Dam compromise

Two sides to every argument. There has long been a controversy about dams on the lower Snake River. Farmers and business people say they are vital to providing shipping lanes for their commerce. Jaqueline Koch of the National Wildlife Federation says the dams are contributing to the decline of salmon runs.But…there may be a compromise.

These dams have been feeding the water of the Snake River and into the main stem of the Columbia. As we all know, salmon are cold water fish and they need cold water to survive. Now, climate change is making this worse and the region is facing an extinction crisis. And that's almost unfathomable to the people who live here because we're running out of time. There's an ecosystem and economies that depend on these fish. And across Washington, Oregon and Idaho, these fish represent a way of life. If you're talking to a sportsman community, what I would say is that in Washington state, which is where these dams are located, the governor and Senator Patty Murray have released the report that notes the services that these dams provide can be replaced. And this is really exciting and this should be exciting to anyone who cares about fishing in this region, because this report tells us that there is a solution within reach and that we can save these iconic salmon runs. Speaker1: Well a compromise that works would be great.