A survey in Bull Run in 1918 Photo courtesy of Portland Water Bureau

The Sandy River Basin brims with magnificent natural amenities that make it one of the most scenic areas of our nation. The stunning topography is the product of three major eruptions on Mount Hood during the last 10 to 15 thousand years. Fast-moving volcanic mudflows rushed through the Basin, extending as far as the confluence of the Columbia River, carving out terraces that ascend to nearly 500 feet high. A mudflow in the late 1700s deposited large amounts of sediment and deep silt near the mouth of the Sandy River, creating the Sandy River delta. When Lewis and Clark came upon the extensive deposits on their famed journey west years later, the explorers named the Sandy River "Quicksand" River.

Settling the Basin

Prior to the mid-19th century, the Sandy River Basin was wild and sparsely populated. Indigenous people, including Clowwewalla, Clackamas and Watlala tribes, settled in the Basin, but generally human footprints were few and far between. By the mid-1800s European settlers migrated into the area, and began making efforts to tame the Sandy. Agriculture, logging, trapping and fishing were the basis for the early economy in the Basin. Logging companies floated mammoth logs downstream to mills for processing, an activity that interrupted the natural flow of the water and displaced native fish species.

The development of hydropower and water supply in the early 1900's also affected the ecosystems of the Sandy. Between 1906 and 1913, Portland General Electric (PGE) built a hydropower project: the Marmot Dam on the mainstem of the Sandy River and the Little Sandy Dam on the Little Sandy River. Dams were also built on the Bull Run River to provide storage for Portland's water supply. While these dams were an important part of the settlement of the Portland area, they changed the natural flow of both rivers and, temporarily or permanently blocked the annual migration of many fish species.

Preserving the Basin

Efforts to preserve parts of the Sandy River Basin began in 1892 when President Benjamin Harris declared the Bull Run watershed — an area that makes up almost a quarter of the entire Basin — a national forest reserve. Just three years later, waters from the Bull Run River were piped down from the elevations and into Portland to serve as the city's main water source. Today, the Bull Run watershed supplies drinking to nearly a quarter of Oregon's residents.

Looking to the future

The future of the Sandy River Basin rests in the hands of those who value the abundant resources, natural beauty, and wildlife habitat for which this area is known. To that end, the Sandy River Basin Partners are working to restore habitat for native salmon and steelhead in the Basin.