Rep. Joe Schmick: Keep the Snake River dams – for our farms, economy and future

By Rep. Joe Schmick

As a former farmer who spent decades working the land and depending on it to feed my family and others, I know firsthand what real conservation looks like. It’s not found in news releases or political campaigns – it’s in water management, crop rotation, habitat preservation and stewardship passed down through generations. That’s why proposals to tear down the Snake River dams aren’t just wrongheaded – they’re dangerous, short-sighted and deeply disconnected from the reality of rural life and food security.

The four Lower Snake River dams are more than concrete and turbines. They are lifelines for agriculture, freight, clean energy and the rural economies that keep Washington moving. Removing them to chase a politically driven environmental agenda – one that’s already failed to deliver on decades of promises – would be a catastrophic mistake.

From a transportation perspective, the American Society of Civil Engineers has warned that removing the dams would seriously disrupt the regional transportation system. The Snake River Dams make it possible to barge millions of tons of wheat, corn, soybeans and other goods from Eastern Washington and the Inland Northwest to global markets. Barging is not only cost-effective – it’s also environmentally efficient. One barge tow replaces more than 100 semitrucks, reducing fuel use, highway congestion and emissions. Eliminate the dams, and you eliminate the waterway while adding significant carbon emissions back into the environment. Rail and truck alternatives are more expensive, less efficient and already strained. To make matters worse, our state’s trucking industry is under threat from Washington state’s continued association with California’s electrification mandate, which again ignores the reality of insufficient charging ports and the massive expense of replacing semitrucks.

Transportation costs are already increasing. Washington just increased its gas tax – again – while the Climate Commitment Act and the Low Carbon Fuel Standard are adding 40 to 60 cents per gallon or more in hidden fuel costs. This hits farmers, truckers and consumers alike. Every increase in shipping costs ripples through the supply chain, driving up the price of groceries, school supplies and the very food we grow here.

From an energy perspective, the Snake River dams generate enough hydropower to serve more than 800,000 homes annually. This is clean, renewable, reliable energy – something wind and solar still struggle to provide without massive storage solutions. With rising electricity prices, increased demand for server farms and data centers, and concerns about grid reliability, tearing out a carbon-free, baseload energy source makes no sense – unless the goal is ideological, not practical.

On the farm, the stakes are even higher. The dams support irrigation systems that keep tens of thousands of acres productive. Without them, entire regions of farmland would go dry or require massive and expensive re-engineering. And there are no firm plans – or guarantees – for replacement systems. For generations, farmers have been the ones who understand the value of water, the balance of ecosystems and the responsibility of feeding people. We don’t waste resources – we maximize them. We are the original conservationists.

Dam removal advocates claim this is all about saving salmon. But let’s be honest: Decades of environmental spending, fish ladders, spill programs and habitat work are not the sole solutions. Salmon survival is tied to complex, changing ocean conditions, predators, and a host of other factors beyond the dams. The science is far from settled, yet the political narrative charges ahead.

And what about cost? There is still no reliable federal estimate for what it would take to breach these dams. Independent reviews suggest that tens of billions of dollars would be required to tear them out, replace the energy and freight capacity, and build new infrastructure. These costs will fall squarely on the backs of taxpayers, rural towns and working families – all for an outcome that no one can guarantee.

We shouldn’t gamble with the future of Washington agriculture, energy or transportation on the basis of wishful thinking. The Snake River dams work. They are vital to our economy, to food production, and to the communities that live closest to the land.

Leave the Snake River dams in place. They’ve earned it – and so have the people who depend on them.

Rep. Joe Schmick, R-Colfax, is a former second-generation farmer and serves on the Washington State House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.