Sen. Jim Risch recently published an editorial echoing familiar claims about the importance of the lower Snake River dams, especially to energy production and the broader economy. While we respect his drive to protect Idaho’s interests, it is important to carefully examine the facts and consider the future of Idaho’s ecosystems, rural communities and natural heritage.
Sen. Risch describes the dams as “giant batteries” that store energy. This is wrong. The four lower Snake River dams are run-of-the-river dams—they cannot store water or energy. Their contribution to Idaho’s energy grid is limited and often results in power generation at a financial loss. Studies show that we can replace the energy produced by these dams with other renewable sources, providing the same services with greater efficiency and lower costs.
But the senator fails to mention the real crux of this issue: salmon. Idaho’s salmon and steelhead populations are in dire straits. Adult fish returns have dropped to a fraction of their historical abundance, and even the so-called “good” years are not sufficient. Despite decades of effort and billions of dollars spent, our fish are on the road to extinction, in large part due to the lower Snake River dams and their stagnant reservoirs.
This post was originally published on here
