Researcher(s):
Bridget Lowry Maya Gotzsche Zoe Webb
ENVS course(s): 220 Initiated: November 2015 Completed: December 2015 Go to project site
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Our framing question for this project is: What are the effects of dams on human and non-human factors?
Our focus question is: What are the effects of the Bonneville Dam (located 40 miles from Northeast of Portland, Oregon, on the Columbia River) on fish populations, recreation opportunities, and hydroelectric power.
Our group was initially interested in dams along the Columbia River, because they have been extremely controversial and an issue of national debate. We have chosen to situate our project on the Bonneville Dam because the Bonneville Dam is one of the most prominent dams near Portland along the Columbia River. In addition to being prominent, the Bonneville Dam is appropriate for situating our project because it can be analyzed via a variety of factors, so that we can look at the “effects” of dams through multiple perspectives. The factors that are most useful to our study are: fish populations, recreation opportunities, and hydroelectric power. Our methodology is to analyze those factors using a variety of techniques we have learned in ENVS 220, including GIS mapping of dam locations, surveys of dam recreation, qualitative analysis of interviews, SPSS statistics of survey responses, and more.