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PNWA Names McMorris Rodgers Legislator of the Year by Matthew Weaver Capital Press, October 3, 2024

"As you know, the Columbia-Snake river system is the beating heart of the Pacific Northwest."
-- Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Washington

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., has been honored as the Legislator of the Year by the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association.

McMorris Rodgers thanked PNWA members for their "instrumental" role in the ongoing fight to protect the lower Snake River dams.

McMorris Rodgers received the award during PNWA's annual convention in Vancouver, Wash. PNWA advocates for regional navigation, energy, trade and economic development.

"It's truly an honor," she said of the award in a video played during the convention. "As you know, the Columbia-Snake river system is the beating heart of the Pacific Northwest. ... It serves as a super-marine highway for farmers to ship their products all across America and the world, while keeping thousands of trucks off the road."

The dams have strengthened the region's energy grid, lowered energy costs and made the Northwest a leader in reducing carbon emissions, McMorris Rodgers said.

"They help prevent life-threatening blackouts during extreme weather, not just in Washington state, but in California, Idaho, Oregon, Montana and Wyoming," she said. "They even protect parts of our region from devastating floods.

"To put it simply, the Columbia River system is foundational to our entire way of life," McMorris Rodgers continued. "That's why I've spent the past 20 years in Congress fighting by your side to protect (it) and I'm proud of the progress we've made."

McMorris Rodgers pointed to advances in clean, affordable and renewable hydropower in America, while making "historic improvements" in fish passage that have made the dams "nearly transparent to salmon."

She said she is especially proud of stakeholders' work on the Port of Walla Walla's U.S. Highway 12-Clinton Interchange Project and the Columbia Basin Development League's Odessa groundwater project.

"But there's still more work to be done, which is where your leadership comes in," she told PNWA members, urging them to keep using their voice and advocate for the region "at home and on Capitol Hill."

McMorris Rodgers announced in February that she would not seek reelection. She was first elected to Congress in 2004.

"While things may look a bit different for me next year, after I leave the People's House, I'm excited about what's to come," she said in the video. "Your ideas and your passion for these issues are so important to our region, and it continues to inspire me and fill me with confidence that the best is yet to come."

"She walks the talk," said Tom Kammerzell, a Colfax, Wash., rancher and Port of Whitman County commissioner. His two-year term as PNWA president ended during the convention. "She has been a stalwart advocate for Eastern Washington agriculture and the river system for all its uses -- navigation, recreation, hydroelectricity and tourism.

"Whoever is (McMorris Rodgers') successor is going to have to fill those absolutely giant shoes and continue to advocate, because the consequences of losing all the values of Marine Highway 84 would be devastating to the Northwest economy and the economy of the United States," Kammerzell said.

Michelle Hennings, Washington Association of Wheat Growers executive director, and Alex McGregor, chairman of The McGregor Co., received Distinguished Service awards from PNWA.

Related Pages:
PNWA Names McMorris Rodgers Legislator of the Year by Matthew Weaver, Capital Press, 9/22/24
Vilsack on Snake River Dams: Ag 'Well-Represented' in Mediation by Matthew Weaver, Capital Press, 8/1/23