January 14, 2021
SCIENTISTS DRAFT LETTER CALLING ON GOVERNORS TO TEAR DOWN THE LOWER SNAKE RIVER DAMS.
For salmon and steelhead to survive, the dams must go.
Historically, the Snake River basin was the largest salmon producer in the Columbia River system, once home to salmon runs numbering in the millions. Today, all stocks of salmon and steelhead in the basin are gravely imperiled and some are at the precipice of extinction. Over the last 20 years, the federal government has invested nearly $17 billion into the recovery of Snake River Basin salmon and steelhead—with little to nothing to show in the way of results. The reason, scientists say, is the continued existence of the lower Snake River dams, which destroy habitat, create conditions averse to fish survival, and block passage to vital spawning habitat. This week, ten scientists signed an open letter to the governors of Washington, Oregon, Montana and Idaho calling on those states to remove the lower four dams on the Snake River, stating that "abundant, healthy and harvestable wild Snake River salmon and steelhead cannot be restored and sustained with the four lower Snake River dams in place."
Amongst the letter's signatories is Jack Williams, emeritus senior scientist at Trout Unlimited; David Montgomery of the University of Washington, author of The King of Fish: The Thousand-Year Run of Salmon; James Lichatowich, noted salmon fisheries biologist and author of Salmon Without Rivers; Don Chapman, retired state and federal agency biologist; Richard Williams of the College of Idaho; Bruce Rieman and Peter Bisson, retired U.S. Forest Service scientists; Charles Petrosky, retired Idaho Department of Fish and Game biologist; and Howard Schaller, retired project leader for the Columbia River Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
The good news, according to the scientists who drafted the letter, is that the Snake River basin "remains exceptional in its recovery potential." But, the letter warns, fisheries managers find themselves at a pivotal moment, with "every Snake River salmon and steelhead population is listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), with recent returns consistently below the threshold needed to avoid extinction." If the dams are not removed, the scientists write, "the basin’s salmon and steelhead are highly likely to become extinct."