Letter: Concerns for breaching lower Snake dams overstated

Published 1:30 am Sunday, March 8, 2026

I attended the hearing for the Northwest Power and Conservation Council’s draft Fish and Wildlife Plan in Seattle recently and I came away with a couple of observations. First, most of the people who spoke recognized the importance of salmon for the survival of the Southern Resident orcas, and for Washington’s economy and character. The few who spoke in favor of the status quo were almost to a person representing electric utility interests. They all cited the expense of electricity and their fears of increased costs. It is a compelling argument, but removing the dams may actually lower rates due to not having to replace expensive turbines or mitigate failed fish runs which have been unsuccessful and have cost billions.

Another false argument comes in the form of blaming pinnipeds (sea lions, seals) for the lack of salmon. It isn’t understood by many that the predators are able to pick off the salmon easier because they cannot go all the way up the Snake River. Studies show that the decrease of all species of salmon has continued in spite of millions of dollars of remediation costs. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez continually talks about the pinnipeds as the leading cause of Salmon decrease. She is just wrong.

Only the removal of the four dams on the Lower Snake River will allow the salmon to come back from the brink of extinction.

Lauren Blair Churchill

Sequim