Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Pacific Northwest Development Association (PNDA) records , 1943-1961
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Pacific Northwest Development Association
- Title
- Pacific Northwest Development Association (PNDA) records
- Dates
- 1943-1961
- Quantity
- 6 linear feet, (12 containers)
- Collection Number
- Bx 143
- Summary
- Collection is primarily comprised of research files created by the Pacific Northwest Development Association.
- Repository
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University of Oregon Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives
UO Libraries--SCUA
1299 University of Oregon
Eugene OR
97403-1299
Telephone: 5413463068
spcarref@uoregon.edu - Access Restrictions
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Collection is open to the public. Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room. Collection or parts of collection may be stored offsite. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives in advance of your visit to allow for transportation time.
- Additional Reference Guides
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See the Current Collection Guide for detailed description and requesting options.
- Languages
Historical NoteReturn to Top
In early spring of 1948, unseasonably warm temperatures loosened and melted Idaho snowpack, swelling the Snake and Columbia Rivers. Between May and June, the Columbia overflowed its banks from Umatilla to Oregon; in Vanport, Oregon's second largest city at the time, river dikes crumbled, killing fifty. The total death toll in the Columbia basin numbered over sixty, with nearly half a billion dollars in property damage. This flood, combined with an increasingly urgent need for electricity in the region, was the impetus to move forward with previously stalled plans to build the Hells Canyon Dam on the Snake River on the border of Idaho and Oregon.
Formed in August of 1948, and directed by Daniel B. Noble, the Pacific Northwest Development Association - along with the National Reclamation Association and the National Water Conservation Conference - was opposed to the creation of regional authorities, and lobbied against the Hells Canyon High dam project. The PNDA focused its efforts instead on establishing local authority, preserving state water laws, and promoting state participation in water resources developments.
[Source: Public Power, Private Dams: The Hells Canyon High Dam Controversy, by Karl Boyd Brooks]
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Conservation of natural resources--West (U.S.)
- Dams--Northwest, Pacific
- Electric power--Northwest, Pacific
- Electric utilities--Oregon
- Hydroelectric power plants--Oregon
- Natural resources
- Water rights--Oregon
- Water-power--Northwest, Pacific
Form or Genre Terms
- Reports
- Research notes