Bill Arthur, Vice Chair Conservation Committee & Salmon/Orca Campaign Coordinator

April has been an eventful month with real progress and momentum-building for restoring the Snake River, its historic salmon runs, and helping our endangered orca.

On April 23rd in Boise, Idaho, Rep. Mike Simpson spoke at the annual Andrus Center Conference to an audience of over 400 people gathered to discuss salmon recovery, agriculture and communities, our regional energy system, and workable solutions.  

Rep. Simpson said it was time to ask the hard "what if" questions about what would need to be done if the four lower Snake River dams were removed.  He noted that both the restoration of salmon and steelhead runs and the financial challenges facing the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) in the rapidly changing energy markets needed to be addressed together.  Time is running short, he also pointed out, and solutions must also address legitimate issues regarding the transportation of agriculture products to market.

It was remarkable to see this conservative Republican congressman from Idaho call for an honest and public debate about removing the dams, restoring the river, and addressing the related energy, agriculture and community issues.

A week later, at the request of Governor Inslee and the Orca Task Force, the Washington legislature included funding to move forward two important actions: increasing the levels of "spill" over the dams and the Snake River stakeholder process. The higher "spill" (spilling water over the dams) is an important near-term action that helps young salmon migrate more safely to the ocean. Now, with this funding, the Department of Ecology has the confirmation to move the rulemaking process forward on both of these issues. We anticipate that there will be upcoming opportunities to comment on these proposed rules, so keep an eye out for future emails.

The legislature also provided funding to hire a neutral third party to initiate a stakeholder process to identify issues and solutions around the potential removal of the four lower Snake River dams. This will be an important complement to the court ordered Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process that is currently underway. The EIS is exploring stronger actions to protect and restore salmon, including the potential removal process.

These two issues were part of the larger orca action package that Sierra Club worked hard to get Governor Inslee to recommended. Other important measures that passed included reducing toxins in Puget Sound, reducing vessel noise, and protecting the Salish Sea from oil spills.

Thank you to everyone who sent an email, made a phone call, or came to the lobby day(s) this session. The passage of these important action items is a testament to the strength of our campaign and of our committed Sierra Club activists.  

Thank you for working hard to protect Washington’s environment. Sign up for our "Northwest Species Action Team" to stay current on actions to restore our salmon and protect our orca.

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For more information, check out our factsheet here!