White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1925-02-27
DEAN COBB TELLS HOW
TO GET FISH over dam

There is a persistent rurnor il
circulation here this week that acti
vity at Priest Rapids is impending
This last rumor says that the per
init for the dam is to be issuet
about March 1st., and that con
struction work will be under way
within go days. This information i.
said to have emanated from author
ities in a position to know. Old
timers here, however, have seen sc
many of these rumors about Priest
Rapids evaporate into thin air tina,
they do not get excited any more
The fish problem said to have beer
the cause of the delay of the last
year or two, seems to be in a fair
way of being solved. In fact, the
only thing left now appears to be a
way of getting young fish Matched
in the upper reaches of the river,
over a dam as high as the one at
Priest Rapids will be without in
juring or killing them.
Dean ]. N. Cobb, of the college
of fisheries at the University OF
Washington, who had charge of the
experimental work and devising the
method of getting the salmon up
over the dam, has completed and
FLED his report. An account of this
report was published in a recent
issue of the Portland Oregonian and
while somewhat lengthy it is never
theless highly interesting. The ac-
count follows:
AS the hydro-electric development,
of the Pacific northwest brings. tow
ering dams to every stream, it will
only be necessary for the salmon as
it makes its way to the spawning
ground to stop at the foot of the
masonry, await few moments for
the elevator, swim into the cage and
swim out into the upper water when
the car is at the top of the dam.
The scheme is no wild dream OF
the imagination, according to Profess
sor John N. Cobb, director of the col
lege of fisheries of the University OF
Washington, but is the result of an
experiment conducted last summer or
the Condit dam of the Northwestern
Electric company in the White Sal.
hASAA liNSA l1Cd1 llIC SdlI1OH.
Professor Cobb had previously ex.
pressed his theories on the solution
of the long-distance argument, be.
tween power interests and fishing in.
terests, but it was not until recently
that he made complete report o
the experiment and declared it feast
bic and practical from the standpoint
OF an expert on fish.
Part of Crop Lost
At the present time, according to
salmon men, the dams are much the
same as History building without
elevators. There are even no stairs
for emergency use, they say, because
the salmon are unable to go much
higher than 80 feet on the existing
ladders. The average city man may
be able to move his office to a ground
floor location, but the salmon who
fail to get over the dams must spawn
in unnatural and unfavorable waters
and fish men say large part oi
the future crop. is lost.
In commenting on his experiment,
Professor Cobb said:
Experiments with dams over Al
feet high had shown that salmon, at
least, could not be trusted to work
their way up over them through a
fishway unaided With this in mind
it was felt that the only hope oi
finding solution lay in the adop-
ton of method by means of which
the salmon would be lifted by arti.
ficial means, and it was finally de.
cided to do this with skip hoist,
Efficiency of Scheme Shown
The experiment last summer or
the White Salmon river proved thre,
things, according to the report. Tht
first was that the fish cou,d be liftee
to almost any heighth desired if the,
could be induced to enter the liftin.
device. The second was that they
could be lifted without water. Elk
periments are said to have showr
that the absence of water was a de-
cided advantage. as owing to there
being no water in the basket theil
struggles were extremely limited
while if they had been filled witt
water some sort Of cover to hold their
in the basket would have to be de.
vised to prevent them jumping out
The third conclusion was that such
installations of equipment should be
made only after consultation with an
expert biologist familiar with the
habits of fish,
Only II salmon died during the re-
cent experiments, according to Pro-
.o- Cobb, whose report concerning
his efforts, was, in part, az follows:
Device Is Described
"The device used was essentially a
skip hoist with basket or skip 81
by 60 inches, with minimum depths
of two feet six inches, the basket tc
run on track approximately 62-inches
gauge. AS it was to be merely an
experimental device, and be removed
as soon as the work was completed
but one basket was provided for, and
it was arranged to raise and lower
this by means of rope from the
basket through castiron head sheave
to the hoist proper, a six to one fric.
ton drive, the motive power to oper.
ate it being supplied by five-horss.
power 220 volts, alternating current
three phase, 1900 r. p. m. motor.
"A wire basket was used because ]
had come to the conclunion that il
would be better for many reasons no,
to lift any water. This was another
violent departure from precedent. bu,
the later experiments showed that
this was wise move. The basket
was made of galvanized wire, about
l-2-inch mesh, the idea being tc
have the mesh, Of sufficient width tc
permit of its emptying as fast as II
ros. from the water, and also thai
oil fsc1, could Aorapa fhrNr,0b fhs