Working Snake River for Washington project
Washington Ag Today May 11, 2010 Business leaders, fishing and recreation groups, conservation organizations and clean energy advocates last week announced the launch of the“Working Snake River for Washington” project. Organizers say Working Snake River for Washington advocates for solutions that meet the needs of all those with a stake in Columbia Basin salmon recovery including farmers. However, one of the solutions the project advocates is removal of Snake River Dams and developing alternatives for grain barging. Here is what Sara Patton Executive Director of NW Energy Coalition says on the Working Snake River for Washington website. Patton: “The power to replace the dams, the power from the dams and the power to retire coal. We can still replace it. We will use all of that energy efficiency plus some co-generation and some of the new renewables. But we have got it, it is there and it is cost effective.” The project’s website says investing in modern rail and highways can provide a transportation system that meets the needs of eastern Washington wheat farmers. Opponents of dam removal say one barge carries the equivalent of 35 jumbo hopper cars of grain or 134 grain trucks. The Working Snake River for Washington says that last week more than 60 eastern Washington and Idaho leaders released a letter to Washington U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell requesting their leadership in a stakeholder process to address the salmon restoration issue. Many of the businesses signing on to that letter are involved in the sport fishing industry. One eastern Washington farmer signed on. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Washington Ag Today on Northwest Aginfo Net. ?
