Save the salmon, save the Orca

One point in the recent full-page Columbia Snake River Association advertisement is true: We don’t need another study – to learn, that is, that breaching the four lower Snake River dams is the least expensive, most effective way to restore salmon runs and save starving southern resident Orcas. Several studies have already reached this conclusion.

However, the irrigators’ association statement that the four dams are a “productive resource” is absolutely not true. Economically these decades-old dams are increasingly expensive to maintain and operate. They produce less than 4 percent of the Northwest energy grid’s power, and the changing Pacific Northwest energy scene already provides replacement power in the form of solar, wind and natural gas. In fact, the grid has a 21 percent energy surplus, which is mostly sold below cost and has taken BPA to the brink of bankruptcy. We no longer need lower Snake hydro-power!

The irrigators’ ad is a calculated distraction filled with misinformation. Science shows that restoring natural flow and habitat to the lower Snake River will facilitate recovery of collapsing wild salmon (and steelhead) runs, save taxpayer and ratepayer dollars, open 140 miles of agricultural and riverfront development acreage, create regional jobs, and give the endangered Orcas a chance to survive.