Chamber declares support of Snake River dams

The Lewis Clark Valley Chamber of Commerce has reiterated its long-standing position of opposition to the breaching of the four lower Snake River dams.

The business organization issued a statement in advance of today’s expected release of a draft environmental impact study on the operation of 14 dams that make up the Columbia River Hydropower System, and how that system will be managed to reduce impacts on 13 species of protected salmon and steelhead. The draft will include an alternative that analyzes breaching Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower Granite dams. Salmon advocates have long supported breaching the Snake River dams to help save the fish.

In its statement, the chamber said breaching the dams would be too costly to businesses in north central Idaho and southeastern Washington by eliminating barge transportation, raising electricity rates and eliminating cruise ship tourism. The dams and their locks make it possible to ship products like grain downstream and eventually to overseas markets, and they also produce about 5 percent of the Northwest’s energy supply.

“The Lewis Clark Valley Chamber of Commerce believes, as it did in 2015, that removal of the dams and increased flow augmentation on the Lower Snake and Columbia rivers would inflict on the citizenry an irreparable economic hardship, risk of floods, loss of navigation, increase in electrical rates, loss of recreation and impaired quality of life,” chamber President Kristin Kemak said in the written statement.

She also expressed optimism for the federal government’s past efforts to improve conditions for the fish through a host of measures, including operational and structural changes at the dams, such as spilling more water, and the installation of weirs that ease the passage of juvenile fish.

“The many changes in operation and design features of the lower Snake River Dams have had a positive effect on the survival rate of Snake River salmon,” Kemak wrote. “There have been recent record numbers of salmon returning, and the chamber believes that salmon and steelhead can and should be preserved and enhanced in harmony with preserving the many uses of the Snake and Columbia rivers.”

To date, those measures have not produced sustained salmon and steelhead returns strong enough to meet commonly accepted survival rates that would lead to recovery.

Dam supporters often cite record returns in the not-too-distant past as a reason to stay the course on salmon recovery efforts and not move to more dramatic actions like dam breaching. Indeed, the Snake River did see robust returns of fall chinook from about 2010 through 2016. They peaked at more than 60,000 in 2014, the largest run since construction of Lower Granite Dam, but far below historic returns that averaged 500,000 prior to much of their spawning habitat being blocked by dams in Hells Canyon.

The high returns of the recent past are thanks largely to a hatchery program instituted by the Nez Perce Tribe. But fall chinook returns have declined since then, as have returns of spring and summer chinook, steelhead and sockeye. The past three years have been particularly poor. Last fall, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game canceled the steelhead harvest season on the Clearwater River, idling professional guides and recreational anglers and sending ripple effects through regional economies, particularly in rural towns like Orofino. Steelhead seasons were also shut down in eastern Washington. The 2019 return of steelhead is the lowest recorded since 1979.

Also in 2019, Idaho declared an early end to spring chinook fishing seasons on the lower Salmon, Little Salmon and Clearwater rivers and is expecting another poor return this year.

Kemak also noted the return of coho salmon following a two-decade effort by the tribe to revive the run that was declared extinct in the 1980s. The run has occasionally been high enough to allow fishing.

In her comments, Kemak noted the Nez Perce Tribe is a member of the chamber and supports dam breaching as the best way to recover salmon and steelhead, saying “we do respectfully differ in our positions on breaching the lower Snake River dams.”

She also expressed optimism for recent efforts among people on both sides of the salmon and dams debate to meet and hold collaborative discussions.

Kemak said the chamber arrived at its position through annual surveys of members that have long showed support for the dams.

Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273. Follow him on Twitter @ezebarker.