Federal dams must be removed to help fish-green group WIRE:03/09/2000 15:36:00 ET Link WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Clinton administration should instruct the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to remove four federal dams on the Snake River in Washington state to protect the dwindling numbers of salmon, an environmental group said on Thursday. American Rivers, a national conservation group, said the dams kill the fish by delaying the migration of young salmon to the sea, making them vulnerable to predators and disease. They also create obstacles for adult salmon returning to spawn. For the second year in a row, the group ranked Snake River as the nation's most endangered river. "Our country is in the middle of a salmon crisis," said Rebecca Wodder, president of American Rivers. She urged citizens to write or e-mail the government and urge the removal of the dams. "If we delay any longer," she added, "the fish will go the path of the buffalo and a national treasure will be lost forever." The Army Corps of Engineers -- which built the dams in the 1960s and 1970s -- said it had already received some 35,000 letters, mostly in favor of removing the dams and other action to help save the salmon. The agency will continue to review comments received through March 31. American Rivers said studies by independent scientific committees support removing dams as the cornerstone of an effective salmon recovery strategy. The four Northwest Pacific dams are Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower Granite. Some federal estimates have placed the average annual cost of dam removal at about $246 million. An alternative plan to help the salmon would be to buy water from southern Idaho irrigators and repair the dams to comply with the federal Clean Water Act -- measures which could cost some $500 million annually, according to environmentalists. The Army Corps of Engineers said it was considering all its options. "We have to look at all stakeholders," said spokesperson Clare Terry. There will be no final decision until after the public comment letters have been reviewed, possibly in late autumn, she said. The National Hydropower Association, a group representing dam owners, expressed concern about the green group's demands. "We can save both the salmon and clean renewable hydroelectric power," said Mike Murphy, president of the hydropower group. "Singling out dams as the scapegoat when so many factors play a role in salmon declines is unacceptable and reckless. There is simply no silver bullet to restoring healthysalmon populations." Environmentalists say that alternatives such as restrictions on logging, farming or salmon fishing would be difficult to enforce and more costly in the long run. Rep. Tom Udall, a New Mexico Democrat, said he also favored the dam removal to help the fish. "Salmon are dying, the rivers are sick. This is an urgent situation," Udall said. Copyright )2000 ABC News Internet Ventures

-- Possible Impact (posim@hotmail.com), March 09, 2000

Answers

>> "We can save both the salmon and clean renewable hydroelectric power," said Mike Murphy, president of the hydropower group. <<

I am an Oregonian, born and raised. I benefit from cheap hydro-power. Recently the governor of Oregon, John Kitzhaber, came out in a speech and said some very astonishing things to hear from a politician. He said that, as far as he could see, our choices were:

1) Let the salmon runs die. Period. And stop whining.

2) Remove some dams and do some major management of watersheds to save them.

3) Not remove dams and do some really drastic management of watersheds to save them.

4) No further choices available.

Then he came out and said, his choice was number 2, and it was high time that everybody involved made one of these choices. Explicitly. In public. Then let's do it and stop dithering over it.

It strikes me that Mike Murphy is still promoting the dithering approach. Mike, it's time to fish or cut bait.

-- Brian McLaughlin (brianm@ims.com), March 10, 2000.

So John Kitzhaber believes that the only options are :

1) Let the salmon runs die. Period. And stop whining.

2) Remove some dams and do some major management of watersheds to save them.

3) Not remove dams and do some really drastic management of watersheds to save them.

4) No further choices available.

There is a lot of information, and a number of options concerning salmon that he is obviously not aware of. There is some very good research available (I don't have a link) that shows that hydro electric dams with either francis or kaplan turbines are NO barrier to young salmon migrating downstream, but are a barrier to adult salmon returning to spawn. Thus it is only neccessary to ease the migration path of the adult fish.

Some of the options available that we use at our hydro dams are:

1) Fish ladders. Salmon are quite good at negotiating fish ladders, and we have seen some remarable success with these used on the dams on our Waitaki river.

2) Habitat modification. Smaller tributaries downstream of the dam can be modified to make them suitable as spawing grounds.

3) Salmon farming. Allow adult salmon to be farmed downstream of the dams, but as a condition of the farm, a percentage of adult and young salmon must be released upstream of the dams.

There are probably other choices available as well, but these ones appear to work well here in NZ, and our salmon fishery just keeps on getting better every year.

-- Malcolm Taylor (taylorm@es.co.nz), March 10, 2000.