In 1941, under provisions of the 'Boundary Waters Treaty' (1909), the City of Seattle applied to the International Joint Commission to raise the level of the reservoir on the Skagit River. This application was approved in 1942. By 1967 it had become necessary to raise the Ross Dam to increase electricity supplies to the City of Seattle. The proposal would have resulted in the flooding of almost 5,000 acres of the Skagit Valley in B.C. By 1969 outdoor and environmental groups began to lobby against the plan citing the devastating ecological ramifications. The R.O.S.S. (Run Out Skagit Spoilers) Committee was formed in 1969 as a coalition of numerous interest groups which organized protests against raising the dam. Plans to flood the Skagit Valley were delayed in light of the public outcry.
From the description of Run Out Skagit Spoilers Committee fonds. 1968-1978. (University of British Columbia Library). WorldCat record id: 606462977
