In 1996, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission began requiring power utilities with licensed hydroelectric projects to create recreational opportunities near the projects. As part of that requirement, the utility Seattle City Light paid to construct a new trail that emphasizes Kalispel tribal history.
The Salmo Passage Trail (słqqax̣s č̓ čax̣íwłkʷ) was opened at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, June 24, at the Peewee Falls Overlook in the Newport-Sullivan Lake Ranger District. The event featured representatives from the three organizations that created the trail: the Kalispel Tribe of Indians, Seattle City Light and the Colville National Forest.
“When I was coming up here today, talking with my son, we were talking about partnerships and working with people,” said J.R. Bluff, director of language and culture for the Kalispel Tribe of Indians. “And this [trail project] was really a partnership. It wasn't just a check mark. ... It was a true partnership where they listened, we discussed, we kicked ideas around.”
Completed in 2025, the 9.6-mile trail connects the northern Peewee Falls Overlook in North Pend Oreille County to the southern Riverside Canyon Overlook and provides panoramic views of the Pend Oreille River.
Seattle City Light, a large Washington power utility, paid for the Salmo Passage project to satisfy the federal mandates, whose goal is to mitigate the impact of the nearby Boundary Dam, which SCL built in 1967, by investing in regional recreation and habitat. The trail cost about $1.1 million to build, a project entailing trail building, bridge design, geotechnical engineering, procurement, and installation, trail structures and rock excavation.
The new trail touches a portion of the journey the Kalispel people took form present day Cusick, Washington to reach the Salmo River, a culturally significant site located just over the current US-Canada border in British Columbia. For thousands of years the Kalispels traveled to the Salmo, the far northwestern boundary of the tribe’s 200-square-mile ancestral homelands, to establish seasonal fish camps. Later, European trappers, settlers and miners used parts of the same route to travel along the Pend Oreille River.
“It’s hard to describe how much this land and river meant to our people and still does,” Bluff said. “Not just the Kalispels but the Colville Tribes, too. And it still holds deep meaning for all of us here today, Native and white alike.”
The Kalispels lost access to their traditional salmon runs in the early to mid-20th century when the hydroelectric dams subject to the federal regulations were built without fish passage facilities on the Columbia and Pend Oreille rivers. The biggest is Grand Coulee Dam, which was built in 1941.
“We’re glad to be able to provide more recreational opportunities for people in the community and those who enjoy the forest,” said Rob Santoff, Interim General Manager and CEO of Seattle City Light. “We’re privileged to be able to have the guidance and input of the Tribe that helped make it happen.”
Including Tribal governments, other cooperating entities include conservation and recreation organizations, and other federal, state, and local agencies.
“It was agreed that the overlooks at Peewee Falls and Riverside Canyon along with a trail connecting them would be excellent enhancements to enable the public to enjoy recreational opportunities along the Boundary reach of the Pend Oreille River,” Colville National Forest Service Spokesperson Megan Bush said.
In 2013, the projects were included in Seattle City Light’s new 42-year operating license issued by the Commission. Working with Colville National Forest, the Tribe and other partners, a location and design of the trail was decided in a process that spanned several years. Because of the challenging topography and geology, trail layout experts from other National Forests in the region provided support.
Newport-Sullivan Lake District Ranger Carin Vadala added, “Our partnerships have offered the varying and diverse perspectives, historical knowledge and creativity required to highlight the beauty and cultural relevance of the Pend Oreille River Valley.”
The Salmo Passage Trail is now open for public use. Questions about it can be directed to the Newport-Sullivan Lake District at 509-447-7300.
Sophia Mattice-Aldous is a Murrow News fellow working directly with newsrooms at The Newport Miner and RANGE Media through a program administered by Washington State University. Her reporting is available for use via Creative Commons with credit.
