Dams and Columbia River Treaty

Regarding Ms. Pearkes and Mr. Rowlands’ guest opinion, “River treaty still vital to Columbia’s health” (April 3).

The Columbia River Treaty is not just “… another important process happening further upstream on the Columbia River that also warrants careful attention” in addition to the “… debates surrounding the … proposed restoration of the Lower Snake River.” Actually, the two processes are inexorably, synergistically, and powerfully linked - even though the four lower Snake River dams are not treaty dams.

If the four lower Snake River dams (Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower Granite) are breached, the amount of water from the Columbia’s massive storage reservoirs used to augment salmon flows will be greatly reduced or eliminated. Water used for salmon from Libby, Hungry Horse, Dworshak, Brownlee and Grand Coulee reservoirs and treaty reservoirs in Canada can instead be used for other purposes such as electricity production, system-wide flood risk management, water supply, and ecosystem-based function throughout the Columbia River system. The Columbia’s reservoir elevations could be kept fuller and more stable with much less annual fluctuation.

The connection of breaching the lower Snake River dams to the Columbia River Treaty is precisely the relationship “… with our northern neighbors [and] the river itself” that renegotiation of the treaty must advance. The guest opinion emphasizes that now is our “… chance to collaboratively shape a unified watershed future.” That future must treat the entire Columbia River system as one, combining opportunities in the Snake and the Columbia to find win-win solutions for all.

Keith Kutchins

Spokane