Fish Managers Get Only A Third Of Spill Request Corps Won’t Release More Water Until Idaho Officials Approve

As endangered Snake River chinook were moving toward the ocean Wednesday, federal fish managers asked that more water be spilled from behind Dworshak Dam to speed up the salmon migration.

They got a third of what they requested.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers won’t release a bigger torrent until Idaho environmental officials give their OK. That’s because water sent over the spillway injects dissolved gases into the river below. At high enough levels, those gases can kill fish.

But many state, tribal and federal biologists think limited “spilling” is worth the risk in order to flush salmon downstream. The Northwest Fish Passage Center represents those scientists.

“The frustrating thing about it is there’s been spilling at Dworshak for years,” said Michelle DeHart, manager of the center. “Dissolved gas is a recent concern.”

Dworshak is east of Lewiston on the North Fork of the Clearwater River.

The reservoir behind the dam has become a controversial tool in efforts to help wild salmon migrate downstream in the Snake and Columbia rivers.

This year, the National Marine Fisheries Service asked Northwest states to allow dissolvedgas levels below hydropower dams to exceed 110 percent of normal. Washington and Oregon agreed.

But Idaho has not responded, according to Russ George of the Corps of Engineers.

Officials at the Idaho Division of Environmental Quality couldn’t be reached for comment.

Idaho Gov. Phil Batt said last week he doesn’t support the use of “spill” as a salmon recovery method.

He is especially protective of the level of Dworshak reservoir.

It has dropped severely in recent summers, making the lake unattractive to boaters and hurting the Orofino area economy.