Dam Removal Simpson Pt 3
I’m Bob Larson. In the name of saving endangered salmon, Idaho Representative Mike Simpson stirred up a ton of controversy last month when the Republican proposed removing earthen berms around four dams on the Lower Snake River.Simpson says he’s just looking to open up the conversation instead of digging in our heels like in previous battles …
SIMPSON … “But, you know the real challenge here and the thing that we’re, that I’m trying to get people to focus on is, for years the timber companies, and so forth, fought with the environmentalists over the Spotted Owl, Guess what happened? Not many more timber companies in Oregon.”
And, look no further than Oregon, Simpson says for a similar “dam” argument …
SIMPSON … “The Klamath Basin has fought, one of the first field hearings I went on 20 years ago was with Greg Walden to the Klamath Basin, fighting over dams for years. Guess what? By 2024, those four dams are coming out and who’s getting compensated for the loss of, the value of those dams? Nobody. I don’t want that to happen to us.”
Judicial decisions, like the water release to help salmon get over the dams, Simpson says are likely to continue …
SIMPSON … “But, he ordered 40 thousand acre feet of water, which cost Bonneville Power Administration $40-million dollars in lost revenue from power generation.
That means rate-payers paid for that. So, judges, while they can’t order a dam taken out, they can make it real damn expensive.”
Simpson says it will be a legacy for the next generations that we tried.