Last August, Senator Murray and Governor Inslee issued their final lower Snake River Benefits Replacement Report and Recommendations. They concluded in their in-depth analysis that we can replace the energy, transportation, and irrigation services these four dams provide and that we must do so because the extinction of Snake River salmon would be unacceptable.
Right now, we have a small window of opportunity to ensure we avoid salmon extinction and start the planning and analysis necessary to transition the lower Snake River dam services.
Support for urgent action is overwhelming — and the science backs it up. Northwest policymakers and the Biden Administration have made significant commitments to develop a long-term comprehensive strategy to restore salmon and other culturally significant native fish populations to abundant levels. In a groundbreaking report last fall, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) specifically identified lower Snake River dam removal as an urgently needed “centerpiece action” to protect and restore endangered salmon.
We must seize this critically important opportunity, given the narrow timeframe to avoid salmon extinction, and move forward this year on immediate next steps to analyze and plan for replacing the energy, transportation, and irrigation services of the four lower Snake River dams. These measures are an important and urgent part of a comprehensive and collaborative process to ensure a clean, reliable and affordable energy and transportation future for all Washingtonians, to protect and restore salmon abundance, and ensure salmon remain available for future generations.
We need your strong support to urgently and effectively transition lower Snake River dam services, stop salmon extinction, honor promises to Tribal Nations, advance the largest river restoration in history, and invest in salmon habitat priorities across our State.