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Breach Snake River Dams by Shiva Rajbhandari The Columbian, July 9, 2021

Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell claim to be Democrats.
They claim to fight for tribal justice, species conservation and climate solutions.

I'm a rising junior at Boise High in Idaho. I usually write to my local newspapers to push the Columbia Basin issue to my congressional delegation, but today I'm writing to my friends in Washington because, frankly, I am furious. For years, Washington has taken all the benefits of the four Lower Snake River dams while Idahoans have borne all the costs. Your dams are killing Idaho's wild salmon and steelhead, violating Idaho tribal treaties, and harming the $500 million rafting and guiding industry.

Granted, Washington has lost a bit too from the dams. They don't generate usable power; they're starving your southern resident orcas; Bonneville Power is losing money and causing your rates to rise; your river economy is hurting, too. But y'all can take it. You have the big bucks. For us in Idaho, outdoor spaces are all we have.

Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell claim to be Democrats. They claim to fight for tribal justice, species conservation and climate solutions. But, Washington Democrats, ask yourselves: If they haven't even tried to get funding for dam breaching and replacement in the infrastructure bill, what do your senators really believe?

Related Pages:
Contact Simpson by Shiva Rajbhandari, Lewiston Tribune, 1/17/21
Simpson Must Act Now to Breach the Four Lower Snake Dams by Shiva Rajbhandari, Idaho Press, 1/4/21
People are Always Telling Me, "There's Plenty of Fish" by Shiva Rajbhandari, Idaho Statesman, 4/10/20