Salmon, steelhead, and the Snake River dams

U.S. Representative Mike Simpson released his plan to help rejuvenate and save Idaho’s steelhead and salmon populations by removing the four dams on the Snake River.

Simpson, who has previously said that this is one of his goals as a representative, released a $33.5 billion plan in February.

The plan consists of multiple sections from their information gathering stages, pros and cons of the dams in question, wildlife impacts on salmon and steelhead, questions in funding, and the path moving forward.

Information Gathering: “In the last three years, my staff and I have held over 300 meetings,” the plan stated. These meetings took place with representatives from the following:

Over the past three years, Simpson and his staff held over 300 meetings, talking to representatives from the agriculture industry, Bonneville Power Administration, conservationists, and communities. They also met with those affiliated with energy, recreation, salmon, states, transportation, and tribes.

“In these meetings, we asked the “what if” questions,” Simpson said. “What if the four lower Snake River dams were breached? How would each group be affected? Could benefits be replaced? How much will it cost?”

These questions allowed Simpson and his staff gauge the public mindset behind the dams. Simpson had two questions that he believed Idahoans should be asking:

• “Are the four LSRDs beneficial?”

Simpson found that the four LSRDs provide many benefits to the state. Low cost, clean, and renewable energy. The ability to have an inland port in Lewiston, ID due to the dam’s lock system allowing freighters to travel that far inland. This provides Idaho with a low-cost transportation method for crops like grain. The dams also provide easy access to irrigation water for Idaho’s farmers.

• “Are Idaho’s salmon doing well?”

Simpson explains that the simple answer to this is that Idaho’s salmon are not doing well today. Current returns of wild salmon that swim over 900 miles from central Idaho to the Pacific Ocean are nowhere near what they were and now are on “a trajectory towards extinction.

The biggest factors Simpson believes is causing this are poor ocean conditions, warmer water in rivers/reservoirs created by the LSRD’s due to global warming and climate change, and finally having four more dams for Idaho salmon to navigate.

Simpson’s Plan

Simpson then asks the public, “Do we want to roll up our sleeves and come together to find a solution to save our salmon, protect our stakeholders and reset our energy system for the next 50-plus years on our terms?”

His concept for a $33.5 billion:

Dam removal in 2030 and 2031 costing up to $1.4 billion with another $900 million in mitigation and studies

Energy replacing costing up to $10 billion where the BPA or another entity will have replacement generation built and online before the dams are removed

Working groups with watershed partnerships from the Snake River Basin, and the Willamette, Columbia, Puget Sound, Washington Coastal, Oregon Coastal, and Montana watersheds, costing up to $3 billion to revitalize habitat

Funding for agriculture for enhanced nutrient management costing up to $1.6 billion

Funding for outdoor water related tourism and recreation costing up to $425 million

Funding for Idaho’s irrigators costing up to $750 million to reengineer the irrigation effected by dam removal

Funding for Idaho’s agricultural handlers like transportation, storage, and barge system costing up to $4.4 billion

While not all of the costs and details, Simpson outlines those on his Simpson’s website.

Simpson said President Joe Biden is working on a $2-3 trillion stimulus for improving American infrastructure and clean-energy jobs. Simpson’s concept would cost just one to two percent of that stimulus.

Simpson wants to hear Idahoans feedback and can be reached by email at simpson.concept@mail.house.gov and finishes his plan with a statement for all Idahoans.

“It would be a tragedy if future generations looked back and wished that we current Northwest leaders and stakeholders would have at least taken the time to explore this opportunity to develop our own Northwest solution to protect stakeholders and save salmon,” Simpson said.

Connor Swersey is an intern with the University of Idaho McClure Center for Public Policy Research and the UI JAMM News Service.