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THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2019
Study looks at benefi ts, liabilities of Snake River dams
Blamed for
declining
salmon runs
By NICHOLAS K.
GERANIOS
Associated Press
SPOKANE, Wash. —
Four federal hydroelectric
dams along the Snake River
in Washington state bring
both benefi ts and liabilities
to the region, and there is no
clear consensus in the state
on whether the giant struc-
tures should be removed or
retained, a new report said.
The state Legislature
last spring appropriated
$750,000 to study the dams,
which are blamed by many
for declining salmon runs in
the Columbia-Snake river
system. The salmon are a key
food source for killer whales,
which are also endangered.
The report is intended to
help Washington lawmak-
ers decide how to respond to
an upcoming federal review
of the dams and whether
they should be removed.
That court-ordered review
is expected to be released in
February.
The report released Fri-
day included data from inter-
views with 100 people and
groups. But it did not include
any recommendations and
did not look at impacts out-
side of Washington.
“Salmon, orca, agricul-
ture and energy are funda-
mental to Washington’s past
and future,’’ the report said,
noting the four dams have
touched on all these issues
since they were constructed
more than four decades ago.
The dams create winners
and losers, according to the
report, which was prepared
as part of investigations to
see if removing the dams
would provide more salmon
for s outhern r esident orcas to
eat.
The report found there
are signifi cant differences
among Washington residents
on the impacts of breaching
the dams.
Dam supporters feel the
“coast’’ is telling eastern
Washington
communities
Ted S. Warren/AP Photo
The Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River.
what to do in a way that lacks
respect, the report said.
“More information is
needed to create opportuni-
ties for greater understand-
ing,’’ the report said.
The four dams are Ice
Harbor, Lower Monumen-
tal, Little Goose and Lower
Granite, and they are located
on the Snake River between
the Tri-Cities of Washington
and Lewiston, Idaho.
The four dams generate
roughly enough power to
supply the city of Seattle for
a year, and allow navigation
of barges between Lewiston
and the Tri-Cities, and even-
tually to Pacifi c ports.
All species of salmon in
the Snake River are listed
as threatened or endangered
and the dams are the biggest
man-made obstacles they
face, the report said.
The dams block fi sh
migration, change river con-
ditions and reduce the sur-
vival rate of fi sh, the report
said. That creates losers
among fi shing communities
and Indian tribes who depend
on salmon.
Supporters of breaching
the dams say it is the only
method that has not been tried
to increase salmon popula-
tions, the report said. About
$17 billion has been spent
on other efforts to increase
salmon runs, the report said,
“without reversing the down-
ward population trend.”
Supporters of breach-
ing the dams say the power
they provide primarily acts
as a reserve supply, and the
electricity is generally not
used to meet primary energy
demands.
But people who support
keeping the dams say los-
ing the power would hurt
the state’s goal of being car-
bon free by 2045, especially
as the population grows and
coal plants are retired.
Breaching the dams
would also eliminate the use
of barges to transport agri-
cultural products down the
river, the report said. Barges
are cleaner and cheaper than
truck or rail transportation,
the report said.
The dams provide irriga-
tion water for about 47,000
acres of farmland, and that
benefi t would also be lost if
the dams are breached, the
report said.
Supporters of breach-
ing the dams say it would be
important to make farmers
whole, so they do not suffer
economic losses, the report
said.
People who want to keep
the dams contend the loss of
barging “would have disas-
trous ramifi cations for farm-
ers,’’ the report said.
Removing the dams
would result in the loss of
some recreational activities,
such as swimming beaches,
the report said. But it would
also provide new whitewater
recreation opportunities, the
report said.
Those who want to breach
the dams contend the cost
of maintaining the giant
structures will continue
to increase and they will
become cost-ineffective over
time, the report said.
“Although
differences
remain deep, for each issue
there also are clear opportu-
nities to increase understand-
ing,’’ the report said.
“There is both hope and
despair about what comes
next and the potential for
progress,’’ the report said.
The environmental group
American Rivers said the
report is a reminder of shared
values.
“We want a future with
clean energy, thriving agri-
culture and salmon runs that
honor tribal treaty rights and
support strong communi-
ties,’’ Wendy McDermott of
American Rivers said in a
press release.
The report is “an hon-
est look at how we’ve man-
aged the Snake River and the
true cost of declining salmon
runs,’’ said Tom France of the
National Wildlife Federation.
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