Federal officials have released two documents that indicate dam breaching on the lower Snake River could enhance the recovery of wild salmon and steelhead.
The Lewiston Tribune reports Brenda Mallory, chairperson of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said the administration is not endorsing breaching or any other strategies outlined in the report, but added it’s clear current salmon recovery efforts are not working and the goal of both documents is to inform regional and national leaders as they strive to formulate long-term fish recovery strategies.
The report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration calls for a comprehensive package of actions to boost fish abundance but says some actions — including dam breaching on the Snake River, improved fish passage at lower Columbia River dams and reintroduction of salmon and steelhead to the upper Columbia River — are critical. It says those steps, combined with continued efforts to improve estuary and tributary habitat and reduce the impact of predators, are all the more urgent in the face of climate change.
The second report, commissioned by the Bonneville Power Administration and compiled by Contractor E3 — Energy and Environmental Economics — said replacing the power and grid services of the four dams will be more difficult as Oregon and Washington implement increasingly strict clean energy standards. It would require 2,300 to 2,700 megawatts of new resources at a cost of $11 billion to $19 billion, or significantly more if the power is replaced by existing green sources like wind and solar and no burning of fossil fuels is allowed.
Breaching was endorsed last year by Republican Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson in his $33.5 billion Columbia Basin Initiative and a draft report that may win the support of Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Washington U.S. Senator Patty Murray. (Lewiston Tribune)
