The river system in Washington is concerned about its salmon runs after seeing the difficulty California is having, and though dam removal is the knee-jerk reaction, there appear to be sober voices realizing that could be a very bad idea, causing more problems and probably not solving the salmon one.
It is our contention that large scale dams, like the Auburn Dam project on the American River, can protect the salmon runs downstream, if managed properly, as they have the capacity to store and release when needed, the cold water flow salmon need to spawn and grow.
Dam removal, except in the case of dams that no longer provide human benefit, harm human communities and offer questionable salmon benefit.
Salmon, as have most creatures, have shown a remarkable ability to survive and grow alongside human communities, as long as we take the steps—without harming ourselves—to protect them.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Last updated 11:29 a.m. PT
Restrictions tightening on Columbia
Snake River dams again in cross hairs
By LISA STIFFLER
P-I REPORTER
The collapse of the California salmon stocks makes people wonder: Could it happen here?
The Sacramento River is a prime source for the fish caught on the California coast. The Columbia River is the backbone for Washington.
The Sacramento is No. 2 and the Columbia No. 1 in the continental United States for salmon production from a river system.
Both have seen huge declines in their salmon populations from historic levels. Both ideally are managed to balance human needs with the needs of fish, which return as adults to spawn and leave as juveniles for the ocean. The Sacramento is squeezed for water used in agricultural irrigation, while the Columbia and its tributary the Snake River are home to massive dams that provide most of Washington's energy.
The rivers also are harmed by pollution, habitat damaged by development and shrinking snowpacks as the climate warms.
"We need to solve these problems in all these major river systems because if we leave any of them behind, it will hurt us coastwide," said Glen Spain, Northwest regional director for the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, a commercial fishing interest group.
At the meeting this week of the Pacific Fishery Management Council, the focus has been on the closure or sharp curtailing of commercial fishing for chinook salmon in California and Oregon for 2008.
Washington managers expect fishing for some Columbia stocks to hit near-record lows.
"To meet conservation objectives, most salmon fisheries in Washington's waters will be even more restricted this year," Phil Anderson, deputy director of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, said recently.
The perilous drop in salmon stocks could renew calls by Washington environmentalists, commercial fishermen and others for the removal of four dams on the Snake River. Already the groups are in a legal battle with the government over how the existing dams are being operated -- specifically, how much water is spilled over the dams and when -- in order to protect fish.
"We still think the only solution that's been biologically demonstrated as capable of not just letting fish tread water in terms of their numbers, but to get them restored, is the removal of the lower Snake River dams," said Michael Garrity of the Seattle office of American Rivers, an environmental group.
Also at issue is the role of fluctuating ocean conditions and how much food is available for young fish. Interest groups vary in how much blame they place on the ocean compared with river conditions for struggling fish populations. State managers primarily are blaming ocean conditions for this year's declines in chinook from Oregon and California and Columbia River coho salmon.
Shauna McReynolds of the Northwest RiverPartners, whose members include utilities, businesses and cities, opposed efforts to focus on dam removal and operations.
"It's all the same old stuff. Dam removal is not a silver bullet," McReynolds said. "We are way too far past that."
