Speak Up for Salmon: The Federal Government is deciding its course of action on salmon recovery & dam removal

The Biden Administration’s Council on Environmental Quality has received over 30,000 comments thus far in response to a 60-day call for feedback on federal salmon recovery measures in the Columbia Basin, including restoring the Lower Snake River via dam removal. Comments are requested by July 3rd, so the federal government and plaintiffs, including IRU, which are engaged in settlement negotiations during the ongoing pause in salmon recovery litigation can be best informed as decisions on next steps are made in July and August.

Submitting a comment to the CEQ in the next three weeks is the single most impactful action you can take for the health of Idaho’s wild salmon and steelhead runs.

The federal request for comments is an opportunity for Idahoans and people across the Northwest to hold the government accountable for decades of inaction and failed recovery measures that have left salmon runs on the brink of extinction and the promises of the U.S. government to Tribes unfulfilled.

Under the current broken system, the Snake Basin’s thousands of miles of high-quality river habitat that are accessible to salmon are left empty of fish, which means lost dollars for fishing guides and hotel rooms, gas stations, and grocery stores in rural river towns along the Salmon, Clearwater, and the Grande Ronde. The Biden Administration must act with urgency in leading a coordinated and decisive approach to salmon recovery and dam services replacement in the region through its federal agencies.

The message to federal leadership continues to be that a Northwest with abundant, fishable salmon runs alongside a reliable and affordable clean energy grid and a strong agricultural transportation network is readily achievable.

In addition to the written comment period, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) hosted three listening sessions over the spring in which folks from around the region spoke overwhelmingly in favor of Lower Snake River dam removal, called for work to begin now on replacement of services provided by the hydro-projects, and urged the federal government to uphold agreements and Treaties with Tribal Nations.

Speak up for salmon and submit your comment today! Click here to take action.