That is the question.
Rep. Jim McDermott introduced a bill to study whether the four lower Snake River dams should be removed to further salmon recovery efforts. Breaching the dams has been a volatile subject for many years.
On the pro side:
- Thirteen Columbia Basin salmon species are currently listed as “threatened” or “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act. Dams are generally regarded as being detrimental to salmon (pdf). And even the National Marine Fisheries Service admits that breaching the dams is the best option. (pdf)
- The government agencies charged with operating the dams in a manner that complies with the ESA can’t seem to come up with a biological opinion that doesn’t strain the limits of credulity, even after four tries.
On the con side:
- Removing the lower Snake River dams will have significant economic impacts. The dams provide hydropower and irrigation for farmers, and they enable barge traffic to transport crops grown inland. Of course, the actual economic impact is greatly disputed, with the Army Corps of Engineers (pdf) arguing the costs would greatly outweigh the benefits, while the Rand Corporation (pdf) (hired by environmentalists) concluded that breaching the dams would have a negligent economic impact … and would, perhaps, even save money. Some other studies are described and linked here.
- Judge Redden of the U.S. District Court seems inclined to order the agencies to study breaching the dams, so a Congressional mandate is somewhat redundant.
- Salmon returns are good this year (for those who like to use short-term evidence to argue against the existence of a long-term trend).
There is a good documentary, River Ways, that explores the question of to breach or not to breach from several different perspectives.
Will dam removal ever be seriously considered? Ultimately, whether to kill the dams is a question fraught with uncertainty and, consequently, much trepidation. It seems easier to confront the devil we know than the devil we don’t.
“who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover’d country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?”
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