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Re: “Take out dams and keep the Snake River salmon’s last, best place” [Dec. 13, Opinion]:
Chris Wood’s impassioned call for Snake River dam removal misses some critical facts. A closer look will show that the cost will be extreme but it will almost certainly not result in restoring historic Chinook runs.
Pacific salmon numbers are at record highs. Massive hatcheries in Asia are flooding the market so that the salmon community is in crisis. Chinook are in trouble, but not because of dams. Despite great effort and money spent, Chinook recovery remains dismal. Numerous studies show that ocean warming uniquely harms Chinook while helping other species like sockeye to flourish.
Another major problem is predation from harbor seals. Seals in the Salish Sea alone consumed 24 million Chinook according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-led study — almost 90% of all harbor seal predation from Alaska to California.
But the most telling study shows that Chinook are faring even more poorly on rivers without dams than with dams. NOAA showed that 95% of Chinook were successfully passing through dams and supported dams’ existence until the Biden administration arrived, then conveniently changed their long-standing support for the dams.
Chinook recovery is of vital importance and recovery depends on a proper diagnosis of the problems.
Gerald Baron, Mount Vernon, research director, Save Family Farming
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