Monday December 2, 2024
PhysOrg —
The change from the Biden to the Trump administration is primed to alter the trajectory of salmon recovery in the Snake and Columbia river basins.
The effort to save the threatened and endangered fish through breaching one or more of the four dams on the lower Snake River was elevated to unprecedented levels during Joe Biden’s time in the White House.
His administration inked a deal that paused salmon-and-dam litigation in exchange for helping the Nez Perce and other tribes develop renewable energy. The agreement commits hundreds of millions of dollars to salmon recovery and calls for studies to identify the best ways to replace the transportation and irrigation services now provided by the dams.
Snake River salmon and steelhead returns once numbered in the millions but declined dramatically following construction of eight dams between Lewiston and the Pacific Ocean. Most returning adult fish are now from hatcheries, and wild spring chinook, steelhead, sockeye and fall chinook are all protected by the Endangered Species Act.