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| The Solution: Lower Snake Dam Removal |
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For over ten years, a majority of fisheries biologists have said that the surest, and probably the only way, to restore Idaho's wild salmon is to remove the four lower Snake River dams in eastern Washington.
The removal of these four dams alone will give Idaho's salmon the fighting chance they need during their outward migration to the Pacific Ocean. Dam removal will not only restore salmon, it will save taxpayer dollars and bring millions in economic activity to Idaho.
The status quo wastes taxpayer dollars
For over 25 years, the federal government has invested billions in ineffective techno-fixes in an attempt to recover Snake River salmon. They've tried either trucking or barging salmon smolts around the dams--methods that have proven to be both expensive and ineffective.
Meanwhile, Idaho's salmon populations continue to slide toward extinction. Only three sockeye salmon returned to Redfish Lake in central Idaho in 2006. Idaho's salmon need a solution that works, and soon. Lower Snake dam removal is the best, and most cost-effective solution to our salmon crisis.
Why lower Snake dam removal?
The lower Snake River dams are high-cost, low-value projects. A recent report conducted by fishing, conservation and taxpayer groups called Revenue Stream, demonstrated that removing the dams would save taxpayer dollars in the long run.
Nevertheless, when the lower Snake River dams are removed, the benefits the dams now provide will need to be replaced.
Dam removal can only be authorized via Congressional legislation. A dam removal bill will need to include compensation for all affected stakeholders.
We can replace the benefits of the four lower Snake River dams:
- Energy can be replaced with clean affordable sources that do not contribute to global climate change. The lower Snake dams provide an average of 2% of the electricity in the Northwest.
- Irrigation can continue. The first of the four lower Snake reservoirs provides irrigation water to about 13 farms in the TriCities area. When the dams are removed, pipes that currently draw water from the reservoir can be extended to reach the free flowing river.
- Movement of goods can continue. Barge transportation provided by the lower Snake reservoirs can be replaced with cost-competitive rail.
- Stored sediment in the reservoirs can be managed. After the dams are removed, the banks of the lower Snake will be revegetated.
- Because the lower Snake dams are run-of-river dams, they do not provide flood control.
Compared to the larger dams in the Northwest, these four dams provide few societal benefits. Those dams that provide greater benefits to society, like the Hell's Canyon complex of dams in Idaho or the Columbia River dams in Oregon/Washington, should remain. The costs of keeping the lower Snake dams exceeds their benefits.--->>Learn more about the costs and benefits of lower Snake River dam removal.
"We have built one dam [in the USA] for every day since Jefferson signed the Declaration of Independence...Surely among 75,000 there are a few mistakes."
-Former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt
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