The draft report from Sen. Patty Murray and Gov. Jay Inslee confirms an important point: We can replace the services of the Lower Snake River dams, and we can do so by spending wisely.
The report predicts that removing the dams and replacing their services will cost between $10.3 billion and $27.2 billion over 50 years. For comparison, in the last 41 years, $26 billion in ratepayer dollars have been spent trying to mitigate the toll of the dams on fish and wildlife — mostly on migrating salmon, yet they remain perilously close to extinction.
Replacing the dams’ services requires investment, but it will yield returns: for salmon, Indigenous people, commercial and recreational fishers, our climate and our communities. Retaining the aging dams will cost us, not only in dollars but with continued degradation of migrating salmon runs.
We have a historic opportunity to replace the services provided by the Lower Snake River dams and give salmon the greatest chance of survival. Why would we not look for the best return on our investment? We are capable of innovation and ingenuity when we set our minds to it. Let’s get to work turning this report into a plan for investing in a future that includes salmon.
