County Opposes Water Releases For Salmon

They don’t know how much good it will do, but county commissioners in eastern Idaho’s Bingham County have passed a resolution barring the exporting of Snake River water for various salmon recovery plans.

“We question how much authority we have, but it’s one more voice to enter into the information bank,” County Commission Chairman Dale Arave said.

Officials said the resolution was prepared at the request of the Eastern Idaho Ground Users Association, an irrigation group. It was sent to various agencies involved with the effort to save endangered salmon species.

The commission and irrigators believe that releasing millions of acre-feet of water down the Snake River system last year to help salmon reach the Pacific Ocean jeopardized farm interests and hurt aquifer recharging, recreation and cultural and traditional uses.

“Water is our economy’s base. It’s our whole life,” Arave said.

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