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Stay Out of My Backyard, Rep. Simpson, and I'll Stay Out of Yours by Rep. Dan Newhouse Lewiston Tribune, May 27, 2021

If the majority of the Pacific Northwest delegation -- and particularly the representatives from the great state of Idaho -- were on board with tearing out
the Boise airport to reduce carbon emissions and eliminating the benefits the airport provides for our region, perhaps it would be worthy of consideration.

What if I, a congressman from Washington State, proposed tearing down vital infrastructure in neighboring Idaho? For example, the Boise airport?

That was the hypothetical scenario I posed to attendees at the Andrus Center's recent environmental conference. I described the fact that the proposal from Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, to breach the four dams along the lower Snake River would be akin to me arguing that the Boise airport should be shut down in the name of reducing carbon emissions.

Just as the science states tearing down these dams would do little to nothing to help our region's fish runs, shutting down the Boise airport would do little to nothing to decrease emissions.

As the representative for central Washington, I am proud to have two of the four lower Snake River dams in my district. From clean energy generation and transportation for our goods to market, to irrigation for our agriculture industry and economic development for many of our rural communities, these dams are essential to the Pacific Northwest's way of life. Despite this, Simpson has proposed a $33 billion plan to breach these dams. I participated in the conference to relay a clear message: The Snake River dams and fish can and do coexist.

I stated unequivocally that human development -- including the construction of the dams -- has placed significant impacts on fish and our environment. There is no doubt about that, and anyone who claims otherwise is sticking their head in the sand.

That said, the lower Snake River dams are some of the most innovative dams on the planet with the most state-of-the-art fish passage ever developed, and we continue to make improvements in order to protect and restore our native salmon species.

For example, at Ice Harbor Dam in my district, world-class scientists are not only in the process of replacing the dam's turbines with new fish-safe technology, but they are using this dam -- one of the four proposed for breaching -- to conduct critical research that will shape the way the world builds and operates dams with the highest possible rates of fish survival.

Despite this innovation and the resulting progress made on salmon restoration, it will never be enough for dam breaching advocates. Their arguments have long moved past science and instead are rooted in a politically based notion that in order to save our salmon, we have to tear out our dams -- no matter what.

That is simply not the case. We must consider comprehensive solutions to this extremely complex challenge. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has already developed strategic plans to address the challenges facing salmon populations today. Instead of reinventing the wheel and investing billions of taxpayer dollars into destroying critical infrastructure, we must implement these plans and allow them to actually demonstrate the progress that is achieved through science, facts, and data -- not hyperbole, emotions or ideologically-driven arguments.

If the majority of the Pacific Northwest delegation -- and particularly the representatives from the great state of Idaho -- were on board with tearing out the Boise airport to reduce carbon emissions and eliminating the benefits the airport provides for our region, perhaps it would be worthy of consideration, however misguided it would be to do so. But I am willing to bet I would be hard-pressed to garner support for such a narrowly- focused "solution" to an in- credibly complex challenge.

The same can and should be said about the lower Snake River dams and the challenges facing our native salmon runs. Dividing our region and pointing fingers at one another's backyards is only going to hurt our ability to move forward to secure true progress.

Related Pages:
Rep. Newhouse, Dams in Your District are Doing Damage to Mine by Rep. Mike Simpson, Lewiston Tribune, 5/29/21