Although this submitted historical photo isnt local to the Columbia Valley, it does shed some light on Columbia River history that is relevant to everyone living in the Columbia Basin region. Jim Hearn (left) and John Walbeizer (right) hold up giant Chinook salmon caught in the Salmo River in the late 1930s. Many Kootenay streams boasted spawning salmon like these prior to completion of the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington State in 1941, which blocked the huge salmon from swimming further up the Columbia River into Canada. If you have any more information, email us at [email protected]. Photo courtesy of the The Columbia River Round Table
