About the Project

Kellogg Dam is a 16-foot-high, 22-foot-wide concrete dam on Kellogg Creek where it meets the Willamette River in Oregon. Built in 1857 to power a flour mill, the dam has not been used for any water-related purpose since 1890. An aging highway bridge spans the dam, so removing the dam also requires bridge replacement

The dam’s dysfunctional fish ladder prevents passage for coho, Chinook, steelhead, lamprey, and cutthroat for all but a few days a year when the river stage is high enough. Removing the dam will enable fish to reach spawning areas in the Kellogg Creek-Mount Scott Creek watershed and open the creek system for foraging and rearing. Upstream fish barrier removal projects have increased the habitat value of the dam removal project. The project benefits overall Willamette River fishery restoration and is ranked in the state’s top 20 percent of dam removal projects by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs and the Confederated Tribes of the Grande Ronde are actively working on fishery restoration in the Willamette watershed; this project supports their work.

Oregon Department of Transportation is leading the bridge replacement and dam removal design, and will consider integrating bicycle and pedestrian paths. The City of Milwaukie supports replacing the aging bridge, restoring salmon to the creek, and opening the area to more recreational access. The dam also impounds a lake that is full of sediment and contaminated by urban and industrial runoff.