Willamette Falls Battle Continues As Grand Ronde Fights PGE In Court

OREGON CITY, OR — The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde are in federal court trying to fight an attempt by Portland General Electric to take control of lands adjacent to Willamette Falls. The Grand Ronde filed papers May 19 in U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon asking to be included as a defendant in the case.

U.S. District Judge Michael Simon, who is hearing the case, has not set a date on when he will rule on the Grand Ronde's request.

PGE, which owns land on the West Linn side of the falls and operates a hydroelectric plant there, filed a lawsuit in April to have the adjacent land condemned so that they could take control of the land and use it for the plant. The company cited the Federal Power Act, claiming that it takes precedence over state law.

In 2018, Oregon's Department of State Lands claimed a stake in the land and granted the Grand Ronde a permit to build fishing platforms at the falls.

The Grand Ronde, a federally recognized tribe that encompasses 30 tribes and bands that stretch from southwest Washington to northern California, traces its history with the falls back around 1,000 years.

"This action threatens Grand Ronde’s entire cultural fishery at Willamette Falls," the Grand Ronde said in its filing. "The antecedent tribes and bands of Grand Ronde historically inhabited the lands surrounding Willamette Falls and managed access to a fishery there. PGE’s Complaint seeks condemnation of all of the lands Grand Ronde accesses to conduct ceremonial harvests of salmon, steelhead and Pacific lamprey.

"Without a seat at the table, Grand Ronde cannot ensure protection of those interests."

The focus of the dispute is an area where the Grand Ronde builds a platform each year from which members fish. At the end of the season, the platform is dismantled.

When the Grand Ronde first proposed building the platform, which would have to be accessed by traveling through PGE property, PGE approved the plan as long as a safety plan was in place, according to court documents.

The Grand Ronde disputes a claim made by PGE in its original filing that the lawsuit was necessary because the company had been unable to resolve the dispute over the land.

PGE has not yet responded to the claims made by the Grand Ronde or their request to be included as a defendant.