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The 150th anniversary celebration for the Willamette Falls Locks in January 2023 includes a photography exhibit and a “birthday party” as well as bringing a new hope for the future for this once endangered historic site. Constructed in the early 1870s, the historic locks in West Linn, Oregon, allowed for safe river passage around the forty-foot high Willamette Falls, and they are the oldest, multi-chambered, by-pass canal and navigation lock system in America. These locks, which provide a critical link allowing marine traffic to navigate this section of the Willamette River, were closed by the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in 2011 because of safety concerns created by deferred maintenance.

Local stakeholders including the City of West Linn, Clackamas County, the State of Oregon, and others—including the National Trust for Historic Preservation—hope to repair and reopen the locks, allowing paddlers and boaters to travel between Corvallis and Portland on the Willamette River. “The National Trust designation for the Willamette Falls Locks in 2012 as a National Treasure served as an important catalyst for revitalization efforts,” notes Peggy Sigler, former National Trust for Historic Preservation Oregon field officer. Sigler adds, “The National Trust’s assistance helped open doors by providing clout, access, funding, and skilled organizational, legal, and lobbying resources.”

Adding to other significant preservation milestones and progress made between 2012 and 2017 after the USACE closed the locks, several key developments in recent years now provide a clear path forward to reopen the locks. In 2017, a new Willamette Falls Locks Commission (WFLC) was created through Oregon Senate Bill 256 to “…advise state, local, and regional government agencies on development and implementation of a plan for repair, opening, operation and maintenance of the Willamette Falls navigation canal and locks.”

This in turn led to the establishment of the Willamette Falls Locks Authority in 2021 through Oregon House Bill 2564 as “a public corporation with the mission to establish ownership, oversight, and management of the Willamette Falls Locks project for the purposes of enhancing the economic vitality of Oregon through facilitating the resiliency and navigability of the Willamette River and repairing, maintaining, upgrading and operating the Willamette Falls Locks project…for commercial, transportation, recreational, cultural, history, heritage and tourism purposes.“ This new 11-member Authority will assume ownership of the locks after the USACE completes necessary repairs.

The Authority is staffed and managed by Oregon Solutions, which is part of the National Policy Consensus Center for the state of Oregon, and the Authority is currently seeking their first executive director. Funding the capital repairs for the locks is being provided in part by $7.2M in Oregon lottery bond funding allocated in 2021. Sandy Carter, a member of the new Authority as well as a board member for the Willamette Falls Heritage Foundation and the founder of the One Willamette River Coalition, reflects that “after a decade of slow but steady progress with partners and advocates, we have finally achieved the critical mass of support that resulted in the creation of the Willamette Falls Locks Authority. We are now on track to have the Authority take over the ownership and operation of the West Linn navigation canal from the Corps of Engineers within the next three years.”

For more information, visit the Willamette Falls Heritage Foundation Facebook page.

Amy Webb is a senior field director at the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a draft Disposition Study (Willamette Falls Locks, Willamette River, Oregon, Section 216 Preliminary Draft Disposition Study with Integrated Environmental Assessment.)

In early July, the National Trust provided comments to the Corps, stating our support for the selection of a Study alternative (Alternative 3) that would transfer of the facility to a new owner. We made it clear that we do not support the transfer of the Locks in a non-operational state, but instead it is imperative that the Army Corps transfer the Locks in working condition. See attached NTHP letter.

Spring has sprung in Oregon and the National Trust is joining with the One Willamette River Coalition to sponsor a work day at the Willamette Falls Navigation Canal and Locks! We’ll mow grass, pull weeds, remove invasive plants, clean gutters, and generally spruce up the park adjacent to the Locks.

What: Willamette Falls Locks Clean-up Work Party

When: Saturday, May 14 from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.; Snacks, bottled water, and lunch will be provided.

RSVP: Space is limited. Please RSVP to frank.lewington@oregonmetro.gov and indicate if you are interested in carpooling.

Parking and Directions: Parking is very limited and carpooling or taking TriMet is encouraged. The Locks are adjacent to the West Linn Paper Company, and access to the Locks is from Hwy 43/Willamette Drive, at the west end of the Oregon City Arch Bridge. Park in the West Linn Paper Company Shuttle Truck Parking Lot on the east side of Mill Street; enter the lot by the intersection of Territorial and Mill Street. Walk south to the Security Office, where you will be directed to the work area.

We hope to see you at the Locks on the 14!

The Willamette Falls Team at the National Trust

At the end of August, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden hosted a meeting in Oregon City to discuss three exciting area projects, including the future of the Willamette Falls Locks and Canal. Participants in the meeting included former Congresswoman Darlene Hooley, who is now a National Trust consultant; National Trust Peggy Sigler, also a Trust consultant; and Sandy Carter, our partner at the Willamette Falls Heritage Coalition. Senator Wyden spoke with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Staff about their plans to convey the Locks to another operator and sought answers to a number of questions he had about that plan. Trust staffers Amy Cole and Shaw Sprague also attended the meeting and made a visit to the Locks to wave the "This Place Matters" flag.

On July 27, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown signed Senate Bill 131 into law, creating a 17-member Task Force on the Willamette Falls Navigation Canal and Locks.

Once convened, the task force is charged with compiling information related to the impact of reopening the canal and locks. Among the topics that will be investigated are exploring potential new economic opportunities, analyzing their importance regarding emergency planning, seeking out recreational and commercial uses, and considering the process by which the locks can be repaired and reopened. Members of the task force are now being identified and the group should convene in the fall, with anticipated completion of work by the end of 2017.

This legislation is the culmination of efforts by the National Trust and its partners since Willamette Falls Canal and Locks was named a National Treasure and we are excited to see the final report from this Task Force.