Feud breaks out among GOP lawmakers over dams
Water moves through a spillway of the Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River near Almota, Washington, in 2018. Some Republican members of Congress are accusing an Idaho lawmaker of conducting secret negotiations with the governor of Oregon over a controversial proposal to breach four dams on the Snake River to save endangered salmon runs. (AP File Photo/Nicholas K. Geranios)
By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS
Associated Press
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) Some Republican members of Congress from the Northwest are accusing a GOP Idaho lawmaker of conducting secret negotiations with the Democratic governor of Oregon over a controversial proposal to breach four dams on the Snake River to save endangered salmon runs.
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SPOKANE, Wash. Some Republican members of Congress from the Northwest are accusing a GOP Idaho lawmaker of conducting secret negotiations with the Democratic governor of Oregon over a controversial proposal to breach four dams on the Snake River to save endangered salmon runs.
But Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, replied that he has for several years been telling “everyone who would listen” about his proposal for a comprehensive solution to save salmon.
“How is that secret?” Simpson asked this week. “My staff has had discussions with nearly every governor, member of Congress, and U.S. senator in the Columbia Basin on this proposal.”
Feud breaks out among GOP lawmakers over Snake River dams, talks with Oregon Gov. Kate Brown
Updated May 06, 2021;
Posted May 06, 2021
In this April 11, 2018, file photo, water moves through a spillway of the Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River near Almota, Wash. Some Republican members of Congress from the Northwest are accusing a GOP Idaho lawmaker of conducting secret negotiations with the Democratic governor of Oregon over a controversial proposal to breach four dams on the Snake River to save endangered salmon runs.AP Photo/Nicholas K. Geranios, File
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SPOKANE, Wash. Some Republican members of Congress from the Northwest are accusing a GOP Idaho lawmaker of conducting secret negotiations with the Democratic governor of Oregon over a controversial proposal to breach four dams on the Snake River to save endangered salmon runs.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Lower Granite Lock and Dam on the Snake River
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) Some Republican members of Congress from the Northwest are accusing an Idaho lawmaker of conducting secret negotiations with the Democratic governor of Oregon over a controversial proposal to breach four dams on the Snake River to save endangered salmon runs.
But Idaho s Republican Rep. Mike Simpson says he has for several years been telling “everyone who would listen” about his proposal for a comprehensive solution to save salmon.
“How is that secret?” Simpson asked this week. “My staff has had discussions with nearly every governor, member of Congress, and U.S. senator in the Columbia Basin on this proposal.”
Damming the salmon
by Mary Caperton Morton Thursday, September 3, 2015
Salmon used to be plentiful in the Snake River; today, wild salmon populations are less than 10 percent of their pre-European settlement numbers. Credit: Mary Caperton Morton.
In the 1940s, the state of Idaho decided that the Salmon River would be left to flow freely while the Snake would be developed for hydroelectric power to become Idaho’s workhorse river. To date, a total of 15 dams have been built along the Snake for a variety of purposes, from irrigation to flood control to hydroelectricity. Hells Canyon is home to three hydroelectric impoundments: the Brownlee, Oxbow and Hells Canyon dams, built in 1959, 1961 and 1967, respectively. Together they have a maximum capacity of 391 megawatts of power production.