McNary Dam and Fish Viewing Room, Washington

Some of the dams along the Columbia that have fish ladders offer public viewing areas to watch salmon make their way through the dam. While the salmon population experienced a serious decline in the 1990's, their numbers have increased in the 2000's - due to conservation efforts and habitat improvements. At the McNary Dam, recent research conducted by the Department of Energy to help the salmon has included running sensor-packed rubber fish through the electrical turbine blades, to learn how to design blades that kill fewer fish.