Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative

+ What are the major problems of the current system?

There are several key issues with the current system:

• Science has consistently demonstrated over the last 30 years that the Lower Snake River dams are the single greatest contributor to the decline of Idaho’s salmon. While the dams have fish passage, the stress of navigating 8 dams and reservoirs to and from the ocean is beyond what many fish can survive.
• Too many of Idaho’s salmon are dying. For Idaho salmon and steelhead populations to recover a 'smolt-to-adult' ratio (or SAR) of 2-6% with a 4% average is necessary. In other words, 4 adults must return for every 100 juvenile fish that migrate through the system of dams to the ocean. Idaho’s salmon runs currently have SAR’s near 1%, which places them on a path towards extinction.
• Idaho's fish have to navigate four dams too many. Before the Lower Snake River dams were constructed, enough salmon survived the journey through the four mainstem Columbia River dams to maintain an abundant, harvestable population. The four Lower Snake River dams mean that Idaho salmon and steelhead must pass over eight dams in total to reach their spawning grounds. Encountering this many dams has driven the fish to near extinction. Salmon populations that pass over only 3 or 4 of the Columbia River dams, such as those on the John Day or Yakima rivers, have SAR rates near 4% and are in much better shape than Idaho’s fish.
• Salmon-based communities are suffering. Too few salmon are returning to Idaho, and our multimillion-dollar sportfishing industry is suffering as a result. Coastal fishing communities are struggling from declining salmon populations as well, causing a loss of jobs and industry. Tribes that have relied on salmon for thousands of years feel the weight of extremely low abundance. For our region, salmon carry tremendous spiritual, cultural, and economic significance.
• BPA is in a financial crisis. Bonneville Power Administration is a federal organization dedicated to ensuring affordable energy for the Pacific Northwest. However, due to several issues, the power is no longer cost-effective. A large part of BPA’s financial crisis is due to its financial responsibility to salmon recovery efforts.
• Use of the dams is in decline. Shipping via barges on the Lower Snake River has declined by as much as 80%.
• The dams are getting extremely expensive. To keep barging rates competitive, barges are heavily subsidized by taxpayers at more than $18,000 per barge.
• Peak energy production times for the dams do not correspond to peak energy demand. The dams are ‘run-of-river’ dams, meaning their capacity for energy generation partly reliant on river flow. When the Snake River is at peak flow, it is times of the year when energy demand is low.
• Very little of the energy produced by the dams is being used by the Pacific Northwest. Vast majority of the energy is sold to CA, and often at a loss. However, California is working on ways to reduce purchasing power from other states. Within a few years, CA mostly likely will not require energy from the dams.

+ How do the Lower Snake River Dams impact salmon?

Dams impact salmon in several ways:

• Slowed current disrupts migration and ability of salmon to imprint: Juvenile salmon swim to the ocean tail first, riding the downstream current, and their bodies are adapted to completing the journey in a few days. As they move downstream, they imprint along the way, which is how they return to the same stream they were born years later to spawn. When they reach a slack water reservoir, the current stops, leaving juvenile salmon without direction. This leaves them susceptible to predation and increases their journey from a few days to 2 or more weeks.
• Turbines are stressful for juveniles to travel through, and too few survive the journey to the ocean. Roughly 10% of juvenile salmon die when passing through each dam. After 8 dams, the percentage of juvenile salmon that survive dam passage is around 50-60%.
• Reservoirs behind the dams increase the water temperature. Salmon are a cold-water species and are not adapted to warm water. The reservoirs increase the water temperature significantly and can cause salmon to die. A major die-off occurred in 2015 when river temperatures caused thousands of sockeye salmon to perish during the spawning season.

+ Who is BPA? What is their role in this?

Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is a federal agency that was created to ensure affordable power for the Pacific Northwest. It manages the dams along the Columbia and Snake rivers, and markets the electricity generated at the dams.

BPA is in a financial crisis, and a large part of its financial burden is fish and wildlife mitigation costs, due to the negative impact of the dams on salmon populations. Roughly 30% of the power bills that people pay from BPA purchased power is fish and wildlife funding, and BPA’s power is at times no longer the most affordable option on the open market.

Breaching the Lower Snake River dams and investing in clean power replacement would allow BPA continue to market power as a part of a stable, reliable Northwestern grid as well as to reduce the financial strain that fish recovery spending has caused. Over $17 billion in taxpayer funds and several decades of management plans have not allowed for any of the basin's salmon populations to be delisted from the Endangered Species Act.

+ What services do the Lower Snake Rivers currently provide?

The Lower Snake River dams provide 3 key services:

• Barging: The dams allow for a lock system that enables barges to move through the river corridor. Crops and other resources are shipped through this system. However, shipping has reduced by roughly 80% through the corridor, and barges are heavily subsidized by taxpayers to make it an affordable option.
• Irrigation: Some farmers use the Lower Snake River for irrigation, and it is primarily focused around Ice Harbor dam. Breaching of the four Lower Snake River dams would significantly lower water levels, meaning funding is necessary for irrigators to reconfigure their infrastructure. Proposed funds would ensure that would be able to continue to irrigate crops.
• Energy Production: A small percentage (roughly 2-4%) of the PNW energy supply is generated by the Lower Snake River dams, but most of the energy generated by these dams is used for backup generation that helps maintain a reliable grid. Electricity generated by the dams is usually surplus to regional demand, and is sold on the open market to buyers from regions like California. However, it is not as cheap as it once was compared to other alternatives, meaning the profits from these surplus power sales are increasingly unreliable, creating financial uncertainty for BPA. Additionally, the dams are ‘run of river’ dams, meaning that their capacity to generate electricity is contingent upon the river flow rate. The river has the highest capacity for electricity generation in the spring, when energy demand is lowest. In the summer and winter when residential homes are cooled or heated, the river flow means very low relative electricity generation from the LSR dams.

The Lower Snake River dams do not provide any flood control.

+ What does this mean for Idaho?

This plan would have tremendous benefits for Idaho. In addition to restoring salmon and steelhead to Idaho in abundant, harvestable numbers, this plan would:

• Revitalize and reinvent Idaho’s sportfishing industry adn outdoor recreation economy
• Create a new Tech Hub in Lewiston-Clarkston and Tri-Cities, bringing industry and job opportunities
• Provide Research grants to several Idaho universities to resolve important issues for our region
• Agricultural animal waste management improvement
• Options for farmer-owned grain transportation infrastructure, with reliable prices
• Revitalization of Lewiston waterfront
• Modernization of our energy system to a clean, efficient system