Columbia Gorge
Recreation and Conservation Opportunity
Recreation and Conservation Opportunity
In November 2021, three entities with strong Northwest ties and deep expertise in timberlands, forest conservation, and mill operations acquired 96,080 acres of timberlands previously owned by SDS Lumber Company and the mill. Located within the Columbia Gorge in Washington and Oregon, these lands are of significant environmental and community importance. They include important oak habitat, municipal drinking water sources, and recreational resources that include river frontage on the White Salmon River.
SDS Lumber Company, locally owned and founded in 1946, announced their intent to evaluate their options for the future of the company, including a sale of the mill and timberland businesses that employee 350 people. In a September 2020 press release, the company said that in “any possible sales outcomes, the board will seek to balance the interests of shareholders, employees, and the community.”
SDS Lumber Company lands (dark red) are highlighted on the map to the right.
Click the circle icon in the lower left corner of the map to access the legend.
The Tribal people comprising the Yakama Nation have lived in this area since the beginning of time. They used the entire land base, from the lowlands around the Columbia River to the snow-peaked Cascade Mountains. Territory Lands ceded to the federal government during the 1855 Treaty signing included over 12 million acres of land. The 1,130,000 acre reservation was granted to the Yakama in a Treaty signed in 1855 by Gov. Isaac Stevens of Washington.
Territory Lands ceded to the federal government during the 1855 Treaty (tan polygon) and the Yakama Nation Reservation (light brown) are highlighted on the map to the right.
Click the circle icon in the lower left corner of the map to access the legend.
What the North Shore of Oahu is to surfers, the Little White and White Salmon River drainages are to whitewater kayakers attracting the world’s best whitewater athletes including many who call the watershed home. The unique hydrology and favorable climate provide a long paddling season with big waterfalls and powerful rapids that challenge expert boaters and other sections that are suitable for instruction and guided raft trips.
There are abundant recreation opportunities within and around previously owned SDS Lumber Company lands, including but not limited to: kayaking, rafting, mountain biking, hiking, and rock climbing.
Click features on the map (e.g. rivers, trails, lands) to access pop-up windows with more information.
Click the circle icon in the lower left corner of the map to access the legend.
Columbia River Gorge Community Episode 1
Video credit: River Roots
Columbia River Gorge Community Episode 2
Video credit: River Roots
When Condit Dam was completed on the White Salmon in 1913, it devastated the river’s salmon and steelhead runs and damaged the entire ecosystem. The dam was an impassable barrier and reduced habitat for salmon and steelhead to only three miles. Wildlife that depended on these fish also suffered as well as Native Americans who depended on the fishery. The dam held back valuable gravel needed to replenish downstream river habitat. In 1999, recognizing that Condit Dam had outlived its usefulness, the owner Pacificorp signed an agreement with more than 20 parties, including conservation groups, the Yakama Nation, government agencies, and recreation groups to remove the dam and let the White Salmon River flow free. The dam was breached in 2011 and fully removed the following year.
Video credit: Maser Films
The extensive SDS timber holdings included parcels scattered throughout the White Salmon, Little White Salmon, Klickitat, Hood River, and tributary watersheds, including the important Rattlesnake Creek. They included not only commercial forest land, but many other habitat areas, such as oak woodlands, wetlands, and riparian areas. Now in new ownership, much of the land provides important habitat corridors and connectivity between public land and river corridors.
Management by the new landowners has realized an unprecedented opportunity to preserve habitat in the Columbia Gorge. The species diversity in this transitional ecology (where the sun meets the rain) is remarkable and unique. Continuing to manage these lands, as they have been for decades, without fragmentation or short-term harvest, provides for the preservation of this diversity.
The map shows critical habitat in orange (both polygon and lines) for threatened and endangered species in relation to previously owned SDS timberland. Click on a feature to get species and listing information.
Click the circle icon in the lower left corner of the map to access the legend.
A seven-mile stretch of the White Salmon, from Gilmer Creek, Washington (near the town of B Z Corner) to its confluence with Buck Creek, was designated a Wild and Scenic River as part of the legislation establishing the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area in 1986. The entire shoreline of the river segment was in private ownership, a challenge for the U.S. Forest Service. In the process of developing the management plan, SDS agreed to exchange parcels they owned for timber parcels elsewhere in the watershed. The management boundaries were established to incorporate this exchange. Negotiations proceeded for several years, but when specific parcels were identified for exchange, based on timber appraisals, the process faltered.
Ten parcels, representing almost 40% of the land and 40% of the shoreline in the White Salmon Wild & Scenic River boundary, have remained in mixed ownership. The Conservation Fund was able to acquire some of these lands but other parcels were retained in private ownership. As salmon and steelhead come back following dam removal, preservation of shorelines, seeps, and springs are essential. These parcels include locations of significance to the Yakama Nation. Keeping this segment pristine is also critical to whitewater recreation.
This is the time to close the circle and protect the Wild and Scenic river with all its remarkable values and we will continue to evaluate additional opportunities to bring key parcels into conservation status.
Click the circle icon in the lower left corner of the map to access the legend.
The White Salmon and Little White Salmon rivers exist in a hydrological regime that is unique to young volcanic landscapes. Young, sponge-like basalt deposits in the headwaters of both streams capture seasonal precipitation and slowly release the water throughout the year, supplying the perennial flow of cold, clean water that is essential for regional fish habitat, recreation, and irrigation needs. The connectivity of these aquifers to the land surface makes for relatively fast recharge, but also makes these water supplies extremely vulnerable to contamination, as well as depletion resulting from development, forest conversion, and increased evapotranspiration resulting from accelerated timber harvest cycles.
The White Salmon River watershed (blue) and the Little Salmon River watershed (teal) are highlighted on the map to the right.
Click the circle icon in the lower left corner of the map to access the legend.