Sen. Patty Murray and Gov. Jay Inslee are undertaking an assessment of dam breaching on the Lower Snake River. Great! However, the deadline of July 2022 is too late.
This issue has already been studied. After talking to thousands of stakeholders, Rep. Mike Simpson (Idaho) has put together a plan and has tried to reach a compromise that considers the needs of a majority of people. Why not reach across the aisle and work with someone who has a head start on the issue?
The extinction clock on Pacific Northwest salmon is ticking. They don’t have time for more studies while special interests and a heavily subsidized power company fight for the status quo. We need to act because implementing will take time. The salmon won’t wait. The time to act is now.