Environmental restoration, social justice, clean-energy measures, and endangered species recovery. These sound like pillars of the Democratic platform, yet it’s an Idaho Republican championing these efforts in the Pacific Northwest.

It is our uncompromising mission to ensure that salmon and steelhead do not go extinct. The science, empirically and unequivocally, shows us that the required path to recovery of Idaho’s salmon and steelhead is through restoring the Snake River to a free-flowing, natural river. We will go to court to ensure that our fish are not relegated to a history book, but let me be clear, we would rather be working together with the Tribes, farmers, and regional representatives on the proposal from Congressman Simpson that benefits each stakeholder group. A path forward that benefits every Idahoan has been offered, and it is our hope that we can move forward within this framework to achieve long-term salmon recovery and regional prosperity.

Congressman Simpson has proposed the Columbia Basin Fund, a comprehensive infrastructure package to restore wild salmon and steelhead and breach the Lower Snake River dams. The package incorporates measures to protect stakeholders, bolster agricultural communities, ensure energy stability, and revitalize Northwest communities. IRU applauds Congressman Simpson’s proposal and plan.