Dam Removal Simpson Pt 1

Dam Removal Simpson Pt 1

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
I’m Bob Larson. Breaching four dams on the Lower Snake River to save the Chinook salmon runs has been a decades-long controversy. Opponents claim it will cost millions in lost power generation, grain barging, and irrigation.

Then, Representative Mike Simpson threw fuel on the fire last month when the Idaho Republican proposed removing the earthen berms around the dams to let the rivers and the salmon run free, saying farmers will be okay …

SIMPSON … “The number of bushels of grain going down the river on barges right now are decreasing. They’re less than they used to be. They are decreasing, because we’re finding alternatives to the transportation. And, to say that there’s not any alternatives out there is just to throw our hands in the air and say, okay, the salmon are dead. What we’re doing now is what we’re going to do for the next 50 years, minus the fact that the judge is going to intervene at some point in time.”

Otherwise, Simpson says let’s hear your alternative …

SIMPSON … “What I’m searching for is some solutions. If you’ve got a better idea, tell me! That’s all I’m asking. The reaction is always going to be, oh crap, taking out dams, that’s stupid, you know, but tell me the alternative.”

Simpson also wants a 35+ year moratorium on dam litigation while the salmon problem is addressed …

SIMPSON … “I can’t tell you what will happen after the 35-to-50-year extension of the, of the licenses. I can only go out so far. But, if salmon are recovered, that takes away a hell of a lot of the cause for the lawsuits frankly.”

Tune in tomorrow for more.

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