The goal of the Columbia River and Snake River Salmon Campaign is to restore abundant harvestable populations of salmon and steelhead to the Snake and Columbia Rivers.
The Columbia/Snake River system was once the most productive salmon river in the world. Breaching of the four lower Snake River dams (LSRDs) is an essential action to restore these salmon runs and to pass this heritage to future generations. Lamprey and other species would also benefit, including the endangered Southern Resident Killer Orca who feed on chinook salmon from the mouth of the Columbia River at key times of the year. Increased numbers of returning fish will benefit sport, commercial and tribal fishing economies and communities.
Numerous studies and reports show the services provided by the dams can be reliably and affordably replaced. The Sierra Club supports making the investments needed to breach the dams and replace their services. This would be the largest salmon and river restoration ever undertaken.
The campaign has made significant progress but there is still much work to do! Please contact Chapter Representative Irene Vlach if you'd like to help.
Photo by Megan Mack
May 2024 Progress Update
Thanks to the efforts of Sierra Club members and our allies across the Northwest, strong leadership of Northwest tribes, and the commitments of the Oregon and Washington Governors the campaign has made great strides. We are in a strong position for securing a salmon plan that can recover endangered Snake and Columbia River salmon and help orca by breaching the four Lower Snake River dams.
At the end of September 2023 President Biden issued a Presidential Memorandum committing to restoring healthy populations of salmon across the Columbia basin, including the Snake River watershed, thus setting a clear direction for all federal agencies to follow. (Click here for the Sierra Club Press Release on the Memo.)
December 14 was the long anticipated day for the campaign: the plaintiffs (the States of Washington and Oregon, the four lower Columbia River Tribes, as well as a coalition of NGOs, including the Sierra Club) that had challenged the Trump administration salmon plan (Biological Opinion) that was issued in September 2020 reached a landmark agreement with the Biden Administration to restore salmon and steelhead in the Columbia Basin. The Administration's commitments are built on the framework that was put forward by Senator Murray and Governor Inslee in 2022 in their federal-state process that evaluated the feasibility of breaching the lower Snake River dams as well as the earlier plan by Rep. Simpson. It is a very significant development to have the alignment of the Six Sovereigns working in tandem with the Biden Administration to move forward on a comprehensive approach to restore the salmon and steelhead runs of the Snake/Columbia Rivers.
Resources:
Plaintiff Press Statement: Earthjustice Press Release
Statement from Ben Jealous, ED Sierra Club
White House Press Release
The United States Government (USG) commitments mark a turning point in the long legal struggle over failed and illegal federal agency salmon "recovery" plans. Plaintiff groups, along with the Six Sovereigns have agreed to a multi-year stay in the litigation in order to work together to implement this agreement. This has been the longest continuous litigation in Sierra Club history. It is a serious step forward in addressing our commitments to Tribal Nations which have been neglected for far too long. The USG commitments make major investments in habitat and clean water as well as initiate plans to replace the services from the lower Snake River dams (LSRDs), energy, transportation and irrigation, setting the stage for their breaching. A ceremonious signing of the agreement was held in Washington D.C. on February 23.
Next Steps
In 2024 the Sierra Club Campaign will work towards the implemention the key elements of the salmon agreement with the Biden Administration and build support within the Northwest Congressional delegation to secure funding for its effective implementation. Elements of the work plan are:
- Work to assure the plans to replace the energy, irrigation, transportation services from the Lower Snake River Dams (LSRDs) move forward and stay on schedule.
- Engage in the planning process for the recreation, economic and cultural impacts of removing the dams.
- Work with the Biden Administration to support budget proposals needed to implement the agreement.
- Keep pressure on BPA to move forward not only with implementation of the agreement but to not make decisions that will make it difficult to implement the agreement.
- Build public support and media visibility around and for implementing the agreement and need to breach the LSRD's.
- Support the Six Sovereigns’ Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative and their efforts.
- Work to secure additional congressional appropriations to implement the agreement.
- Beat back efforts in Congress to prevent the implementation of the agreement.
Campaign History:
The Sierra Club has worked for decades to protect and restore the wild salmon and steelhead of the Snake and Columbia Rivers. We joined in filing the petitions to list these imperiled runs in the early/mid 1990's under the Endangered Species Act. All the salmon and steelhead that return to the Snake River are now listed under the ESA. We are one of the founders of the Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition that for nearly thirty years has focused on restoring these endangered fish runs. The Sierra Club is one of the plaintiffs represented by Earthjustice to challenge the inadequate, illegal and failed salmon "recovery" plans developed by the federal agencies (Bonneville Power Administration, Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation). The courts have ruled five times against the federal agencies, rejecting their status quo salmon plans. We went once again to court to challenge the Trump administration salmon plan (Biological Opinion) that was issued in September 2020 and are now under a 5-year litigation pause to allow the federal government to develop a comprehensive plan for salmon in the Snake/Columbia Rivers.
Science shows that removing the four Lower Snake River dams is key to restoring 140 miles of free-flowing river and improving access to the high elevation, cold water habitat in the Snake River Basin. Northeast Oregon and Central Idaho provide literally thousands of miles of excellent habitat which is currently underutilized for lack of fish. Removing the lower Snake River dams would be the largest river and salmon restoration ever. We have the ability to replace the power generated by these dams with clean renewable energy and to ensure that transportation of crops and irrigation will continue.
Contact Chapter Representative Irene Vlach to join this important campaign.