Call on Governor Inslee and Senator Murray to keep their promises and stop salmon extinction.
Dear Governor Inslee and Senator Murray,
The Northwest has heard and appreciates your promises to quickly develop a plan to save endangered salmon and orcas from extinction by addressing Lower Snake River dams.
Your promises are an important step forward. As salmon and steelhead populations sink to historic lows, we need action.
I urge you to include these priorities in your process:
- Focus on breaching the Lower Snake River dams and replacing the services they provide.
- Honor the rights and the leadership of Northwest tribes.
- Produce an actionable plan for Snake River Dam removal by July 2022, in time for congress to pass any legislation needed to implement it.”
Background
Big News: Senator Murray and Governor Inslee to Produce Snake River Restoration Plan
The Northwest faces a stark choice: Do we allow salmon to fade to extinction while cooking in stagnant reservoirs, or do we breach the Lower Snake River dams to save the salmon and build back truly clean energy? Sen. Murray and Gov. Inslee’s public commitment to developing a plan for Snake River restoration is a reason for hope. Please contact Sen. Murray and Gov. Inslee today to support their leadership.
Sen. Murray and Gov. Inlee’s announcement comes on the heels of the news that we have temporarily paused the long-running litigation on Columbia and Snake river dams to develop robust solutions. The State of Oregon, Nez Perce Tribe, and fishing and conservation groups (including Columbia Riverkeeper), represented by Earthjustice, agreed with the Biden Administration to pause the case on October 21, 2021.
Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland noted that we have the “opportunity to prioritize the resolution of more than 20 years of litigation and identify creative solutions that improve conditions for salmon for years to come. While it is important to balance the region’s economy and power generation, it is also time to improve conditions for Tribes that have relied on these important species since time immemorial.” We must continue to push the federal government, but it is certainly refreshing to see the Secretary of Interior talking about solutions to help Snake River salmon.
What does all this mean? After years of litigation and pressuring state and federal leaders to save Snake River salmon from extinction, we see a light at the end of the tunnel. We see hope. We see state and federal leaders approaching the problem with an open mind and a commitment to develop solutions. The science is clear that we must breach the lower Snake River dams. We are hopeful that our elected officials—from Gov. Inslee to members of Congress to the Biden Administration—understand what is at stake and will work with Pacific Northwest communities and Tribal Nations to save the salmon.
Please take action today to tell Gov. Inslee and Sen. Murray that you support breaching the lower Snake River dams to restore salmon!
