of Commissioners investigated acquiring the project from Pacificorp to continue its operation as a power plant. A 2002 study commissioned from CH2M Hill calculated that purchasing and upgrading as required by FERC would have led to power production at $64 per MWh, and that for the project to be economically viable, it would have to have produced power at $45 to $50 per MWh. The report further stated that power produced at Condit would have been more expensive than a gas-fired plant for more than 20 years after its acquisition. In July 2006, KPUD and Skamania County announced a new effort to acquire the project from PacifiCorp and preserve the dam. Their plan relied on trucking spawning salmon around the dam as a less expensive alternative to fish ladders. This type of proposal was previously rejected by FERC. The sediment plume was expected to kill some aquatic life below the dam and displace fish as far downstream as Bonneville dam. It could also harm several generations of a threatened chum salmon population. Most environmental groups involved with the decommissioning plan, as well as the National Forest Service, believed that the long-term benefits of removing the dam far outweighed the short-term damage done by flushed sedimentation. Some fish and environmental advocates see this case as an important precedent for dam removals to restore free-flowing rivers. References External links USGS map of the area Pacificorp map Links to official Documents hosted by PacifiCorp Restoring the White Salmon River Condit Dam - There was a dam here - Pacific Power Video of dam history and breach The White Salmon River Runs Free: Breaching the Condit Dam Documentary produced by Oregon Field Guide Hydroelectric power plants in Washington (state) Dams in Washington (state) Buildings and structures in Klickitat County, Washington Buildings and structures in Skamania County, Washington Energy infrastructure completed in 1913 Gifford Pinchot National Forest Former dams 1913 establishments in Washington (state) 2011 disestablishments in Washington (state) Buildings and structures demolished in 2011