The Lewis River Hydroelectric Projects - PacifiCorp

Lewis River Interpretive & Education Plan
twice. Many of these second- and third- generation forests are now at a stage
where the canopy intercepts most of the light, suppressing understory growth.
A significant event in the Lewis River Valley history was the great wildfire of
1902: the Yacolt Burn. This huge blaze, one of the largest in Washington State
history, burned thousands of acres of timber in the Yale area, destroying a
number of homesteads and killing 14-17 people. Much of the logging in the
early 20th century was salvage logging of Yacolt Burn wood.
Wildlife
The Lewis River Valley is home to a “typical” complement of northern Cascades
mammals, including elk, black bear, black-tailed deer, mountain lion, bobcat,
coyote, Douglas squirrel, mink, otter, bats, porcupines, shrews and small rodents
such as deer mice. Prominent birds include bald eagle, osprey, herons, various
woodpecker species, grouse, migratory songbirds such as thrushes, warblers
and sparrows, some overwintering and nesting waterfowl such as hooded
merganzers and wood ducks.
Cultural History
Native American
History
The valley of the upper Lewis River has a strong Native American history. Like
all salmon-bearing rivers in the Cascades, the Lewis was an important natural
resource for people who relied on salmon as their lifeblood and as a central trade
item in their Columbia River trade nexus.
Because of the fluid and complex nature of Native American societies, the
large timescales involved, and an imperfect understanding by Euroamerican
chroniclers of tribal relationships and land tenure, it is difficult to state specifics
on the “boundaries” of any tribe’s homeland previous to and immediately
following Euroamerican contact. The Lewis River drainage is known to
have been occupied by three main ethnic groups: the Cathlapootles (upper
Chinookan-speaking people), and the Taidnapam/Upper Cowlitz and the
Klickitat (both of which groups spoke languages related to Yakama and
Umatilla).
Today, the project area spans a region considered traditional territory by the
Cowlitz Tribe and the Yakama Nation. Following are brief overviews of these
groups, from their own public information resources:
Cowlitz
“The Cowlitz Indians were originally considered to be ‘a large and powerful
Salishan tribe.’ Because they were an interior tribe (that is, their territory did
not open onto a large body of water), they were more cohesive than other Salish
groups on the coast and Columbia River . . . Conscious of social stratification,
Sea Reach Ltd • 146 NE yamhill Street • Sheridan, OR draft 3 • November 2008 • page 58