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Want a Family-fun Time Learning about Snake Dams and Fish? Head to RiverFest this Weekend by Editorial Board Tri-City Herald, October 6, 2022

Last year, Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson proposed dismantling the Snake dams.

If ever there was a time to highlight the Mid-Columbia's amazing river and hydropower systems, this is it.

RiverFest 2022 is this Saturday, Oct. 8, at the east end of Columbia Park near the Lampson Pits area.

The free event is 10 a.m to 3 p.m., with Rep. Dan Newhouse and other dignitaries speaking at the main stage at noon. The family-fun event is a major opportunity to showcase just what the rivers and dams provide to Central Washington and the Tri-Cities region.

And it is happening on the heels of a federal, final draft from the Biden Administration that calls for breaching the four lower Snake River dams.

The final report, released Friday, noted that the "centerpiece action" to help Snake River fish is the removal of the dams. This is the first time in recent memory that the federal government has taken such an official, keen interest in breaching the Snake dams.

As weary as Tri-Citians are of this never-ending debate, we must not let up.

It is critical that we continue to remind those who aren't from our region about what the river system and the dams provide to the Northwest economy.

And as our community grows, we also must educate newcomers to our area about these issues as well.

RiverFest is a perfect way to do that.

Over 90 exhibitors and vendors will be at the park, including a Colville Fry Bread Food Truck and a Lamb Weston Fry Trailer.

Other exhibits include:

• A "River Maze" sponsored by the Benton Conservation District that shows how salmon and dams co-exist.
• A Tidewater Tug Boat demonstration on the Columbia River.
• A Rolling River, hands-on working stream table where families can learn how rivers work.
• A Salmon Tent, which is a 30-foot fish-shaped storytelling theater.
• Activities sponsored by the Bonneville Power Administration that teach kids about power and transmission lines.
• A Hydropower Demonstration table, sponsored by the Foundation of Water and Energy Education.

Colin Hastings, chairman of RiverFest 2022 and Executive Director of the Pasco Chamber of Commerce, has taken the lead in organizing this fun-filled day, which is meant to raise awareness about the overall hydrosystem, and specifically the Snake dams that are so vital to our economy.

As it happens, it was only a month ago when a different Snake dams report commissioned by Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., determined that the benefits the dams offer are too valuable, and that they cannot be removed immediately.

The dams provide hydropower, irrigation to farmers and the ability to barge goods to the ocean. Costs to replace these benefits have ranged from $10.3 billion to $27.2 billion, according to the Inslee-Murray report.

Last year, Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson proposed dismantling the Snake dams to a tune of $33 billion. His study determined it would take that much to replace the energy and transportation systems the dams provide.

At the time, many Tri-City leaders and pro-dam groups were skeptical of the Republican congressman's proposal, but they appreciated that he acknowledged the devastating and costly impact to the region if the dams were removed.

We have said before that the cost to replace what the dams provide to the region is insanely high. With all the other factors affecting fish populations -- including ocean conditions that affect salmon up and down the West Coast -- there is no guarantee that removing the dams would result in significantly better fish numbers.

But the incredible damage that would happen to communities that rely on the dams is a certainty if we don't have them.

RiverFest will make that perfectly clear. The timing for this marvelous event couldn't be better.

Related Pages:
Nerve Toxin Detected in Columbia River in Tri-Cities. Warning Issued for People and Pets by Annette Cary, Tri-City Herald, 10/14/22