Introducing the Snake River
The Headwaters of the Snake River begin in Wyoming, travel through the Palouse lands of Southern Idaho and head North into Eastern Oregon before draining into the Columbia River. This river is the primary water tributary to the Columbia River. Aside from its beauty, the Snake River provides many beneficial resources to society. The Snake River is significant to agricultural economics, as it provides much needed irrigation to many crop demands. It is very heavily used for recreational purposes, and it has been a common source for salmon fishing for many centuries. Arguably the most significant aspects of the Snake River is the salmon populations that run and spawn here. The Snake River is noted to be the most extensive freshwater salmon habitat in the lower 48 states (americanrivers.org). The construction of four dams in the lower portion of the river, however, have pushed these species toward extinction; this is where the controversy begins.
The History
The history of the Snake River Dam controversy reaches back to what many Historians refer to as the “Dam Building Era” which began in 1930 (nww.usace.army). This was a time when the quickly growing Northwest economies required better infrastructure and trading capabilities for transportation, navigation and hydropower. The raging white water of the Snake River created many tough obstacles, and the construction of dams was essential in providing the necessary economical improvements that would eventually break the barriers presented by the river. In many ways, these dam constructions helped mold the surrounding areas into one of the nations most important industrial regions (nww.usace.army). Without these dams, the nation’s richest agricultural regions would not have experienced such groundbreaking success. However, the construction of these dams also had extensive consequences to treasured salmon populations.
In 1945, the demands of citizens and officials to build dams reached Congress, which eventually authorized the construction of four Lower Snake Dams for their economic potential. This project was halted only a few years later, when a 10- year moratorium was proposed by the U.S. Department of the Interior. This was a result of growing worry for the consequences that salmon populations would face as a result of this dam. Biologists, and the Department of Fisheries delegated to oppose the construction of these dams until a powerful Washington senator (Warren Magnuson) pushed the first dam construction underway; Ice Harbor Dam began construction shortly after and opened in 1962. Lower Monumental Dam opened shortly after in 1969, then Little Goose Dam in 1970, and finally Lower Granite in 1975 (Kramer, B.). Today these dams generate roughly 5% of the regions annual energy, providing enough energy for 800,000 homes (Flatt, C.).
These dams provide important hydropower, irrigation, recreation, and conservation benefits. However, these dams have become obstacles for the massive migration of salmon that aim to reach the Pacific Ocean (bluefish.org). As a result, many institutions and organizations have led a fight against the construction of more dam projects and advocacy toward the removal of the dams to allow highly endangered salmon populations to recuperate. Though the dams seem to be crucial to economic sustenance, the presence of salmon are also extremely important to the economy. In 2001, Idaho generated almost 90 million dollars in salmon related returns; this amount would more than double if salon populations are restored (americanrivers.org).
The Salmon
Despite millions of dollars that are spent on conservation efforts to protect the endangered salmon populations effected by the Snake River dams, the salmon of this river remain in a perilous state (Flatt, C.). As mentioned before, the geographic location and span of this river provides one of the most ideal conditions for salmon runs in the country. Salmon require a clear path to the ocean in order to reach adulthood and migrate back upstream to spawn. The dams inhibit this natural process, thus putting extreme stress on salmon. An article presented by EarthJustice notes that only a few dozen sockeye salmon adults return to their spawning grounds out of more that 500,000 baby sockeye that are born. Furthermore, in 1988, only one Chinook salmon returned to spawn, and in 2000, 12 salmon species were placed on the endangered species list. Today, all 13 species are listed as endangered. These dams prevent a clear path for migrating spawning causing salmon to migrate through fish ladders and sometimes even automobile (earthjustice.org).
Further issues that these dams cause is the slowing of the river, causing climate change to effect water temperatures much more significantly. Salmon restoration has been a significant concern for many policy makers since the construction of the dams; there have been millions of dollars in investments to construct contraptions allowing passage past the dams without removal. However, the salmon return rates have remained between .5% and 1%, which is much too low to ensure the survival of wild salmon populations (earthjustice.org). The current rates of salmon returns prove that these conservation efforts have not had the anticipated success. This is why the controversy is gaining so much momentum; at this point it seems the only solution to protecting salmon populations is the complete removal of the dams.
For more information regarding the importance of the Salmon in the Snake River, please take the time to watch this short mini-documentary sponsored by Patagonia regarding this issue.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=13&v=Gm290O6Rgr4
A Look into the Future
Over the past couple decades many scientists, policy makers, Native American representatives, and economic leaders have been progressively urging the removal of the four Lower Snake River Dams. In 2000, the federal government released a statement confirming the beneficial outcomes of removing the dams, however these words were not followed by action, and the four dams still remain (earthjustice.org). The momentum to remove these dams did not stop here, however. Just last year, in 2016, Sam Mace of Save Our Wild Salmon highlights the scientific dialogue proving that the removal of these dams is the “single most important action we could take to restore salmon in the entire Columbia-Snake river basin,” (The Associated Press). The controversy continues still, as many argue that the economic benefits provided by the dam are too important to abandon. However, many recent studies are beginning to prove that the economic values and the electricity availability would not be heavily impacted by removal (The Associated Press).
The research and expanding concern is growing quickly and the facts are present to explain necessary actions. It all depends on the values of our policy makers to determine what will happen in the future…
The future is looking bright. Just this May (2017), a federal judge ordered an EIS (environmental impact statement) regarding the necessity to remove the dams for the survival of salmon. This draft statement is expected to be presented by late 2019 or 2020, which is an important action that may begin the process of the Snake River dam removal projects (spokesman.com).
Above is a link to one of the Snake River protest rallies gaining awareness to this issue!
Really informative background information. Nice use of maps to provide context!