The ecologies, economies, and cultures of the Pacific Northwest have long revolved around wild salmon. So wild salmon recovery is central to restoring balance in our region. And the most effective way to do that is to breach the Lower Snake River Dams, beginning in 2018.
THE LOWER SNAKE RIVER DAMS STAND IN THE WAY OF SALMON RECOVERY
Since the Lower Snake River Dams were completed, salmon and steelhead populations have dropped 90%.1 They’ve never reached their recovery targets, even as the Columbia River Fish Mitigation Program has spent nearly $1 billion since 2000 on bypass improvements on the Lower Snake River Dams.2 These efforts haven’t helped. Partial solutions are proven failures.
While Governor Inslee and others have called for more hatchery salmon, they do so at a detriment to wild chinook salmon. Best available science tells us that hatcheries ultimately harm salmon diversity, while “more salmon diversity means less risk of their extinction and more benefits to society.”3
Another partial solution that won’t work for restoring salmon is “increased spill“—which means increasing the amount of water that passes over the dams, instead of through the turbines. Some extra spill can help a little, but too much spill generates dissolved gases in the water, effectively giving fish “the bends” and greatly diminishing their chance of survival.
Increasing spill may help a few thousand salmon smolts to make it through, but that’s not enough to save salmon from extinction. If your friend has a massive, life-threatening wound and you suggest putting a band-aid on it, you’re a shitty friend.
REMOVING THESE FOUR DAMS IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO BEGIN RESTORING THE SNAKE RIVER AND ITS WILD SALMON POPULATIONS
Breaching the Lower Snake River Dams would allow for millions more salmon to survive the other four dams on the Columbia River that they must endure—twice: once in getting to the ocean and again when coming home to spawn. The best available science studies have shown that the best—and perhaps only—route for long-term survival of salmon entails removal of these dams.
According to the NOAA, “breaching the four lower Snake River dams would provide more certainty of long-term survival and recovery than would other measures.”4 And according to the US Army Corps of Engineers, “breaching is more likely than any other change in the hydropower system to meet survival and recovery criteria for the listed species across the widest range of assumptions and scenarios.”5
The science is in.6 It has been for a long time. These dams have been studied to death—the death of salmon and the resident orcas that depend on them. To restore the Snake River and save wild salmon, we must demand that breaching begin in 2018.
Since the US Army Corps of Engineers has already evaluated the breaching sequence, removing the Lower Snake River Dams can happen quickly, which is a good thing for salmon and orcas, who don’t have the luxury of time. (Fun fact: orcas can’t eat political promises and bureaucratic red tape!)
After political leaders and the public demand that the Bonneville Power Administration and US Army Corps of Engineers begin the process in December 2018, it’s surprisingly easy: 45–60 days to get folks off the river and then one week to remove the earthen berms.
Two dams (the Lower Granite and Little Goose) would be dewatered during the non-migration period from January–March of 2019 and by summer’s end, four million more salmon would be given the chance for survival, with several million more to follow.
WASHINGTON HAS DONE IT BEFORE AND CAN DO IT AGAIN
When the Elwha River Dam was removed in 2011, it was the world’s largest dam removal project. The results were immediately evident and “[s]cientists [were] amazed at the speed of change” the Elwha underwent after removal.7 The benefits of river restoration have been apparent with the Elwha (a project that Senator Cantwell supported) and this success should serve as a reminder and as motivation for freeing the Snake.
Getting rid of the four dams on the Lower Snake River wouldn’t be as dramatic as the Elwha project, since the Army Corps of Engineers would only have to place the dams in non-operational status, remove their earthen berms, and divert the flow toward the free-flowing portion of the river. The actual concrete infrastructure would remain in place, and should the decision need reversed, a new earth wall is all that’s needed.
As the Elwha shows us, restoring a river means restoring habitat, restoring salmon, and restoring so much more.
SO WHY HAVEN’T GOVERNOR INSLEE AND SENATORS CANTWELL AND MURRAY DECLARED SUPPORT FOR THE IMMEDIATE REMOVAL OF MONEY-LOSING, SALMON-KILLING, ORCA-STARVING DAMS?
Let’s ask ’em:
Governor Jay Inslee Call (360) 902-4111 or write him on Twitter or send an email
Senator Maria Cantwell Call (206) 220-6400 or write her on Twitter or send an email
Senator Patty Murray Call (206) 553-5545 or write her on Twitter or send an email