Dennis DeHart

Image © Dennis DeHart

Artist Statement

The future of the four Federal Snake River Dams in Washington State is complicated. The dams impose a significant impact on the ecology of the region, exemplified by the decimated keystone species, salmon. Support in favor of dam removal is gaining significant popularity. In a recent National Public Radio poll, 60% of the public surveyed on the west side, and 50% on the east side of Washington state, were in favor of removing the dams.

Over the last decade +/- , I have been following the debates, listening too and learning about the complexities of the issues . During the past several years, I have been making photographs in the general area of the four dams; hiking, driving, and mixing adventure travel, with an incessant interest in learning about and photographing around the Snake River and channeled scablands.

The area in and around the four dams is harsh-cold in the winter, hot in the summer, with a wild kind of beauty one learns to appreciate over time. Much of it is working land, with cattle, industry (agriculture, chemical, etc.) wind turbines, and hunting marking the land. Heavy human footprints punctuate the landscape, accentuating a kind of violence to the area that comes with extraction.

Dennis DeHart | Pullman, WA