A14
REGION
East Oregonian
Tuesday, March 2, 2021
Scientists: Snake River dam removal ‘necessary’ to restore salmon
By ERIC BARKER
Lewiston (Idaho) Tribune
LEWISTON, Idaho —
Another set of scientists, this
one more than five dozen
deep, is sounding the alarm
over Snake River salmon and
steelhead, saying if the imper-
iled fi sh are to be saved, the
four lower Snake River dams
must go.
On Feb. 22, 68 fisheries
researchers from the Pacifi c
Northwest released a letter
penned to the region’s congres-
sional delegation, governors
and fisheries policymakers
methodically making the case
for breaching the dams.
“This scientifi c recommen-
dation wasn’t taken lightly.
This is relying on a review
of a large preponderance of
information that a bunch of us
analyzed over and over again
over the years,” said Howard
Schaller, a retired fisheries
research biologist who worked
for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
They compared the lifecy-
cle survival, known as smolt-
to-adult survival rates, of
Snake River salmon and steel-
head, and note the runs, which
must pass eight dams as they
migrate to and from the ocean,
have lower survival rates than
similar stocks in the Columbia
Basin that only have to make it
past four or fewer dams.
For example, wild steel-
head from the John Day River
in Oregon have an average
smolt-to-adult return rate of
return rate for wild Snake
River steelhead is 1.4%, below
replacement level, and for wild
spring and summer chinook, it
is just 0.7%.
The difference, they say,
is caused by the number of
dams and reservoirs each run
encounters during juvenile
migration to the ocean. For the
fi sh from the John Day River,
it’s three dams. At each of the
eight dams on the Snake River,
fi sh face hardships, including
delays caused by slowed water
velocity, predation, injury and
stress. The scientists point to
research that indicates many
of the young fi sh that make
it past each of the eight dams
succumb from delayed mortal-
ity, the result of accumulated
stress and injuries incurred
Associated Press, File/Capital Press
Ice Harbor dam near Burbank, Wash., is one of four dams on
the lower Snake River that would be taken out under a pro-
posal by Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho.
5% and wild chinook from the
same river have a survival rate
of 3.6%. The Northwest Power
and Conservation Council has
set a survival goal of 2% to
6% for anadromous fi sh runs
from the Snake and Columbia
rivers.
At 2%, the runs replace
themselves. At an average of
4%, they grow.
But the smolt-to-adult
along the way.
“When all of the existing
credible scientific evidence
is taken into account, it is
clear that removing the four
lower Snake River dams, with
adequate spill at the remaining
lower Columbia River dams,
is necessary to restore Snake
River salmon populations,”
they write.
The work they cite was
looked at during last year’s
Columbia River Systems
Operation Environmental
Impact Statement, authored by
the Army Corps of Engineers,
Bureau of Reclamation and
Bonneville Power Administra-
tion. The agencies chose a plan
that calls for water to be spilled
at each of the dams during the
juvenile migration period.
Washington
wants Biden
to overturn
Hanford rule
By ANNETTE CARY
Tri-City Herald
RICHLAND, Wash. —
The state of Washington
and other groups are asking
the Biden administration to
overturn a Trump adminis-
tration rule that would allow
the federal government to
potentially clean up the
Hanford nuclear reservation
to less stringent standards.
A letter sent on Friday,
Feb. 26, to Jennifer Gran-
holm, just a day after she
was confirmed as energy
secretary, was signed by
leaders of Washington state,
the Yakama Nation, the
Natural Resources Defense
Council, Hanford Challenge
and Columbia Riverkeeper.
They call the Depart-
ment of Energy’s decision in
2019 to allow the reclassifi -
cation of some Hanford site
and other radioactive waste
“a matter of extraordinary
concern.”
The new DOE r ule,
which was adopted to relax
the interpretation of what
is defined as high-level
radioactive waste, “lays the
groundwork for the Depart-
ment to abandon signifi-
cant amounts of radioactive
waste in Washington state
precipitously close to the
Columbia River,” the letter
said.
It would create a long-
term risk of harm to the
residents of the Pacific
Northwest and the natu-
ral resources critical to the
region, it said. However,
some Tri-Cities area inter-
ests have supported the
revised interpretation of
h ig h-level r a d ioact ive
waste, saying it could save
billions of dollars in envi-
ronmental cleanup money
across the nation, making
more money available for
some of the most pressing
environmental cleanup at
the Hanford nuclear reser-
vation. The Hanford Life-
cycle report issued in 2019
estimated would require
$323 billion to $677 billion
to complete, say those who
support the new interpreta-
tion.
Energy Communities
Alliance — a nationwide
coalition of local govern-
ments near DOE sites,
including Hanford Commu-
nities — says the clarifi-
cation to the defi nition of
high-level waste could save
the nation as much as $40
billion while still being
protective of the environ-
ment.
DOE told Congress that
reclassifying waste could
save up to $210 billion at
Hanford. Taxpayers have
been spending about $2.5
billion annually for Hanford
environmental cleanup.
Under U.S. law, any
waste produced when
fuel irradiated at Hanford
reactors was chemically
processed to remove pluto-
nium is classifi ed as high-
level radioactive waste. But
internationally, waste clas-
sification is based not on
how waste is produced, as
it is for high-level waste in
the United States, but on its
radiological risk.
March 3 thru
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Albertsons store and S.W. Washington stores serving Clark, Wahkiakum, Cowlitz,
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excludes purchases of Alcoholic Beverages, Fluid Dairy Products, Tobacco, US
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AT SAFEWAY GAS STATIONS. Savings are limited to 25 gallons for one vehicle per transaction—subject to rounding for Chevron or Texaco in-store fuel transactions
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Prices in n this ad are effective 6 AM Tuesday,
Tuesda March
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2021 (unless
ss otherwise noted) in all Safeway or
o Albertsons
sons stores in Oregon and S.W. Washington stores s se
serving
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Wall Walla and Klickitat
kitat Counties.
Items offered
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cts containing ephedrine, pseudoe
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lower in some stores. On Buy One, Get One Free e (“BOGO”) offers, customer must pur
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purchased, the regular
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Manufacturers’ coupons may be used on purchased items only — not on free items. Limit
imit one coupon per purchased item.
item Customer
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