Dam Removal Update Pt 2

Dam Removal Update Pt 2

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
I'm Bob Larson. A renewed effort is underway in Olympia to push forward a proposal and keep $750-thousand in the governor's budget to study the removal of four Snake River dams as part of a plan to save Orcas in Puget Sound.

Representative Mary Dye of Pomeroy says first of all, the state has no authority to do anything with the dams, since they're federally owned and operated, but NOAA has already studied the impact of the dams on the Chinook salmon runs ...

DYE ... "Let's be very clear, there's no scientific data that exists that would show that by breaching the dams the salmon stocks would return."

Dye says the salmon have much bigger problems to deal with than the dams ...

DYE ... "Dams are not the major obstacle for the fish in this river system. As a matter of fact, they extensive predation, excessive harvest, lots of other obstacles, ocean conditions that effect their ability to survive in our river system."

Dye says it's a waste of time and money for what could very well be a huge mistake...

DYE ... "What if they are wrong? What if they're wrong and we breach the dams, and instead of increasing the feed stocks for Orcas, we in fact kill the feed stocks for Orca? What if we are wrong and we destroy the very river system that the people that live and work in Eastern Washington depend upon, for both their barging transportation, their power, and their recreational opportunities?"

Dye says this ploy is upsetting and she'll do everything she can to prevent any dam removal.

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