The Snake River has once again been listed among the most imperiled waterways in the United States by the environmental group American Rivers.
The group released its annual list of rivers it deems to be critically endangered and placed the Snake in the second spot. That’s down one spot from the 2021 list that had the Snake as the nation’s most imperiled.
The Snake was replaced in the top spot by the Colorado River, where drought and over-appropriation threaten the drinking water of tens of millions of people and the intricate ecology of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.
The Snake River has made the group’s list frequently over the years because dwindling wild runs of sockeye salmon, spring, summer and fall chinook salmon, and steelhead that are listed as either threatened or endangered.
Environmental groups and tribes have for several years advocated for the breaching of the four lower Snake River dams as a way to save the fish.
Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson has introduced his $33.5 billion concept that would breach the dams and mitigate affected communities and industries.
Advocates of the dams say breaching is not needed as it would hurt farmers and other producers who ship products by barge on the river system, and would eliminate a source of carbon-free power. (Lewiston Tribune)
