Chehalis River Basin Flood Damage Reduction Project Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement

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Comment From: John Stepanek

1/29/26 @ 2:00 PM
The revised EIS for the Chehalis River Dam is very clear that there are significant and unavoidable risks to numerous environmental and cultural resources. The Chehalis Basin is the only basin in Washington without any endangered Salmon stocks, and a...↓
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Comment From: Dave Frank

1/29/26 @ 2:00 PM
Protect our environment.
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Comment From: David Muller

1/29/26 @ 1:56 PM
The Department of Ecology needs to include in the Draft EIS that there are minimal impacts to fish and wildlife habitat and remove the statement that there are significant adverse impacts, as well as include the positive benefits resulting from preve...↓
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Comment From: Jon-Paul Bowles

1/29/26 @ 1:51 PM
Please do not move this project forward. We are already losing salmon populations and habitat. We can't afford to lose more habitat and water quality. I am an outdoor enthusiast and fisherman. This project would keep me and many others from playing a...↓
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Comment From: Gail Atkins

1/29/26 @ 1:26 PM
This project could cost $2 billion, harm salmon and steelhead runs, hurt our fishing economies, and siphon funding from bigger-picture solutions. We can do better.
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Comment From: Uly Silkey

1/29/26 @ 1:25 PM
From one fan of wild salmon rivers to another, thank you for allowing me taking this opportunity to speak up for my values. Rivers provide clean water for all of us and Salmon has been proven a priceless balancekeeper for wildlife and nature. Let kee...↓
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Comment From: Sanders Nye

1/29/26 @ 1:16 PM
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Comment From: Henry Phillips

1/29/26 @ 1:12 PM
This proposed mega-dam could now cost close to $2 billion—with no good plan to pay for it. It would harm salmon and steelhead runs, hurt our fishing and hunting economies, and siphon funding from bigger-picture solutions. We can do better.
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Comment From: Jaci Harris

1/29/26 @ 12:48 PM
I strongly oppose the plan to create a new dam in the Chehelis River Basin. Chehalis Basin residents need modern, proven flood solutions that protect people, the land, and salmon—not a massive, untested dam which could fall apart.
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Comment From: Jill Wyatt

1/29/26 @ 12:24 PM
I lived in WA for 10 years and am familiar with the Chehalis area. First and foremost, there are much less expensive solutions than dam that would cost billions of tax dollars. The dam would destroy one of WA last remaining free flowing rivers with...↓
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Comment From: Trenton DuVal

1/29/26 @ 12:23 PM
I want to strongly protest the creation of any dam on the Chehalis river. We have all seen the huge environmental cost of dams and we should be moving in the opposite direction. Beyond the impact to the natural landscape and ecosystems, there is also...↓
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Comment From: Martha Maskall

1/29/26 @ 12:22 PM
We need a free-flowing Chehalis River.
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Comment From: Kelsey Hunter

1/29/26 @ 11:56 AM
"This is a bad idea that won't meaningfully decrease the risk of flood to communities in the Chehalis Basin. Not only that, it ignores proven big-picture flood reduction strategies such as reintroducing beaver into the landscape and reducing the wide...↓
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Comment From: don gaines

1/29/26 @ 11:55 AM
There are enough dams on rivers everywhere. We don't need any more ecology destroying boondoggles that put money in engineering company's pockets and hurt people as well as fish and environment!
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Comment From: Sue Sefscik

1/29/26 @ 11:41 AM
NO DAM DAMN!
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Comment From: Annie Ocean

1/29/26 @ 11:40 AM
What the heck we taking down so many damn. we don't need dams that destroy fish restoration. Please disallow this dam on the Chehalis River. Dams are outdated, make it so.
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Comment From: Valerie Weiss

1/29/26 @ 11:20 AM
Please do not build this dam. It is a known problem for fish migration which has been damaged needlessly at previous dams at various locations. We must stop impeding nature.
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Comment From: Catherine Morris

1/29/26 @ 11:10 AM
Comments - I oppose the construction of this mega dam. Dams are destructive to nature. It is time to work with nature instead of trying to control it. It's not complicated!
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Comment From: Ellen Zocher

1/29/26 @ 11:03 AM
No more dams. Protect the fish. Listen to the indigenous people of this land. No new dams.
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Comment From: Nicholas Terry

1/29/26 @ 11:03 AM
I believe we should use better science backed research in a different approaches to this problem.

The Department of Ecology found that this would hurt already dwindling salmon and steelhead populations even further. That is a trade off that should ...↓
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Comment From: Andy Freed

1/29/26 @ 11:01 AM
Dams for flood control are a short-term solution that comes at a tremendous cost. Looking at the environment around the proposed dam site, you will notice extensive logging and agriculture. These industries create tremendous sediment runoff, which ul...↓
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Comment From: Matthew Welch

1/29/26 @ 10:59 AM
The environmental impact of this damn will be extremely detrimental for generations to come and have huge negative financial/environmental impacts that we will pass on to future generations.
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Comment From: Bradshaw Willis

1/29/26 @ 10:56 AM
Dams are going to ruin the environmental progress that has been made in the Chehalis basin. There are other scientifically proven responses to flood control that made fewer impacts on salmon runs and still protect people and property. A dam should no...↓
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Comment From: Madeline Vance

1/29/26 @ 10:51 AM
Absolutely no support for this whatsoever. Ecologically, a Dam will create ecological disaster for this river, and everyone living on it, and beyond. There is no good reason to build another mega dam. Salmon, forests, water quality, air quality, ocea...↓
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Comment From: Kristen-Marie Kirkby

1/29/26 @ 10:49 AM
I'm writing to encourage strong opposition to this project. We've already learned this lesson, many times over. We're working hard in the region and spending extensive funding to unbuild ineffective and expensive flood control infrastructure and inst...↓
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Comment From: James Burress

1/29/26 @ 10:48 AM
No more dams please - wild and native fish have enough to contend with and dams add more obstacles
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Comment From: Hank Rolfs

1/29/26 @ 10:43 AM
Stop the Dam. It is a total waste of taxpayers dollars and will cause extreme damage to the environment and all the people who live there..
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Comment From: Casey Lay

1/29/26 @ 10:40 AM
Dear Department of Ecology,

After seeing the destructive legacy of the Kalamath dams on the salmon populations, ecological degradation due to this keystone species near depletion in that river, and the cultural and nutritional impact on native commu...↓
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Comment From: Leslie Harper

1/29/26 @ 10:23 AM
I am a former environmental science teacher and after a careful study of the proposed project, I am submitting my comments here in favor of allowing this wild salmon river to remain wild.
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Comment From: Stephanie Snyder

1/29/26 @ 10:21 AM
Using a dam to help with flooding in this basin seems counter intuitive. To begin with, the cost of the dam as well as the cost of the upkeep of the dam should be a deterrent. The species affected in a negative way by this proposed dam are a huge pa...↓
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Comment From: Kathleen Allen

1/29/26 @ 10:20 AM
Chehalis Basin residents need modern, proven flood solutions that protect people, the land, and salmon—not a massive, untested dam that could cost $2 billion, harm salmon and steelhead runs, hurt our fishing economies, and siphon funding from bigger-...↓
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Comment From: christina burress

1/29/26 @ 10:18 AM
Dear Deptartment of Ecology, The current Chehalis River Basin Flood Damage Reduction Project draft will have long term disasterous effects to the river basin and all her inhabitants including salmon, steelhead, fishing economies, and residents in sur...↓
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Comment From: Mark Reback

1/29/26 @ 10:18 AM
I strongly oppose the proposed dam which would permanently damage one of WA's last free rivers.

Salmon, wildlite, and tribal treaty rights are at risk.

Better, science-backed non-dam flood solutions already exist.
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Comment From: Sara Eldridge

1/29/26 @ 10:08 AM
Dear People,
Please do not construct another dam. We must look at the true expense of this choice. If we choose to construct another dam after all of the data on the real costs to Tribes, to wildlife, to our true wealth of beauty in our Washington St...↓
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Comment From: Brice Crayne

1/29/26 @ 10:06 AM
I'm a 3rd generation SW Washingtonian with family in Kelso and Aberdeen. I'm also a professional salmon ecologist helping to restore salmon and steelhead habitat in the Cowlitz and other Lower Columbia River tributaries.
One analogous comparison tha...↓
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Comment From: Philip Conrad

1/29/26 @ 10:06 AM
Dams are being removed from rivers like this for good reasons. Why would we think of damming another?
The environmental costs are far too high. Put the $2 billion in more comprehensive projects.
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Comment From: Jeff Comer

1/29/26 @ 10:06 AM
I oppose the damage that would be done to the Chehais River Basin by your project, and I VOTE!
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Comment From: Elizabeth Fox

1/29/26 @ 10:00 AM


Please reconsider proposals to build this expensive project. As we have seen in Oregon, Vermont, and States in between, dams are a poor choice for flood control as they hurt salmon and steelhead runs, destroy wetlands, and siphon funding from bette...↓
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Comment From: Gerard Ridella

1/29/26 @ 9:56 AM
Just a Native Californian that has moved North. But what I have seen in California over 70 years is that Dams are not the solution. And it seems to follow the logic of the Eastern States that are taking down Dams.
In California it was Governor Pat Br...↓
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Comment From: Klemke Ken

1/29/26 @ 9:45 AM
No dams on the chehalis unless they are made by beavers
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Comment From: Shirley J

1/29/26 @ 9:44 AM
A dam being proposed on one of the great rivers of our nation and is one of the few that is still free-flowing. There must be other alternatives that are biologically sound in stopping downstream erosion. The dam would be catastrophic mistake.

While...↓
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Comment From: Irene Brady

1/29/26 @ 9:30 AM
It's time to be removing dams, not building them. Damming the Chehalis River would do great damage to the environment.
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Comment From: Brittany Phillips

1/29/26 @ 9:30 AM
The DEIS has already projected extreme negative impacts to natural systems and species. Better science to mitigate flood risk already exists, and this is not the way! PLEASE DO NOT APPROVE THIS PROJECT!
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Comment From: Stephen Bailey

1/29/26 @ 9:29 AM
We have been through the horrors of seeing our Salmon populations DECIMATED by DAMS!! E N O U G H !!!
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Comment From: P Bryer

1/29/26 @ 9:28 AM
Even after years of opposition, a proposal to dam the free-flowing Chehalis River is still kicking around Washington State.

The Department of Ecology must end this failed idea and stop an enormous waste of money. The proposal could cost $2 billion a...↓
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Comment From: Donna Grubbs

1/29/26 @ 9:18 AM

We need a better solution not one that could cost $2 billion, harm salmon and steelhead runs, hurt our fishing economies, and siphon funding from bigger-picture solutions. We can do better.
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Comment From: Eric Nylen

1/29/26 @ 9:18 AM
Having lived in Washington state and being a frequent visitor I believe the construction of a Chehalis dam is shortsighted.
There are better approaches that are more sustainable such as improved land-use planning, floodplain restoration, and buildi...↓
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Comment From: Tessa Hawkins

1/29/26 @ 9:14 AM
Please do not go ahead with the Chehalis damn project. That money is needed elsewhere. That was a solution for flooding in the area, we can rise to the challenge of using the logical and creative mind of a human being to be able to devise more invent...↓
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Comment From: JS Anderson

1/29/26 @ 9:11 AM
I am in general outraged that we have to beg for protections for any being, including human, which don't have an ROI. I am tired of having to beg governmental institutions to follow their own rules and protect, not eliminate, aka murder, sentient bei...↓
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Comment From: Pat Kaczmarek

1/29/26 @ 9:06 AM
I oppose building a dam on the Chehalis River as a way to mitigate flood damage in the Chehalis River Basin. The proposed water retention dam on the upper Chehalis River would have a significant impact on the Chinook Salmon and other salmon runs, whi...↓
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Comment From: Jillian Stewart-Szpak

1/29/26 @ 9:02 AM
We've already had several years of dam decommissioning across the Pacific Northwest in Canada and USA showing the vast improvement of salmon numbers returning to spawning grounds that had been blocked by dams for decades. Think again before reversin...↓
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Comment From: James Maxwell

1/29/26 @ 8:59 AM
To Whom it May Concern,

I am firmly against building a dam on the Chehalis River. I understand preventing flooding, but a dam as a solution is a terrible idea. We all know dams have extreme impacts on water temperature and water quality as well as ...↓
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Comment From: Robert Costa

1/29/26 @ 8:48 AM
This would potentially be damaging to wildlife
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Comment From: Joanne Kaplan

1/29/26 @ 8:47 AM
The priority needs to be our environment and the salmon. Future generations depend on us to do the right thing now.
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Comment From: Brent Ross

1/29/26 @ 8:41 AM
The dam proposal has expanded far beyond its original design, dramatically increasing infrastructure needs and projected costs of $1.3–$2.3 billion without a clear funding or long-term cost plan. Persistent geotechnical risks—fractured bedrock, lands...↓
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Comment From: Paul Allen

1/29/26 @ 8:39 AM
I am against buildng a dam on the Chehalis River.
Dams are very harmful to the local fish species, migrating fish and destroy significant riparian habitat.

Zoning laws need to change to prevent building/rebuilding in flood plains.
Levees may be he...↓
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Comment From: Noah Wild

1/29/26 @ 8:32 AM
I am writing to voice my strong opposition to the damning of the Chehalis river. This proposed damn would destroy one of Washingtons last free-flowing rivers, degrade critical habitat including salmon, and destroy culturally significant lands. It wo...↓
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Comment From: Tom Toretta

1/29/26 @ 8:30 AM
I am not in favor of this dam. Thank you
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Comment From: Julie Edwards

1/29/26 @ 8:28 AM
Please do not damage irreplaceable habitat! Find a better solution.
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Comment From: Ian Shelley

1/29/26 @ 8:28 AM
Chehalis Basin residents need modern, proven flood solutions that protect people, the land, and salmon—not a massive, untested dam. Thank you!
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Comment From: Connor Haller

1/29/26 @ 8:27 AM
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Comment From: Dan Sherwood

1/29/26 @ 8:26 AM
I'm urging the Department to focus on real solutions that will improve fish runs and keep communities safe. A dam won't keep communities or the ecosystem safe
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Comment From: Kirsten Hill

1/29/26 @ 8:22 AM
We are in the time of removing dams, not building new ones. The way a dam changes the natural habitat is harmful. Please do not let this dam be built.
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Comment From: Cami Cameron

1/29/26 @ 8:22 AM
This idea could cost $2 billion, harm salmon and steelhead runs, hurt our fishing economies, and siphon funding from bigger-picture solutions. We can do better. Chehalis Basin residents need modern, proven flood solutions that protect people, the lan...↓
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Comment From: Annie AuBuchon

1/29/26 @ 8:21 AM
Please listen: This damn is not a long term solution and it puts so much at risk. The Chehalis supports wildlife that would be in danger if this project goes through. I have always loved rivers. They aren't just running water. They have an effec...↓
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Comment From: Lois Canright

1/29/26 @ 8:15 AM
Greetings! I am a young person who cares deeply about wildlife protection. Thank you for your work.
I respectfully ask you to end this proposed dam idea—one that could cost $2 billion, harm salmon and steelhead runs, hurt our fishing economies, and s...↓
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Comment From: Skye Kimel

1/29/26 @ 8:11 AM
It seems that dams, despite our cheap hydropower, are outdated modes of flood protection. If we cannot learn to live within and alongside our environments, we will have no earth left to sustain us. In Oregon, we have seen over and over again the im...↓
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Comment From: Thomas Haensly

1/29/26 @ 8:10 AM
Don't build the dam. Bad project. Think smarter about solutions to real issues so they do not put salmon and steelhead at risk.
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Comment From: Janet Moser

1/29/26 @ 8:08 AM
This dam will not provide a long term solution to flooding. It will, however, destroy irreplaceable habitat. There are numerous good reasons why the Chehalis river should not be dammed. The DEIS presents the reality of the catastrophic impact of this...↓
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Comment From: Matthew Beamont

1/29/26 @ 8:01 AM
This project has a significant likelihood of degrading critical habitat and causing significant and avoidable harm to salmon, steelhead and other aquatic species already threatened by overfishing, global and regional environment changes, and the dest...↓
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Comment From: Laura Garcia

1/29/26 @ 8:00 AM
Please end this failed idea—one that could cost $2 billion, harm salmon and steelhead runs, hurt our fishing economies, and siphon funding from bigger-picture solutions. We can do better.
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Comment From: Kelly TANGUAY

1/29/26 @ 7:58 AM

Chehalis Basin residents need modern, proven flood solutions that protect people, the land, and salmon—not a massive, untested dam.

Department of Ecology focus on real solutions that will improve fish runs and keep communities safe
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Comment From: Stacy Sherwood

1/29/26 @ 7:52 AM
This is a rushed poorly thought out idea. This will cost $2 billion, harm salmon and steelhead runs, hurt our fishing economies, and siphon funding from bigger-picture solutions. We can do better. Is there no one with the ability to think other than...↓
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Comment From: Linda Morgan

1/29/26 @ 7:49 AM
The Department of Ecology to end this failed idea—one that could cost $2 billion, harm salmon and steelhead runs, hurt our fishing economies, and siphon funding from bigger-picture solutions. We can do better. Chehalis Basin residents need modern, pr...↓
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Comment From: Harry Knapp

1/29/26 @ 7:46 AM
Please reconsider this project.
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Comment From: Emma Tresemer

1/29/26 @ 7:45 AM
This proposal won't meaningfully reduce severe flooding over time, but it would permanently damage critical ecosystems. The DEIS itself shows that the consequences would be severe and far-reaching. The Chehalis River is home to salmon, steelhead, lam...↓
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Comment From: Terry Jess

1/29/26 @ 7:42 AM
end this failed idea—one that could cost $2 billion, harm salmon and steelhead runs, hurt our fishing economies, and siphon funding from bigger-picture solutions. Dam removal and restoration of damaged areas is also costly, but the restorations bring...↓
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Comment From: Patti Mickelsen

1/29/26 @ 7:41 AM
Generally NOT a good plan to mess with Nature...protect the people and animals who will be impacted by your interference.
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Comment From: Chris Vertopoulos

1/29/26 @ 7:39 AM
The problem isn't that the Chehalis floods. Thats part of natures mechanical plan. The problem is that man built inside the floodplain.
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Comment From: Sarah Deumling

1/29/26 @ 7:39 AM
I think a new dam is a bad idea. Considering so many issues, which I'm guessing you know as well as I do, WITH CLIMATE CHANGE AND RESOURCES DEPLETION AT THE TOP OF THE LIST, we need to find ways to live with the abundant natural world which sustains ...↓
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Comment From: Sheryl Krohne

1/29/26 @ 7:37 AM
I am totally opposed to any dam on the Chehalis River. Dams destroy river habitat, ruin fish migration, and stagnate water so that downstream the river and delta areas deteriorate. Wildlife, water quality and human life quality are all degraded, some...↓
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Comment From: Jennifer McDaid

1/29/26 @ 7:35 AM
Please listen to the people, we do not want a dam here. There are more sustainable ways to protect from flooding that won't impact the salmon and steelhead. Please have more research conducted to both protect from flooding and least impact to the sa...↓
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Comment From: M S

1/29/26 @ 7:34 AM
Even after years of opposition, a proposal to dam the free-flowing Chehalis River is still kicking around Washington State.

End this failed idea; one that could cost $2 billion, harm salmon and steelhead runs, hurt fishing economies, and siphon fund...↓
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Comment From: Nancy Shimeall

1/29/26 @ 7:31 AM
I will keep this short and simple: my family and I are deeply concerned about our wild salmon, and the need to restore and preserve free-flowing rivers and streams. Our iconic salmon must be protected, and this project must have a thorough, complete ...↓
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Comment From: DEIRDRE COCHRAN

1/29/26 @ 7:31 AM
I am opposed to the Chagall Dam
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Comment From: Theresa DeLuca

1/29/26 @ 7:29 AM
The Chehalis dam is back... and even bigger and more destructive. The latest proposal could cost close to $2 billion—with no good plan to pay for it. It's 2026. We all know that dams aren't the answer—not when we have modern, proven flood solutions t...↓
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Comment From: Teresa DeLorenzo

1/29/26 @ 7:26 AM
Damming the Chealis would have catastrophic effects on water quality and fish and wildlife habitat. We can't afford to lose this incredibly healthy and diverse habitat. And the science shows that damming the Chehalis would not create beneficial flood...↓
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Comment From: Theresa DeLuca

1/29/26 @ 7:22 AM

Even after years of opposition, a proposal to dam the free-flowing Chehalis River is still kicking around Washington State.

I'm telling the Department of Ecology to end this failed idea—one that could cost $2 billion, harm salmon and steelhead runs,...↓
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Comment From: Lary McKee

1/29/26 @ 7:20 AM
I absolutely DO NOT APROVE OF THE Chehalis River Basin Flood Damage Reduction Project MAINLY BECAUSE OF TWO THINGS. first THE INVIORRNTL IMPACT WOULD BE HUGE TO THE SURRONDING AREA, SECOND, THE ASTRONOMICAL COST OF THE PROJ...↓
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Comment From: Theresa DeLuca

1/29/26 @ 7:20 AM

Even after years of opposition, a proposal to dam the free-flowing Chehalis River is still kicking around Washington State.

I'm telling the Department of Ecology to end this failed idea—one that could cost $2 billion, harm salmon and steelhead runs,...↓
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Comment From: Vince Panesko

1/28/26 @ 8:52 PM
I own the property upon which the proposed dam is currently sited; I grew up working on this property for the past 87 years. I understand the immediate environment better than anyone who contributed to writing the EIS. The people writing the draft EI...↓
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Comment From: Gary Morishima

1/28/26 @ 4:17 PM
See attached comment letter
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Comment From: Wilhem Diehl

1/28/26 @ 3:29 PM
Hello. My name is Wilhem Diehl - I have a M.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife Science from Oregon State University, and I have specific experience in post-disturbance restoration of watersheds and the ensuing impacts of restoration on communities of anadr...↓
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Comment From: Thomas Anderson

1/28/26 @ 12:32 PM
I would like to register my comments in OPPOSITION to the proposed Chehalis River Basin Flood Damage Reduction Project.
I have been following with great interest as a resident and taxpayer, the Chehalis dam proposals over the last five years. None of...↓
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Comment From: JAY HORITA

1/28/26 @ 11:29 AM
To Washington Department of Ecology,

I'm submitting comments on the Revised Draft EIS for SEPA #202504854 regarding the proposal to construct a revised-design flood retention facility and associated temporary reservoir near Pe Ell (near RM 108 on th...↓
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Comment From: T William Booth

1/28/26 @ 11:07 AM
What happened to the contractural solution of compensating appropriate land use in the headwaters?
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Comment From: Kim Koon

1/28/26 @ 11:00 AM
I strongly oppose the construction of a dam on the Chehalis River.

Washington State has decades of clear, well-documented evidence showing that dams cause severe and lasting environmental damage—particularly to salmon populations. Dams block migrati...↓
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Comment From: Andrew Cole DDS (Andrew Cole)

1/28/26 @ 7:43 AM
This project appears to carefully balance the needs of flood control and also conserving the natural environment. Flooding robs this community of long term wealth by destroying property and livelihoods. It is time to move forward with this project an...↓
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Comment From: Karen Anderson

1/27/26 @ 10:50 PM
I oppose having a Dam built on the Chehalis River as a way to mitigate flood damage in the Chehalis River Basin. The area of the proposed water retention dam located on the upper Chehalis River would have a significant impact on salmon runs and speci...↓
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Comment From: Hank Rolfs

1/27/26 @ 10:06 PM
The dam is a bad idea all around. Stop wasting tax payers dollars on this ill fated effort.
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