Irrigators on Breaching Dams Pt 1

Irrigators on Breaching Dams Pt 1

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
I'm Bob Larson. Discussions about the recovery of Puget Sound Killer Whales has trickled down to salmon recovery and, in turn, dam removal on the Lower Snake and Columbia rivers.

Darryll Olsen with the Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association says they sent a letter to Governor Jay Inslee raising questions about a report from the Orca Task Force that recommends studying the impacts of deep draw-down or dam removal, which he says is unnecessary ...

OLSEN ... "The emphasis that the committee has had and the governor's office has had on the whole killer whale issue in Puget Sound may be admirable, but the Snake River dams is exactly the wrong place to go in terms of breaching."

Olsen says unlike the dams, their arguments don't hold water ...

OLSEN ... "What we point out in the letter is one of the most serious impacts there have been on the fish runs, particularly the Snake River runs, was what took place in 2015 when the fish managers actually failed to optimize the juvenile fish transportation program for the down-river migration. Instead, they left them in the river. They actually violated the biological opinion protocol. They violated the Northwest Power Planning Council's fish and wildlife program. And they violated any measure of common sense since they have the technical information in front of them, that would have told them that they were putting them in a lethal river system."

Olsen says the result of that incredible operator error was felt the next year. Listen tomorrow for more on the message from the CSRIA and why breaching dams is a bad idea.

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