A new report says the benefits provided by four giant hydroelectric dams on the lower Snake River can be replaced if the dams are breached to save endangered salmon runs.
FILE - In this May 15, 2019 photo, the Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River is seen from the air near Colfax, Wash. A report released Thursday, June 9, 2022, said the benefits provided by four giant hydroelectric dams on the Snake River in Washington state can be replaced if the dams are breached to save endangered salmon runs. But finding other ways to provide electricity, irrigation and enabling commerce would cost up to $27.2 billion, the report said.
“Every community in the Pacific Northwest knows the value and importance of our iconic salmon runs—and every community recognizes the importance of salmon to our economy and cultural heritage,” they said. “We each remain firmly committed to saving our salmon.” The dams also generate electricity, provide irrigation water for farmers and recreation opportunities for people, the report said.
“What’s alarming is trying to breach them at a time when families in Eastern Washington are paying record-high energy costs just to keep the lights on this summer,” McMorris Rodgers said.“Our people are salmon people,” said tribal council chairman Delano Saluskin. “When the salmon thrive, we thrive; but when they suffer, our people suffer too.”
Construction of the first dam on the lower river, Ice Harbor, began in 1955. Lower Monumental followed in 1969, Little Goose in 1970, and Lower Granite in 1975. The dams stretch from Pasco, Washington, to near Pullman, Washington, and stand between migrating salmon and 5,500 miles of spawning habitat in central Idaho.
The most recent lawsuit, in 2016, resulted in a four-year study of the environmental impact of the dams. Although it found that breaching the dams would be the most effective salmon recovery action, federal agencies ultimately decided against it.
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