Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has paused planning for a dam on the Chehalis River, ordering a look at other ways to prevent a repeat of a 2007 flood that swamped farms, killed scores of livestock and closed Interstate 5 halfway between Portland and Seattle.

Inslee’s directive calls on the Chehalis Basin Board, a seven-member board advised by state agencies, to come up with a “non-dam alternative to reducing flood damage.”

A dam would block fish, eliminate spawning grounds and fill-in wetlands, according to an environmental report by the Department of Ecology. The Quinault Indian Nation and Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, both on the basin board, oppose the dam.

Grays Harbor farmer Jay Gordon, who represents agriculture on the board, said he’s hopeful a plan can be found that protects farms and fish. The governor’s order, he said, “is not what we hoped for, but it’s not unreasonable.”

“I’m really optimistic we’re going to find something that’s in everybody’s interest,” he said.

The Chehalis River starts in Lewis County and flows approximately 120 miles to the coast. The river periodically floods and the worst in recent history occurred in 2007. More than 1,800 farm animals died, according to the Lewis County Farm Bureau. I-5 was closed for four days.

The 2007 flood was followed by another flood 13 months later. Since then, a web of state and local agencies and boards have drawn up flood-control plans, balanced by fish-restoration projects, many of which depend on cooperative farmers.

Lewis County farmer Dave Fenn, whose property was flooded in 2007, said shutting the door on a dam would take his interest in fish restoration “very close to zero.”

“Why should we give away acres and acres?” he asked.

In a preliminary environmental impact statement on the dam, the Department of Ecology found numerous environmental drawbacks, including harm to salmon and steelhead.

The report warned, however, that even without a dam, fish runs will decline because of floods and climate change. The report identified improving fish habitat as a way to offset the dam.

Ecology was preparing a final environmental impact statement on building a dam. It was due out in the spring. Inslee ordered work on the document be suspended until at least the end of the year.

In a letter to the Chehalis Basin Board, Inslee said he wanted a “consensus recommendation” by the end of September on a “process and timeline” for finding an alternative to a dam. The board will meet Thursday, its first since Inslee’s order.

Lewis County commissioners proposed that a dam be built near the town of Pe Ell. Gates would usually let the river flow though, but could be lowered to hold back a flood, temporarily flooding 847 acres and impeding fish.

Other flood-control ideas such as raising or rerouting Interstate 5, flood walls and a dam closed all the time were considered, but were rejected as too expensive or too damaging to the environment.