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Thanks Gov. Inslee and Sen. Murray for Affirming the Obvious in WA's Snake Dam Debate by Editorial Board Tri-City Herald, August 29, 2022

It dismisses data that shows fish survival rates
past the Snake River dams are 95% to 98%.

The Snake River Dams aren't going away any time soon.

That's the main takeaway from the joint report released Thursday by Gov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Patty Murray, and it marks an important moment in the dam-breaching debate.

That two high-ranking Democrats from the west side of Washington state did not call for the immediate destruction of the Snake dams is a relief.

The report recognized that the benefits the dams provide -- especially hydropower -- cannot be easily replaced and breaching them is not feasible at this time.

In a prepared statement, Inslee said that "the hydropower and economic benefits of the dams are significant, and breaching them before we have other systems in place to replace those benefits would be disastrous." Well, of course. We have been saying this all along.

It's the argument dam supporters make every time talk of breaching the dams comes up.

Well, of course. We have been saying this all along. It's the argument dam supporters make every time talk of breaching the dams comes up. Nevertheless, it is still reassuring to get Inslee and Murray on the record agreeing with the obvious.

Kurt Miller, executive director of Northwest RiverPartners and a passionate advocate for the dams, called the report's conclusions "a big win."

He told the Tri-City Herald he is extremely pleased, and believes Inslee and Murray showed they were willing to listen to all people's concerns.

"We can't let our guard down," said Miller. "But this is a good outcome for the region."

Miller's willingness to look at the positive is encouraging.

But others are pointing to particular phrases in the Inslee-Murray report that have them concerned. In particular, the report said that "the science is clear" that breaching the dams would provide the greatest benefit to salmon.

That's the narrative driving the push to breach the dams in the first place. And it dismisses data that shows fish survival rates past the Snake River dams are 95% to 98%.

Spring/Summer Chinook returns in May were double levels of 2021, and the sockeye count at Bonneville Dam in June was the highest it has been in 10 years.

In addition, salmon survival along the entire west coast of North America has fallen by 65%, from north Canada on down -- so breaching the dams is not a miracle fix.

Todd Myers, environmental director for the Washington Policy Center, called the report "sloppy" and said it is using a political statement from the Biden Administration to dismiss the peer-reviewed research showing Snake River salmon returns were better than many places that don't have dams.

"It is clear that the report authors were unfamiliar with the current science and were simply looking for studies that agreed with their preferred result," he said.

That's unfortunate.

The push to breach the dams isn't going to go away if it is still considered by Inslee and Murray as the best solution to save salmon.

So while an immediate threat to the dams has been paused, the efforts to replace the clean hydropower they produce will certainly be gaining momentum.

And what that looks like could be a concern for Eastern Washington.

Finding a way to replace the dams gives Inslee another reason to push for more wind turbines and solar panels in our region.

So then the big question will be: How much say will local communities have in the process?

The last thing most Tri-Citians will want is to have their vistas pocked by machines in order to justify getting rid of clean hydropower.

Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane, called the report a "welcome step back towards reality," but cautioned that the fight is far from over.

And Congressman Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, said Inslee and Murray are "trying to have their cake and eat it too" by wanting to replace the benefits of the dams so they can be breached later.

So while we know the controversy will continue, we are grateful that, at least for now, the Inslee-Murray report recognizes the benefits the Snake dams provide -- for energy production, irrigation and transportation.

And that's a big deal. For the short-term, we'll take this as a win.