Within a decade, the Yakama people of south-central Washington State should be able to harvest salmon once again with spears, nets, and other traditional methods along tributaries of the Yakima River.

In 1866, a dam was built across the river near Fourth Street to further harness the river’s power. Floodwalls were built after a 1904 flood swamped the West Side. In 1927, four low-rise dams ...