiston, Idaho and the Pacific Ocean via the Columbia and Snake rivers. We parked at the visitor center and strolled in, all 21 students, professors Lyman and Stan, and our science communications educator, Sarah Koenigsberg. A man in his early 30s and a hi-vis Army Corps vest walked out of his office and asked for everyone’s IDs so he could photocopy them. Just like the water upstream, visitor access to the dam is restricted. The man’s name was Peter Yager, and his mullet stuck out from under his hard hat. As we walked down the road to the salmon lab, Peter dispelled bits and pieces of his life story. He grew up on the Yellowstone River in Montana, and appreciates the value of a wild river. Peter worked as a horse patrol EMT in Yellowstone National park before transferring to Lower Granite last year. He said he’d have no qualms finding a new job if the dam was breached the next day. As we talked about rising awareness of habitat loss and salmon populations, Peter said, “I don’t think these dams would have gone in if we put them in now.” Our heads perked up.

by Jackson Schroeder