Yakama Nation protests hydro-electric project in Columbia River Gorge

Added: 2026-05-16

[00:00:03]Just outside Goldendale, high in a bluff above the Columbia River.

[00:00:11]I think many of you know, you know, we're opposing the Goldendale pump storage project. Members of the Yakama Nation and other leaders speaking against a major change to their ancestral land. Uh it's it's a religious landmark.

[00:00:25]We feel we don't have to tell all details of sacredness.

[00:00:31]Our people, we've been here from our creation our creation time. The hydro project would be on or near several sacred sites to the Yakama Nation. One of those is Juniper Point, called Push Pump, the highest peak for miles.

[00:00:45]High points hold special meaning. So, we go here to pray. We go here to uh have rejuvenate our souls and and and pray to creator as high as we can get.

[00:00:56]>> William Ray Jr. is the tribal chair for the Klamath, Modoc, and Yahooskin tribes in South Central Oregon. We have the same problem in our area in South Central Oregon called the Swan Lake pumping station, which is going to have major adverse effects to uh our religious sites uh that we pray with.

[00:01:15]>> The Goldendale project would build two reservoirs, one above and the other 2,000 ft below, connected by a 30-ft diameter tunnel running through the mountain with a turbine inside. KGW first spoke with Rye Development in 2021. Uh this project when once it's constructed it would be able to provide 12 hours of on-demand renewable electricity to 500,000 homes in the Pacific Northwest. And it works like this. When energy is needed, water is pumped into the top reservoir and then released below to the lower one, generating electricity. There's already wind turbines up here, but it's not always windy. And this hydropower project would store the power for future use. Use those new resources wisely and provide them to residents as in commercial users when they actually need the electricity. But the Yakama Nation wants the land left undisturbed. We want places to be left alone, left in nature.

[00:02:08]It's like the non-native people see something and they want it they see development. They see how can I profit? How can I capitalize?

[00:02:18]Right Development says they're committed to working with tribes and said that the federal license includes numerous environmental protections and conditions as part of the historic property management plan. The company behind the project says it'll generate enough energy to power half a million homes and bring in around $14 million in new tax revenue annually. So far a date for construction has not been determined yet.

[00:02:41]Near Goldendale, Washington, I'm Devon Haskins, KGW News.