Wonderful news from Wenatchee, Washington: The proposed Loomis Dam is off. I repeat: the proposed dam on the Similkameen, that would have cost $1 billion to build and flooded the river right up to the feet of the vineyards and the organic orchards in Cawston, is off. The Similkameen River will continue to run free. The full list of proposals is here.
Border Country in the Lower Similkameen
A river runs through it.
And looking to the southwest, across the river itself…
This is Not a Lake
The Similkameen River runs free at Chopaka, between organic farms and reserve land. I used to swim after painted turtles here. I hope some kid still does.
Now, isn’t it time that we got our act together, and actually got on with making the area a park, to make sure this does not happen again? Like, we’re not going to get a chance to continue to develop new technologies if we flood our heritage with old ones.
Okanagan Okanogan 
Such phenomenal news….as my ten-year old daughter is named Similkameen, and the river and the valley have always been sacred and magical to us……here’s a link to an article I wrote called ‘A Girl Named Similkameen’ that was published both in the Similkameen News Leader newspaper and the Trumpeter: Journal of Ecosophy http://trumpeter.athabascau.ca/index.php/trumpet/article/view/1203
WONDERFUL NEWS!!!!
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Hi, Bronwyn!
I’m glad you share my excitement. Keep an eye for later in the week, when I talk about Similkameen steelhead. There are also some great passages about the river in my Out of the Interior. If you ever find a copy, you might hear the river there, too.
best,
Harold
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