Lower Snake Called Most Endangered River National Environmental Group American Rivers Wants Dams Removed To Save Salmon

For the second year in a row, the environmental group American Rivers named the Lower Snake the nation’s most endangered river.

Proclaiming a salmon crisis, the group made the announcement Thursday, a month before it will release the rest of its annual list of the nation’s most threatened waterways.

Removing the river’s four dams is the only way to save the salmon, the group’s president, Rebecca Wodder, said at a news conference. Despite their fish ladders, the dams kill adult salmon swimming up the river to spawn. They also kill juvenile salmon swimming downstream to the ocean.

Northwest congressmen said the group should set aside talk of removing the dams and concentrate on what’s politically and economically viable.

“We ought to be focusing on ways to save our salmon, and we can do that at the same time we save our dams by looking at predation, habitat improvements, barging, hatcheries and other factors,” Rep. George Nethercutt, a Spokane Republican, said in a prepared statement.

The four dams - Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and Lower Granite - are within Nethercutt’s district.

Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said he welcomed the publicity the group’s announcement will bring to the Lower Snake’s problems.

But the debate must focus on what can be accomplished, Crapo said, adding he will support what scientists say should be done with the dams.

A National Marine Fisheries Service biological review of the river system is due on March 22.

The group’s announcement is designed to generate public comment for that review.

After the announcement, hundreds of demonstrators, some clad in inflatable salmon costumes, streamed to the White House.

Opponents say breaching the dams is unrealistic because it would take away barge traffic on the river and reduce the region’s power-generating capacity.

American Rivers, however, contends the barge traffic could be shifted to highways and rails. The power loss, which group spokesman Justin Hayes said is less than 5 percent of the region’s total capacity, could be replaced by other sources.

Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, denied Thursday that the Lower Snake is really the nation’s most endangered river. The National Marine Fisheries Service has done extensive research on the system and found no evidence to suggest the river deserves that designation, Craig spokesman Will Hart said.

Sen. Slade Gorton, R-Wash., called American Rivers a Washington, D.C., special interest trying to dictate policy in someone else’s back yard.

This sidebar appeared with the story: REVIEW

A National Marine Fisheries Service biological review of the Snake River system is due on March 22.