http://vimeo.com/channels/thenewlocalism/132785443

(sorry video will NOT embed)

Older video, but the message remains unchanged and the concrete is STILL in the river.

This is a MAJOR no-brainer for salmon recovery.

Elwha River dam removals are already a glowing success. Next up.... The Lower Snake Dams.

Let's gitter'dun!

...

Sign the petition...

https://www.change.org/p/barack-obama-crack-down-on-deadbeat-dams

It was time, past time actually, in 1999 when my brother signed the attached letter to then President Clinton. 17 years later, dams going strong, salmon . . . not so much.

http://www.bluefish.org/200scien.htm

"I did not have sexual relations with that woman instead of reading this letter."

While it may be a great thing for the fish, the huge negative impact on the farming community (irrigation) and other economic factors will never allow this to happen (at least in our lifetime).
The Elwah took 20+ years to happen, and those dams had no economic benefit (Snake River politics were a major factor in that as well).

New leadership at NMFS and the recent BiOp could hasten things a bit, Huntar.


We shall see.

Negligible impact on the farming community. The reservoirs are well above the lower 4 dams. All that would be needed is to extend some pipe to the new water level. It may actually improve irrigation in that there will be less surface area to lose water to evaporation.

Other economic factors? Power isn't all that much even at full capacity. We'll likely see a new round of small modular reactors in the next decade. I think the first is slated for Idaho. Way less port traffic coming up the river after the Portland slow down driving Hanjin out.

There's lots I don't know, but there's a few things I think are correct.

Great idea. I like it. It would be great for the fish; and the economy of the region.

I hate to be a kill-joy, however…….. These dams were built, and are being operated, by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps of Engineers is a Federal bureaucracy, and they know how to protect their turf. They will NEVER agree they have the authority to breach the dams. They will insist they need specific Congressional authority. And the Corps will ensure Congress understands the risks of dam breaching. Those are the risks to Corps projects IN THEIR OWN States and Congressional districts.

Here’s what I mean: The four Lower Snake River dams are economically marginal. The economics aren’t great, but they’re not terrible either. There are other Corps projects in other parts of the country where the economics are worse. Much worse. There are plenty of Corps projects (dams, levees, flood control, navigation) where the economics make absolutely no sense. They lose huge amounts of taxpayer dollars every year (i.e., the costs of operations and maintenance exceed the economic benefits generated). Those projects are located across the country but are concentrated in the Southeast, the Southwest, and some places in the Mid-West. So if Congress authorizes the breaching of economically marginal projects in the PNW, which will be next? In other words, as goes the Pacific Northwest, so goes the Southeast (for example).

That’s something no Congressional representative with a Corps project in their district wants to think about. So if Congress decides not to authorize breaching the Lower Snake River dams, they’re NOT trying to protect those four relatively small projects in eastern Washington. They’re protecting Corps projects in their own backyard. And the Corps will make sure Congress understands that.

And here’s another problem. NMFS has released their draft recovery plans for Snake River spring/summer Chinook, fall Chinook, steelhead, and sockeye. Their recovery plans do not require dam breaching to achieve ESA recovery. I realize that was likely a political decision, not a scientific determination. But still, it doesn’t help to have the major Federal agency with the authority to recover ESA-listed salmon say that dam breaching is not necessary to achieve recovery. As such, if NMFS does not believe breaching is necessary, why would the Corps come to a different conclusion? They won’t. Count on it.

Over the next five years, I fully expect the Corps to do a very thorough examin-ation of all the alternatives, including dam breaching, as mandated by the Judge. I fully expect we will end up exactly where we are today. That is, after an exhaustive analysis, hours of public testimony, piles of documents many feet thick, and large amounts of platitudes from high-ranking generals, the Corps will say the following: 1) breaching is not necessary, 2) we can achieve ESA recovery without it, 3) breaching will only help four ESA-listed salmon stocks (of the 13 listed in the Columbia Basin); 4) the Lower Snake projects fulfill multiple purposes, all of which are just as important as salmon, 5) we will add a few more “bells and whistles” to the dams to improve salmon survival; 6) we are already seeing signs of real progress (see recent fall Chinook returns); and 7) if all else fails, we can just cut back on harvest, or improve habitat, and all will be well again.

That’s where we are now. That’s where we’ll be in five years.

I'll say it again: The Corps knows how to protect their turf…..

and they are trying to build a dam on the chehalis

They're in the damn building business! I'd love to see the Snake R. dams come down!

They're in the damn building business! I'd love to see the Snake R. dams come down!

Larry, I just noticed your signature - Don't Push the River - a great book!

Excellent summary Cohoangler.

Love it, Cohoangler! Doc needs a good slap in the face once in a while. Keeps him honest.