BAKER CITY HERALD • SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2022 A5
THE WEST
White House: To help salmon, dams may need to be removed
BY NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS
Associated Press
SPOKANE, Wash. — The
Biden administration on
Tuesday, July 12 released two
reports arguing that remov-
ing dams on the lower Snake
River may be needed to re-
store salmon runs to historic
levels, and that replacing the
energy created by the dams is
possible but will cost $11 bil-
lion to $19 billion.
The reports were released
by the White House Council
on Environmental Quality.
“Business as usual will not
restore salmon,” said Brenda
Mallory, chair of the council.
“The Columbia River system
is the lifeblood of the Pacific
Northwest.”
Many salmon runs continue
to decline, which environmen-
talists blame on dams, Mallory
said, and her office is leading
multi-agency efforts to restore
“abundant runs of salmon to
the Columbia River Basin.”
Mallory cautioned that the
Biden administration is not
endorsing any single long-
term solution, including
breaching the dams.
On Tuesday, a draft report
by scientists at the National
Ted S. Warren/The Associated Press, File
The Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River is seen from the air near
Colfax, Washington.
Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration found changes
are needed to restore salmon,
ranging from removal of one
to four dams on the lower
Snake River to reintroduction
of salmon to areas entirely
blocked by dams. A second re-
port studied how power sup-
plies could be replaced if dams
are breached.
“These two reports add to
the picture — that we are work-
ing alongside regional leaders
to develop — of what it will
take over the decades ahead to
restore salmon populations,
honor our commitments to
Tribal Nations, deliver clean
power and meet the many
needs of stakeholders across the
region,” Mallory said.
More than a dozen runs of
salmon and steelhead are at
risk of extinction in the Co-
lumbia and Snake rivers.
Billions of dollars have been
spent on salmon and steelhead
recovery, but the fish continue
to decline, speakers said, and
it is time to try a different ap-
proach. Dam breaching is op-
posed by grain shippers, irri-
gators, power producers and
other river users. Dam sup-
porters blame declining salmon
runs on other factors, such as
changing ocean conditions.
“We need to go to larg-
er-scale actions,” NOAA sci-
entist Chris Jordan said in a
briefing on the report Monday.
“We are at a crucial mo-
ment for salmon and steel-
head in the Columbia River
Basin when we’re seeing the
impacts of climate change on
top of other stressors,” said
Janet Coit, an administrator
for NOAA Fisheries.
The issue has percolated in
the Northwest for three de-
cades, sparking court fights
and political debates over the
future of the four dams on the
Snake River that environmen-
talists blame for the decline in
salmon and steelhead.
U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson,
R-Idaho, kicked off the lat-
est round of debates in 2021,
when he released a plan say-
ing it would cost $34 billion
to remove and replace the
dams’ services in order to save
salmon. U.S. Sen. Patty Mur-
ray and Washington Gov. Jay
Inslee, both Democrats, are
also preparing a report, with
their recommendations ex-
pected later this summer.
Last month, Murray and
Inslee announced that re-
placing the benefits provided
by the four giant hydroelec-
tric dams on the lower Snake
River in Washington state
would cost $10.3 billion to
$27.2 billion.
Breaching the dams would
significantly improve the abil-
ity of salmon and steelhead
to swim from their inland
spawning grounds to the Pa-
cific Ocean, where they spend
most of their lives, and then
back to their original spawn-
ing grounds to procreate and
die, Murray and Inslee said.
Major benefits of the dams
include making the Snake
River navigable up to Lewis-
ton, Idaho, allowing barges to
carry wheat and other crops to
ocean ports. Eliminating the
dams would require truck and
rail transportation improve-
ments to move crops.
The dams also generate elec-
tricity, provide irrigation water
for farmers and recreation op-
portunities for people.
The dams have many sup-
porters, including two GOP
members of Congress repre-
senting eastern Washington
state. The dams are also sup-
ported by barge companies,
farmers and other business
interests. Breaching them
would require an act of Con-
gress.
Republican U.S. Reps. Dan
Newhouse and Cathy McMor-
ris Rodgers of eastern Wash-
ington have introduced a bill
to protect the dams, which are
located in their districts.
In the late 1800s, up to 16
million salmon and steel-
head returned to the Colum-
bia River Basin every year to
spawn. Over the next century
and a half, overfishing whit-
tled that number down. By the
early 1950s, just under 130,000
Chinook were returning to the
Snake River.
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 be-
tween migrating salmon and
5,500 miles of spawning habi-
tat in central Idaho.
Oregon therapeutic psilocybin Invasive beetle known to wipe
program sparks some confusion out ash trees found in Oregon
BY CLAIRE RUSH
Associated Press/Report for America
PORTLAND — As Oregon drafts the
rules for its new psilocybin program, the
first of its kind in the U.S., residents are
voicing concern about the confusing patch-
work of local ordinances that may emerge.
In 2020, Oregon became the first state in
the nation to legalize the therapeutic, su-
pervised use of psilocybin after 56% of vot-
ers approved Ballot Measure 109. Psilocy-
bin is the active hallucinogenic ingredient
in what are commonly referred to as magic
mushrooms.
But the measure allows counties to opt
out of the program if their constituents
vote to do so, and several are hoping to do
just that, sparking confusion among resi-
dents hoping to get involved in the nascent
sector.
Questions about this issue were raised
several times during the first public listen-
ing session hosted Wednesday, July 13 by
the Oregon Health Authority and its new
Psilocybin Services section.
Facilitators are paying thousands of dol-
lars for training, one participant said, ask-
ing what could be done if counties opt out.
Several county commissioners, mostly
in rural areas, have recently decided to
put psilocybin center bans on the ballot in
November. But even Clackamas County,
which includes Portland’s southern sub-
urbs as well as rural mountain areas, has
drafted an ordinance asking voters to pro-
hibit such centers.
A Clackamas County resident during the
listening session wondered if there would
be any recourse if after becoming licensed
for psilocybin events and activities, the
county enacts a voter-approved ban.
Brandon Davis, another participant,
echoed the concern. “I might have to move
and relocate entirely just to get into this
business market,” he said.
See Psilocybin / A6
PORTLAND (AP) — For-
estry officials in Oregon said
Monday that an invasive bee-
tle known for decimating
ash trees throughout North
America and Europe was
recently discovered west of
Portland.
The Oregon Department
of Forestry said the irides-
cent green emerald ash borer
is considered the most de-
structive forest pest in North
America and had been de-
tected in 34 other states before
it was discovered in Forest
Grove on June 30, KOIN-TV
reported.
Officials said it’s the first
discovery of the insect on the
West Coast. The beetle is be-
lieved to have come from Asia
through Canada to the U.S.
about 20 years ago.
The insects have killed
up to 99% of the ash trees in
Minneapolis Star Tribune-TNS, File
The emerald ash borer. The bee-
tle, which kills ash trees, was
first discovered in Oregon in late
June 2022.
some North American loca-
tions. Years of attack by the
invasive beetle species have
decimated Connecticut’s pop-
ulation of ash trees, for ex-
ample.
The emerald ash borer
was discovered in Oregon by
Dominic Maze, an invasive
species biologist for the City
of Portland. He was waiting
outside a summer camp in
Forest Grove to pick up his
a
CITY,
children when he noticed sev-
eral ash trees with D-shaped
exit holes in their bark, state
officials said.
He recognized the holes
as a sign of the emerald ash
borer and then spotted the
beetles. He called the Ore-
gon Department of Forestry
and an entomologist and two
other invasive species spe-
cialists confirmed the inva-
sion.
“It’s an ecologically vital
tree as it shades water, keep-
ing it cooler for fish,” Wyatt
Williams, the Oregon Depart-
ment of Forestry’s invasive
species specialist, said. “The
roots stabilize streambanks,
reducing erosion. And lots of
animals, birds and insects eat
the seeds and leaves. Losing it
will likely have a huge impact
on those ecosystems.”
See Beetle / A6
a
GENERAL
• Theme: “Sew it, Grow it, Show it”
• Fair is open to the public Tuesday-Friday, August 9th-12th,
9am-9pm
• Find the schedule & Premium book on our website,
Bakerfair.com
• Questions, call Baker County Fair Office (541) 523-7881
• Buyers Luncheon, Friday @ 4 pm
• Livestock Auction, Friday @ 6 pm
Old, young, rich, poor.
Born here, just got here.
Our calling is you.
Schedule online, anytime.
OPEN CLASS
• Starting July 1st we are taking entries for all Open Class/
Open Show exhibits. The entry form is available at
bakerfair.com, in the premium book or pick one up at the
Extension Office.
• Exhibitors may bring there exhibits Sunday, August 7th from
1pm-6pm, or Monday August 8th from 8am-12pm.
VENDORS:
• Honest Nevada- western accessories
• Broken Box Ranch-western apparel, bags, and home decor
• Classical Conversations Homeschool Group- Snow Cones
• Brewin’ with D Coffee Cart
• Frontier Express Food Truck
• Ballpark Prints
• Uniquely Pam Cotton Candy
ENTERTAINMENT:
• Wednesday August 10th, Frank Carlson 7-9pm
• Thursday Aug 11th Olivia Harms 7-9pm
• Kid Zone, inflatable obstacle course and fun yard games
open Wednesday-Friday