Feds reject removal of 4 US Northwest dams to save imperiled salmon
U.S. struggles with issue of dismantling Snake River barriers to save species.
The 14 federal dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers together produce 40% of the region’s power — enough electricity to power nearly 5 million homes, or eight cities roughly the size of Seattle. They also contain a system of locks that allows cities nearly 500 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean access to Asian markets via barges that float down the massive rivers to the sea. Roughly 50 million to 60 million tons of cargo navigate the Snake and Columbia river system each year.
The Columbia River system dams cut off more than half of salmon spawning and rearing habitat, and many wild salmon runs in the region have 2% or less of their historic populations, said Meg Townsend, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity. “The science shows that pulling out the four lower Snake River dams is the only way to save Columbia river salmon,” she said.Scientists also warn that southern resident orcas are starving to death because of a dearth of the chinook salmon that are their primary food source.
Reservoirs behind some of the dams allow the Bonneville Power Administration to even out the more erratic power supply from wind and solar by spilling water to generate electricity on short notice.
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