Smalma,

The dams (from what I heard) are what saved our tails this last Oct. when
the floods came. I read in the Skagit Herald that the Army Corps of Eng. stepped
in and took control of the releases and
maintained levels that the river could
handle while not blowing out the dams.

Here is an article I found some time ago.
You should find this interesting:

http://www.stumpranchonline.com/skagitjournal/SkagitCtyRiv/SkagitRFlood1.html

There is an image there of the city of
Hamilton, which in that flood of 1896.
The pic was taken in 1898 apparently.

Hopefully it won't happen again in our lifetimes...or our childrens.

There are no preotections we are allowed
to install here. The area is declared as "wilderness", so we can't install any
type of retaining walls, barriers, etc.
Probably wouldn't help much, anyway.
If the river decides to reclaim her territory
we ain't gonna stop it...

Mike