Congressman Simpson’s Dam Removal Proposal: A Trojan Horse Looms Over the Columbia and Snake Rivers
Photo of Courtesy of
The Proposal would impose unacceptable limits on citizen access to legal rights to ensure environmental accountability.
Any new legislation or funding must come with the means to hold accountable those charged with recovering Columbia and Snake River Wild Salmon and Steelhead.
The so-called Simpson Concept, created by Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson, was released in early February, and proposes to breach the lower four Snake River Dams to save Idaho’s salmon and steelhead from extinction. In some circles, it is described as an audacious plan, hatched to prevent the imminent extinction of Idaho’s remaining wild salmon and steelhead. Many individuals and conservation organizations jumped on the bandwagon at once.
However, buried in the Concept are stipulations that lock into place a host of dams, transportation, irrigation, and energy developments – not only in Idaho but elsewhere in the Columbia Basin. The Concept’s tradeoffs are a steep price to pay for an uncertain result - as the lower Snake River dams are not the only obstacles Idaho’s wild salmon face - nor are Idaho’s wild salmon the only wild fish that would be affected by the tradeoffs proposed by Congressman Simpson.
The Conservation Angler is deeply concerned by the Simpson Concept – and we have joined a coalition of conservation organizations who share our concerns. We have carefully reviewed the proposal, expressed our concerns to elected representatives, and drafted a set of principles that any proposal to “fix” the Columbia and Snake River Basin wild salmon issues should contain.
Our positions and written statements can be viewed here:
Coalition Briefing Paper
Letter to Senators
Coalition Principles
Congressman Simpson’s proposal has generated much media coverage – the following links represent some key messages and perspectives:
Congressman Simpson’s Latest Op-Ed on where he stands
Charles Ray’s Essay for the Friends of the Clearwater
Eric Barker’s article from the Lewiston Morning Tribune
Columbia River by a Friend of The Conservation Angler
