Oral history interview with Charles F. Ray

Collection

Identifier: SR 2716

Staff Only

Transcript, digitized audio recording, and photograph

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Scope and Contents

Audio recording and transcript of an oral history interview with Charles F. Ray that was conducted by Clark Hansen in two sessions, on July 27 and July 28, 1999, at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland, Oregon, as part of the Columbia River Dissenters Oral History Series. Accompanying the recording and transcript is a color photograph of Ray, taken by Hansen at the time of the interview. At Ray's request, portions of the interview on Tape 1, Side 1, are restricted. The corresponding sections have been redacted from the transcript and a digitized version of the audio recording that is available online in OHS Digital Collections.

In the first interview session, conducted on July 27, 1999, Ray discusses his family background and early life in Johnson City, Tennessee; talks about his college experience at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville; and describes how his study of forestry helped shape his political views. He shares his reasons for moving to Gordon Valley, Idaho, in 1976, talks about jobs he worked, and describes how he became involved with the Friends of the Payette, which successfully lobbied against the construction of a dam on the Payette River in Idaho. He speaks extensively about his work with Idaho Rivers United to advocate for conservation of salmon and steelhead, about the reasons for declines in fish populations in the Pacific Northwest, and about proposals to remove dams on the Snake River. He discusses how the conservative political climate in Idaho has impeded efforts to restore fish runs, shares his thoughts about the effectiveness of the Northwest Power Planning Council, and talks about how farmers in Idaho feel about the Columbia River dams. He shares his thoughts about the practice of moving fish past the dams using barges, about the federal government’s treatment of endangered wildlife, and about possible alternatives to hydroelectric power.

In the second interview session, conducted on July 28, 1999, Ray discusses enforcement of fishing treaties between the U.S. government and Native tribes in the Pacific Northwest. He speaks further about the conservative political climate in Idaho, and how it affects progress on fish conservation efforts. He shares his thoughts about the characterization of hydropower as environmentally friendly. He closes the interview by discussing fish harvest regulations, and by suggesting methods to restore fish runs in the Snake River.

Dates

Creation: 1999 July 27-28

Creator

Ray, Charles F. (Charles Francis), 1952- (Interviewee, Person)
Hansen, Clark (Interviewer, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Portions of the interview on Tape 1, Side 1, have been restricted by the interviewee. Researcher access to the tape is restricted, and the corresponding portions of the interview have been redacted from the transcript and the digitized version of the audio recording that is available online in OHS Digital Collections.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright - https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Biographical note

Charles Francis Ray was born in Johnson City, Tennessee, in 1952. In 1974, he and Leslie Joan Cordell were married; they later had two children. Ray earned a bachelor’s degree in forestry from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and in 1976, the couple moved to Gordon Valley, Idaho, where Ray worked as a firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service during the summers of 1976 and 1977. He then worked as a logger for the Boise Cascade timber company until 1981, when the family returned to Tennessee to care for Ray's grandparents. They moved back to Idaho in 1985, and in 1989, Ray became involved with the Friends of the Payette. Later, he also became a staff member for Idaho Rivers United.

Sources: Vital records in Ancestry.com; information provided by Ray in his interview; “As salmon die, a traveler plants seeds of rage,” by Cynthia Hunter, High Country News, October 17, 1994.

Historical note

In 1990, the Washington State Historical Society, Portland State University, and Washington State University Vancouver formed the Center for Columbia River History (CCRH) to promote research, education, and public programs about the Columbia River Basin. The center operated for more than 20 years. Among its work was the Columbia River Basin Project (CRBP), an umbrella project supported by a 1997 grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The CRBP included online exhibits, oral histories, and high school curricula about the history of the region's land, wildlife, and people.

As part of the project, CCRH partnered with the Oregon Historical Society Research Library’s oral history program, headed by Jim Strassmaier, to gather interviews. Oral Historian Michael O’Rourke spearheaded the Northwest Power Planning Council Oral History Series, while Oral Historian Clark Hansen oversaw the Columbia River Dissenters Oral History Series, with aid from two Portland State University research assistants, Dannette Rowe and Tania Hyatt. In addition, CCRH conducted oral history interviews for a third project, Columbia Communities, and later donated the interview recordings and transcripts to the OHS Research Library, where they are designated SRC 1.

The Columbia River Dissenters Oral History Series culminated in 59 interviews (approximately 184 recorded hours) conducted between 1998 and 2001. Interviewees included Native people, activists, farmers, conservationists, fishers, and others who contributed to the shaping of policies that have had, and continue to have, significant impacts on the Columbia River Basin in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and British Columbia. The interviewees opposed policies by agencies such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bonneville Power Administration, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and advocated for alternative visions of management and use of the Columbia River.

Sources: “Voices of the Columbia,” by Bryan White, PSU Magazine, Fall 1998, Page 17; Center for Columbia River History brochure, undated (circa 2000); Center for Columbia River History website (accessed July 10, 2025), https://columbiariverhistory.org/; email correspondence with Donna Sinclair, 2025; email correspondence with Tania Hyatt, 2025; Oregon Historical Society Research Library internal documentation.

Extent

0.1 Cubic Feet (4 audiocassettes (3 hr., 30 min., 53 sec.) + transcript (105 pages) + 1 photograph (color))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with Charles F. Ray, conducted by Clark Hansen in two sessions, on July 27 and July 28, 1999, as part of the Columbia River Dissenters Oral History Series. Ray speaks extensively about his work with Idaho Rivers United to advocate for the restoration of Snake River salmon and steelhead runs.

Existence and Location of Copies

Audio, transcript, and photograph available online in OHS Digital Collections.

General

Forms part of the Columbia River Dissenters Oral History Series.

Processing Information

This interview was previously cataloged as part of SR 2700.1, the Center for Columbia River History Oral Histories. SR 2700.1 included oral histories gathered for two separate projects: those conducted by the Oregon Historical Society Research Library for the Columbia River Dissenters Oral History Series, and those collected by the Center for Columbia River History for its Columbia Communities Project. In 2024-2025, as part of digitization of the Dissenters interviews, the collection was reprocessed to separate the two sets of interviews for improved access. Each of the 59 Columbia River Dissenters interviews was cataloged individually under the name of the interviewee. The interviews for the Communities project were kept together as a single collection that was redesignated as SRC 1, Columbia Communities Project oral histories.