Columbia River's most iconic animal now on verge of becoming EXTINCT
Salmon advocates are warning the species could face extinction on the Columbia River as they urge a federal court to approve changes to dam operations.
Environmental groups and the state of Oregon filed an injunction on Tuesday seeking to force federal dams on the lower Snake and Columbia Rivers to lower reservoirs and increase the amount of water they spill downstream, reported OPB.
It is the latest move in a decades-long battle that was revived after Donald Trump pulled out of the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement in June.
The pact with Washington, Oregon and four Native American tribes, reached during the Biden administration in late 2023, was a $1 billion plan to help depleted salmon populations recover in the Pacific Northwest.
'When the Trump administration reneged on this carefully negotiated agreement — and offered no alternative plan to restore imperiled salmon and steelhead — we had no option but to resume our longstanding litigation to protect endangered salmon,' Earthjustice Attorney Amanda Goodin said.
Following the federal withdrawal from the deal, 'returning to court is the best tool we have to prevent the collapse of these imperiled fish populations,' Mike Leahy, senior director of wildlife, hunting and fishing policy for the National Wildlife Federation, said.
The Columbia River Basin, which is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest, was once the world's greatest salmon-producing river system, with at least 16 stocks of salmon and steelhead.
Today four species are extinct and seven are listed under the Endangered Species Act.
Salmon advocates are warning the species could face extinction. The Columbia River chum salmon (pictured) is a threatened species
Environmental groups and the state of Oregon filed an injunction ask a federal court to approve changes to dam operations after the Trump administration backed out if a $1 billion plan to help depleted salmon populations recover in the Pacific Northwest
A population of killer whales, another iconic but endangered Northwest species, depend on the salmon and could be threatened by their extinction.
The injunction seeks to increase the amount of water spilled at the top of dams to make it easier for juvenile salmon to migrate over them and avoid the deadly turbines, according to Oregon Live.
The filing also wants to lower dam reservoir levels on the rivers, which would decrease fish mortality by lowering the water temperatures and reducing the time salmon spend migrating through them.
'The stagnant, hot water reservoirs created by the dams on the lower Snake River continue to drive these fish toward extinction,' Bill Arthur of the Sierra Club said.
The dams for which changes are being sought are Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, Lower Granite, Bonneville, The Dalles, John Day and McNary.
Opponents of the proposed dam changes include the Inland Ports and Navigation Group, which said in a statement that increasing spill, 'can disproportionately hurt navigation, resulting in disruptions in the flow of commerce that has a highly destructive impact on our communities and economy.'
Northwest Public Power Association executive director Kurt Miller said the injunction is 'an alarming threat to the livability of the Northwest'.
'The potential consequences are clear: less clean energy, soaring costs for families, schools, farms, and businesses, and a genuine danger of blackouts,' he said. 'The stakes could not be higher. Every Northwest resident stands to lose.'
The dams for which changes are being sought are Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, Lower Granite, Bonneville (pictured), The Dalles, John Day and McNary
The Columbia River Basin was once the world's greatest salmon-producing river system, with at least 16 stocks of salmon and steelhead. Today four species are extinct and seven are listed under the Endangered Species Act
However the dams are also viewed as a main culprit behind the decline of salmon, which regional tribes consider part of their cultural and spiritual identity.
'They are the backbone of an entire ecosystem. They are a key economic and cultural resource for the whole region, and they are central to the way of life for so many Native American tribes,' said Goodin.
'Losing them, I think, means losing part of who we are as a people in the Northwest.'
Daily Mail has contacted the White House for comment.
