The twenty-six foot Hemlock Lake dam was built in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to provide water for hydroelectric power generation, and was modified in 1958 to provide irrigation water to the Wind River Tree Nursery. The hydropower was terminated in the 1950s, and the diversion that used to supply the nursery is not currently in use. The Wind River Tree Nursery was closed in 1997 and the dam is no longer used to divert water. It was the first in the Columbia basin to incorporate the use of a
fish ladder. The dam was torn out in the summer of 2009 amid much debate with the idea that the removal of Hemlock Dam and restoration of lower Trout Creek would contribute to this whole watershed approach to habitat restoration, and is the culmination of many years of planning. ==Parks and recreation==