The proposal had gained the support of Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown, U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., as well as many tribes, after it was
announced last winter.
But Republican members of Washington’s congressional
delegation opposed Simpson’s plan before it was even officially released, and
the state’s top Democratic elected officials were largely mum until Thursday.
“While we appreciate Rep. Simpson’s efforts and the
conversations we have had so far with Tribes and stakeholders, it is clear more
work within the Pacific Northwest is necessary to create a lasting,
comprehensive solution, and we do not believe the Simpson proposal can be
included in the proposed federal infrastructure package,” U.S. Sen. Patty
Murray, D-Wash., and Gov. Jay Inslee said in a joint statement provided to The
Seattle Times.
The two Democratic leaders added that regional collaboration
on a comprehensive, long-term solution to protect and bring back salmon
populations in the Columbia River Basin and throughout the Pacific Northwest is
needed now more than ever.
But they urged a process to a solution that would honor
tribal treaty rights, ensure reliable transportation and use of the river,
ongoing access for anglers and sport fishers and the continued delivery of
reliable hydropower.
“Washington state has a history of successfully bringing
diverse groups together to develop solutions that benefit all stakeholders.
This must be the model for the management of the Columbia River Basin,” the two
continued in their statement.
U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell also told The Seattle Times she
does not support the Simpson proposal, though she does support salmon recovery
not only in the Columbia Basin, but across the region, and collaborative
processes to get there.
“This proposal has some things we should focus on;
diversifying beyond hydro is a great idea, planning for new investment is a
great idea, but the rest is not well thought out enough at this point,”
Cantwell said of the Simpson proposal.
“Very, very valuable salmon recovery needs to happen and we
shouldn’t miss the opportunity of this infrastructure bill to do that, and
Puget Sound, being a powerhouse of salmon recovery opportunity, should be
focused on. We should be clear that we are maximizing those opportunities.”
Money to help pay for removal and replacement of highway
culverts that block salmon passage is just one such investment that could be
made in the federal infrastructure package, Cantwell said.
Feds ramp up spill over dams to help salmon
The statements came as the region undertakes unprecedented
steps to rescue Snake River Chinook salmon runs that are headed to extinction.
Federal agencies recently agreed to an operating plan for
the dams that includes a broad suite of actions, including spilling large amounts
of water over spillways at Columbia and Lower Snake River dams to help push
young salmon now migrating to the sea downriver — and route them around, rather
than through, powerhouses.
Unprecedented amounts of water are being spilled over
Columbia and Lower Snake River dams to help baby salmon to the sea. This video
shows 73 percent of the flow of the Columbia River crashing over the spillway
at John Day Dam on May 11. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers video by Christopher
Gaylord)
The spill program was initiated on an experimental basis in
2019 and has so far shown promise. The Bonneville Power Administration, which
markets power from the region’s federal hydropower dams, was able to end last
year in the black even while spilling water over the dams for fish instead of
generating power. And customers suffered no compromise in reliability even as
the U.S. Corps of Engineers, which operates the dams, directed spill rates of
nearly 90% of the river flow at some times.
The program is in place at four mainstem dams on the
Columbia River and four on the Lower Snake. The system is run during the
migration season to optimize spill 16 hours a day. The rest of the time, BPA
picks the most profitable time of day to run water through power turbines.
Early results show that young fish have been able to reduce
their travel time to the sea, and are not traumatized by the spill. But the
real results won’t be known for years, when adults come back to spawn.
The most recent environmental assessment of dam operations
for survival of fragile populations projects continued declines for Snake River
salmon in poor years, such as will be more common under climate change.
Climate change is severely challenging salmon, cold water
animals that can become diseased or even be killed outright in temperatures
above 68 degrees if the
Warmer sea surface temperatures caused by climate change
also are predicted in recent published scientific research to particularly
stress Snake River spring and summer Chinook, endangering them with extinction
and requiring an even more intense effort to support their survival in all life
stages.
Snake River spring and summer Chinook are in dire shape,
analysis by the Nez Perce Tribe shows. Many populations of Chinook already meet
the threshold of quasi-extinction, meaning 50 or fewer adult spawners are
making it back to their home streams, said Jay Hesse, director of biological
services for the tribe.
Simpson’s big pitch
Into this logjam stepped Simpson last winter, with a
proposal to breach the four Lower Snake River dams, digging out the earthen
berms around them and leaving the dams in a mothballed status.
To replace the benefits of the dams he proposes creation of
a $34 billion Columbia Basin Fund within the national infrastructure bill, from
getting agricultural products to market, to reconfiguring irrigation infrastructure,
buying replacement power and modernizing the electric grid to accommodate more
and diverse sources of clean energy.
A dozen tribes across the Columbia Basin also issued
statements last month in support of a legislative solution to the Columbia
Basin salmon crisis.
Some of the tribes were enemies with one another long ago,
and even today have very different interests. But they are united in their
commitment to salmon recovery, noted Shannon Wheeler, vice chairman of the Nez
Perce Tribe and a proponent of the Simpson proposal.
For tribes, salmon are a matter of cultural survival ensured
as part of the bargain made in the treaties with the United States, Wheeler
said. The Nez Perce reserved their rights to fish in all of their accustomed
places in their treaty of 1855. “We ceded 13 million acres to protect a way of
life,” Wheeler said.
The Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians also is going to
consider a resolution in support of the Simpson proposal, said Leonard Forsman,
chairman of the Suquamish Tribe and president of the ATNI.
Simpson said in an interview he has pivoted to a new
strategy to provide the money for a Columbia Basin Fund in the national bill,
but work out over the next year or two the writing of legislation to implement
it.
He acknowledged the proposal is a politically difficult lift
— and said he’s been censured by the Republican Party in his own state for his
efforts.
But, Simpson said, he remains undeterred: “I think we were
elected to solve problems.”
