Save the wild salmon of the Snake River Watershed
The end of a wild species?
Can we save the wild Salmon?
As with everything in life, choices today determine outcomes tomorrow. We stand at a crossroads with the fate of two species in our hands. Unfortunately, we are a stubborn race and are often unable to remove our judgments in the interest of the greater good. The Chinook salmon of the Snake and Salmon River watersheds lay on the brink of extinction, despite our multi-billion dollar efforts to “SAVE” them. And in turn, the Southern Resident Killer Whales (Orcas) are endangered. Because of their primary food source, the Chinook salmon, are all but gone. The Orcas are literally starving to death because the salmon population has hit an all-time low. We could save the wild salmon and the Orcas by breaching the 4 antiquated dams on the lower Snake River.
THE PAST
During the mid-1900’s the Northwest agriculture economy was booming. Hence waterway transportation was deemed the most cost-effective mode of transportation for goods to the ocean. For this reason, lock dams made sense and opened the door for commerce in Idaho, Eastern Oregon, and Eastern Washington. The growing populations of the Northwest demanded power, which was easily answered with the addition of hydroelectric plants to the dams. For 30+ years these 4 Lower Snake Dams served a number of very vital purposes. They enabled Lewiston, ID to become a port for barge traffic and they produced renewable energy via hydroelectric power.
Unfortunately, they stopped the flow of the river which had a detrimental impact on the native salmon population. The young salmon or “smolt” begins its journey by traveling backwards to the ocean. In the ocean, it then spends many years growing to maturity. Eventually it makes its way back to its birthplace in the river, where it then reproduces and dies. Since the fish couldn’t navigate the dams, the government devised a series of plans to help the salmon smolt get to the ocean. They then devised another series of ways to help the mature salmon get back to the river. Unfortunately the systems they devised didn’t work as well as they had hoped and the wild Chinook salmon population has been in decline ever since.
It costs tax payers millions of dollars a year to try and save the wild salmon and at the end of the day….they ARE NOT being saved.
THE PRESENT
Around the turn of the 21st century, railways made a comeback. As a result the rail infrastructure has been updated and enlarged, drastically affecting the demand for barge use. Meanwhile the production of wind power has surpassed the hydroelectric production to a point of idleness. In conjunction with these changes, the dams infrastructure continues to age. In turn requiring costly repairs and upgrades, thus resulting in higher costs of operation. More and more companies have switched to rail transport as a cheaper alternative. Wind power has become less expensive while the cost of hydropower continues to rise due to maintenance and repair of the aging hydro plants.
Meanwhile the native WILD Chinook salmon population is continuing to decline. There are many years when only a handful of fish make it back to the headwaters of the Salmon at Redfish lake. Historically Redfish was named thus for the thousands of fish it used to host. The surface of the lake would turn red with all of their backs as they spawned. Current projections indicate that the wild Chinook salmon population of the Snake river watershed will be extinct by 2019. Then the only Chinook salmon that will be left in these watersheds will be hatchery fish. Unfortunately hatchery fish are 100% more susceptible to disease and have a 75% lower survival rate.
The Government
The Army Corp of Engineers Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) states that at this point all of the necessary steps have been taken to study the financial and environmental impacts of maintaining the lower 4 Snake river dams and the next and final step is to BREACH THEM. This is actually written in the EIS. Why are we not moving forward with what the EIS states is the next and final step? Because people are afraid that by taking out the 4 lower Snake dams it will start a dam demolishing revolution across the country.
This is NOT true!
These dams are old and very expensive to maintain. They are no longer paying for themselves through hydropower and barge use. They are now costing tax payers 100’s of millions of dollars a year. To breach them would cost a fraction of what will be spent on them over time if they stay in place. Not to mention the billions of tax payer dollars that will be spent in the continued effort to save a species that doesn’t stand a chance unless these 4 dams are removed.
THE FUTURE
Wind power is in surplus and is cleaner than hydro power. The rail system is efficient and affordable. Removal of the dams would create 4000+ new jobs in recreation within the first year alone. Meanwhile 1000’s of acres of lake bottom sediments would provide revenue through industries and jobs in agriculture. And the economic development of river front properties would provide additional jobs and revenue. Any surplus trade transport could transfer over to the rail and truck systems that are already in place.
The survival of the salmon is dependent on the removal of the slack water, warm water temperatures and aggressive predator fish that dams and their reservoir waters produce. By removing the lower 4 Snake river dams, the ecosystem would bounce back. It could begin to repair itself through diurnal cooling, sediment redistribution, currents to flush out predator fish and currents for the salmon smolt to follow towards the ocean. Thus with 4 less dams to navigate to and through, the wild Snake river salmon would actually have a healthy chance of surviving and could make a comeback. This in turn would help SAVE the Orcas at the mouth of the Columbia river.
Wild salmon are a vital component of a healthy ecosystem. From feeding Orcas to bears, to providing nutrients for rich soil and healthy plant growth, they are a vital part of the cycle and without them we will start to see more catastrophic environmental changes.
Do your part!
After 7 years of study and $33 million dollars, the Army Corp of Engineers recommended in 2002 that breaching the dams was the best case scenario for salmon survival. The judiciary system has repeatedly postponed this action. The President could override this decision with an executive order.
CALL……WRITE…..TAKE ACTION
Hand write a letter today:
President
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500
1(202)456-1111
For more information visit www.damsense.org
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