Notes for "Carried Away Piecemeal"
May. 3rd, 2021 08:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThese are the notes for "Carried Away Piecemeal."
"Men may dam it and say that they have made a lake, but it will still be a river. It will keep its nature and bide its time, like a caged animal alert for the slightest opening. In time, it will have its way; the dam, like the ancient cliffs, will be carried away piecemeal in the currents."
-- Wendell Berry
Climate change has caused multiple effects in Washington. Violent storms cause landslides, impact wastewater treatment, and overwhelm water management systems.
Dams have all but destroyed anadromous fish such as salmon.
These maps show the Columbia River Basin dams and Pacific Northwest Reservoir System. These include the Bonneville Lock and Dam, the Dalles Dam, the John Day Dam, the Pelton Dam, the Willow Creek Dam, the McKay Dam, the McNary Dam, the Chandler Dam, and the Ice Harbor Lock and Dam. Featured rivers include the Hood River (formerly known as Dog River); the White Salmon River, the Klickitat River, the Deschutes River, the John Day River, Willow Creek, the Umatilla River, and the Yakima River.
Dams are vulnerable to a variety of threats. Wildfires can strip ground cover, increasing runoff and debris that may overwhelm a dam's capacity to hold back.
Enjoy a video of some spectacular dam failures. This video shows the use of explosives to blow a hole in the bottom of the White Salmon River Dam in Washington. The reservoir drains pretty fast, although in this case the whole dam doesn't fall apart immediately.
The northern part of the Yakama Reservation has high to moderate wildfire risk, lower toward the south part. Native fire management involved various techniques including controlled burning.
Many parts of Washington have wetlands, especially around lakes and rivers. Numerous towns have been built close to waterfronts, relying on drainage systems to prevent flooding. With little or no human management, these begin to fail quickly, allowing waters to rise.
The Yakima River Basin includes multiple dams and irrigation systems. Before the End, these had drawn down the river below sustainable levels, resulting in various problems. Towns cluster near the river. In particular, the area between Yakima and Kennewick is largely floodplain. Without human supervision, the water infrastructure can no longer manage changing levels from storms or droughts. Municipal drainage systems are particularly vulnerable, and begin to fail in the first year or two After. Roughly the eastern half of the Yakama Reservation lies on the flood plain, with the western half up in the mountains.
This map shows Washington counties. The Yakama Reservation lies in Yakima County. Here is a population map. The east part of the reservation has much higher population than the west part.
Washington has many large cities that were heavily bombed in the End, along with smaller cities and towns that also got hit.
Rank City Population
1 Seattle 724,305
2 Spokane 217,353
3 Tacoma 212,869
4 Vancouver 180,556
5 Bellevue 144,403
6 Kent 131,118
7 Everett 109,766
8 Renton 101,484
9 Spokane Valley 97,562
10 Federal Way 96,526
11 Yakima 93,413
This state map shows government lands including reservations. The Yakima Firing Center an Army training center, used for maneuvers and live fire exercises.
A land use map of the Yakama Reservation shows mostly agriculture and forestry. Much of Yakima County and the Yakama Reservation do not have official roads. Most of the population clusters along the river and its roads in the northeast.
Yakama Reservation Towns
135 Toppenish 8,873
191 Wapato 5,041
297 Mabton 2,087
391 White Swan 851
423 Harrah 613
547 Parker 74
Brownstown is not listed.
Nearby Towns
Yakima was completely destroyed. Ellensburg, Sunnyside, and Grandview were hit. Most of the others were too small, but Selah and Union Gap got spillover from Yakima. Moxie, Tieton, and Naches got flooded with refugees from the fringes of Yakima. Some Yakima refugees headed south to the Yakama Reservation, but Parker had no place for them and Wapato rebuffed them.
11 Yakima 93,413
73 Ellensburg 20,167
83 Sunnyside 16,559
112 Grandview 11,116
145 Selah 7,856
172 Prosser 6,202
173 Union Gap 6,163
211 Moxee 4,012
222 Granger 3,756
327 Tieton 1,686
419 Naches 627
553 Maryhill 62
The Dalles, Dallesport, Hood River, and Wishram are not listed.
Read about the Yakama Indian Reservation and its resources. Both the reservation and surrounding Yakima County have a lot of agriculture, such as field crops and cattle. Here are some numbers on agriculture and forestry.
"The false religious doctrine of Christian discovery was used by the United States to perpetuate crimes of genocide and forced displacement against Native Peoples. The Columbia River dams were built on this false legal foundation, and decimated the Yakama Nation’s fisheries, traditional foods, and cultural sites,” said Yakama Nation Tribal Council Chairman JoDe Goudy. “On behalf of the Yakama Nation and those things that cannot speak for themselves, I call on the United States to reject the doctrine of Christian discovery and immediately remove the Bonneville Dam, Dalles Dam, and John Day Dam."
This report includes scenarios for failures of the Bonneville Lock and Dam and the John Day Lock and Dam.
Beavers took a good ten years after the End before they started exploring the recently emptied lands, because they're fussy about water quality. They emerged from wilderness reserves to find water escaping from its former confines and abandoned fields bristling with tender saplings. In the last five years they have eagerly built dams and created ponds in the areas bordering their old reserves, greatly increasing niches available to other wildlife. As a keystone species and ecosystem engineers, their expansion will help many other animals recover from the previous human pressure. This poem shows the End and its immediate Aftermath, in which the Yakama Reservation is one of the beaver refuges. They first grow inside the reservation before eventually expanding outward.
The Yakama Nation is one place focused on beaver restoration, as shown in this assessment tool.
Cascadian culture increasingly favors dam removal. Such action elsewhere probably would have met with more objections.
"Men may dam it and say that they have made a lake, but it will still be a river. It will keep its nature and bide its time, like a caged animal alert for the slightest opening. In time, it will have its way; the dam, like the ancient cliffs, will be carried away piecemeal in the currents."
-- Wendell Berry
Climate change has caused multiple effects in Washington. Violent storms cause landslides, impact wastewater treatment, and overwhelm water management systems.
Dams have all but destroyed anadromous fish such as salmon.
These maps show the Columbia River Basin dams and Pacific Northwest Reservoir System. These include the Bonneville Lock and Dam, the Dalles Dam, the John Day Dam, the Pelton Dam, the Willow Creek Dam, the McKay Dam, the McNary Dam, the Chandler Dam, and the Ice Harbor Lock and Dam. Featured rivers include the Hood River (formerly known as Dog River); the White Salmon River, the Klickitat River, the Deschutes River, the John Day River, Willow Creek, the Umatilla River, and the Yakima River.
Dams are vulnerable to a variety of threats. Wildfires can strip ground cover, increasing runoff and debris that may overwhelm a dam's capacity to hold back.
Enjoy a video of some spectacular dam failures. This video shows the use of explosives to blow a hole in the bottom of the White Salmon River Dam in Washington. The reservoir drains pretty fast, although in this case the whole dam doesn't fall apart immediately.
The northern part of the Yakama Reservation has high to moderate wildfire risk, lower toward the south part. Native fire management involved various techniques including controlled burning.
Many parts of Washington have wetlands, especially around lakes and rivers. Numerous towns have been built close to waterfronts, relying on drainage systems to prevent flooding. With little or no human management, these begin to fail quickly, allowing waters to rise.
The Yakima River Basin includes multiple dams and irrigation systems. Before the End, these had drawn down the river below sustainable levels, resulting in various problems. Towns cluster near the river. In particular, the area between Yakima and Kennewick is largely floodplain. Without human supervision, the water infrastructure can no longer manage changing levels from storms or droughts. Municipal drainage systems are particularly vulnerable, and begin to fail in the first year or two After. Roughly the eastern half of the Yakama Reservation lies on the flood plain, with the western half up in the mountains.
This map shows Washington counties. The Yakama Reservation lies in Yakima County. Here is a population map. The east part of the reservation has much higher population than the west part.
Washington has many large cities that were heavily bombed in the End, along with smaller cities and towns that also got hit.
Rank City Population
1 Seattle 724,305
2 Spokane 217,353
3 Tacoma 212,869
4 Vancouver 180,556
5 Bellevue 144,403
6 Kent 131,118
7 Everett 109,766
8 Renton 101,484
9 Spokane Valley 97,562
10 Federal Way 96,526
11 Yakima 93,413
This state map shows government lands including reservations. The Yakima Firing Center an Army training center, used for maneuvers and live fire exercises.
A land use map of the Yakama Reservation shows mostly agriculture and forestry. Much of Yakima County and the Yakama Reservation do not have official roads. Most of the population clusters along the river and its roads in the northeast.
Yakama Reservation Towns
135 Toppenish 8,873
191 Wapato 5,041
297 Mabton 2,087
391 White Swan 851
423 Harrah 613
547 Parker 74
Brownstown is not listed.
Nearby Towns
Yakima was completely destroyed. Ellensburg, Sunnyside, and Grandview were hit. Most of the others were too small, but Selah and Union Gap got spillover from Yakima. Moxie, Tieton, and Naches got flooded with refugees from the fringes of Yakima. Some Yakima refugees headed south to the Yakama Reservation, but Parker had no place for them and Wapato rebuffed them.
11 Yakima 93,413
73 Ellensburg 20,167
83 Sunnyside 16,559
112 Grandview 11,116
145 Selah 7,856
172 Prosser 6,202
173 Union Gap 6,163
211 Moxee 4,012
222 Granger 3,756
327 Tieton 1,686
419 Naches 627
553 Maryhill 62
The Dalles, Dallesport, Hood River, and Wishram are not listed.
Read about the Yakama Indian Reservation and its resources. Both the reservation and surrounding Yakima County have a lot of agriculture, such as field crops and cattle. Here are some numbers on agriculture and forestry.
"The false religious doctrine of Christian discovery was used by the United States to perpetuate crimes of genocide and forced displacement against Native Peoples. The Columbia River dams were built on this false legal foundation, and decimated the Yakama Nation’s fisheries, traditional foods, and cultural sites,” said Yakama Nation Tribal Council Chairman JoDe Goudy. “On behalf of the Yakama Nation and those things that cannot speak for themselves, I call on the United States to reject the doctrine of Christian discovery and immediately remove the Bonneville Dam, Dalles Dam, and John Day Dam."
This report includes scenarios for failures of the Bonneville Lock and Dam and the John Day Lock and Dam.
Beavers took a good ten years after the End before they started exploring the recently emptied lands, because they're fussy about water quality. They emerged from wilderness reserves to find water escaping from its former confines and abandoned fields bristling with tender saplings. In the last five years they have eagerly built dams and created ponds in the areas bordering their old reserves, greatly increasing niches available to other wildlife. As a keystone species and ecosystem engineers, their expansion will help many other animals recover from the previous human pressure. This poem shows the End and its immediate Aftermath, in which the Yakama Reservation is one of the beaver refuges. They first grow inside the reservation before eventually expanding outward.
The Yakama Nation is one place focused on beaver restoration, as shown in this assessment tool.
Cascadian culture increasingly favors dam removal. Such action elsewhere probably would have met with more objections.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-05-04 02:46 am (UTC)I don't think Bonneville will come out anytime soon; it's the major power generator for a large chunk of Cascadia, and keeps us from having to use fossil fuels. OTOH, we've already taken out several of the smaller, older dams, and there is consensus among a heck of a lot of white people along with the First Nations that several more should come out for the benefit of both cultures. (Once the sediment builds up, the thing transitions from being useful to a *danger* .... )
Yes ...
Date: 2021-05-04 03:15 am (UTC)Best restoration technique: get the fuck out of the way.
>> I don't think Bonneville will come out anytime soon; it's the major power generator for a large chunk of Cascadia, and keeps us from having to use fossil fuels. <<
Well, you can have cheap hydropower or anadromous fish, not both.
>> OTOH, we've already taken out several of the smaller, older dams, and there is consensus among a heck of a lot of white people along with the First Nations that several more should come out for the benefit of both cultures. (Once the sediment builds up, the thing transitions from being useful to a *danger* .... ) <<
Not just sediment, but overall age of the structure. The older a dam gets, the more likely a catastrophic failure becomes.
Now consider that climate change, wildfires, and logging are increasing the strain on dams -- and most dams exist as part of a system whereby one major failure can take out multiple dams downstream, thus greatly increasing the damage.
Sometimes the Past is just the prologue. . .
Date: 2021-05-04 03:41 pm (UTC)"There is no such thing as an ideal river in Nature,
but the Mississippi is out of joint.
Dust blowing in the West - floods raging in the East -
We have seen these problems growing to horrible extremes.
When first we found the great valley it was forty
percent forested.
Today, for every hundred acres of forests we found,
we have ten left."
I've seen it (as movie) since, but the *first* time I met it as a transcript of the voice-over. And like *that*, it reads as poetry.
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~1930s/FILM/lorentz/riverscript1.html
It follows the systematic land degradation and ends in the dambuilding, as a symbol of hope ("We had the power to take the valley apart - we have the power to put it together again").
Still.
Even the first time I read it, it felt unfinished.
Flavia (bv97045)