Recovering Idaho’s Wild Salmon & Steelhead
Salmon and steelhead are key to Idaho’s culture, identity, and economy. These fish represent the very heart of Idaho. But dams on the Snake and Columbia Rivers have made their migration a deadly gauntlet, pushing these miraculous fish to the edge of extinction.
By allowing these magnificent fish to go extinct, the federal government is breaking promises made to Northwest Tribes more than a century ago. These failed promises also cost electric ratepayers billions of dollars with no return on that investment. It’s past time for a new course of action.
The Northwest can have abundant salmon, reliable irrigation and transportation, and clean, affordable, reliable energy. The key is to create new infrastructure that serves all of us. Now is the time to save our salmon and steelhead. Now is the time to breach the four lower Snake River dams and replace the services they provide.
Our long-term goal is to restore abundant wild salmon and steelhead to Idaho.
The loss of wild salmon to Idaho has catastrophic ecological, cultural, and economic consequences for the Clearwater and Salmon river ecosystems, and the fish, wildlife, and people who call the Northwest home.
ICL is working to restore ecologically significant, harvestable populations of wild salmon and steelhead to Idaho. We engage with Tribes, partner organizations, and grassroots supporters to build bipartisan support for basinwide wild salmon recovery through the removal of the four lower Snake River dams and replacement of their services.
Salmon & Steelhead—a Keystone of Wild Idaho
Salmon and steelhead are crucial to Idaho’s rivers, forests, wildlife, tribal heritage and freshwater ecosystems. In Idaho’s wild places, these fish travel thousands of miles from high-country streams to the ocean and back. They link mountain streams to the ocean, carrying nutrients that feed our rivers, forests, and wildlife. They’re central to Tribal culture and vital to local economies and recreation.
The Decline of Wild Salmon
Historically, millions of wild salmon and steelhead returned to Idaho’s rivers each year. Today’s salmon runs are a fraction of their historic numbers. Dams have pushed these fish to the edge of extinction.
Graphic provided by Earthjustice. Learn more at https://earthjustice.org/feature/columbia-basin-salmon-peril
Damage of Dams
Prior to the construction of federal dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers, millions of adult salmon and steelhead returned to Idaho’s rivers each year. These fisheries crashed after the construction of Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower Granite Dams on the lower Snake River in the 1960s and 1970s. Billions of dollars have been spent to recover these fish, but recovery efforts have not succeeded. We are at a crossroads where we have a unique opportunity to take bold action to restore our salmon and steelhead or lose them forever.
Lower Granite Dam. EcoFlight photo.
Historic Decline in Columbia Basin Salmon
Columbia Basin salmon abundance has declined dramatically from historic levels. In recent decades, a few wild stocks have experienced modest growth from historic lows and hatchery production has increased, but most wild stocks have continued to decline.
Graphics provided by Earthjustice. Learn more at https://earthjustice.org/feature/columbia-basin-salmon-peril
The Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative
The Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative is a comprehensive plan developed by Tribal Nations, federal agencies, and states to rebuild healthy and abundant salmon and steelhead runs. The plan calls for restoring rivers, modernizing the Northwest energy sector, investing in infrastructure that supports all communities, restoring endangered native fish populations, and reintroducing salmon to tributaries where they have been lost. Implementing all parts of the CBRI is our best opportunity to recover wild fish in Idaho’s rivers. Tell your elected leaders that you want healthy and abundant salmon populations in the northwest.
