Idaho support for U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson’s proposal to save salmon, make everyone whole

The Sawtooth Interpretive and Historical Association is a member-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect and advance the cultural and natural history of Idaho’s Sawtooth and Salmon River country through education and preservation.

The association was founded in 1972, just after the creation of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area to provide interpretive and educational programs and materials as the official cooperative association of the recreation area.

The wild chinook and sockeye salmon that spawn in the Salmon River and morainal lakes in the Sawtooth Mountains are nature’s finest creations, the essence of wild Idaho and a part of Idaho history for at least 6,000 years. These amazing fish are a gift beyond measure throughout their entire life journey.

That is why the Sawtooth Interpretive and Historical Association supports U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson’s bold proposal to breach the four Lower Snake River dams and make all users of the river whole.

The science is clear: Breaching the four lower Snake River dams to restore natural river flow is the most certain way to ensure the continued survival of Idaho’s most iconic species.

The increased flows of spring runoff that once carried young salmon from the Main and Middle Forks of the Salmon River to the ocean in less than a week are now interrupted by the long series of slack-water pools created by the dams.

It’s important to know that the fish go to the ocean tail-first. They did not evolve to turn and swim downstream; they rely on the river’s current to carry them naturally. That current no longer exists, and the journey can now take over a month. That matters because, as the young fish are swept to the ocean, they are in the process of turning from freshwater fish to saltwater fish. The natural flow of the lower Snake River must return if we are to keep our salmon.

Of course, Congressman Simpson’s proposal is about Northwest people as well as four dams. He is not interested in creating human losers and winners in the “salmon wars,” which is why his proposal is so complex.

He seeks to make all communities whole, while ensuring that salmon can thrive in their arduous 900-mile migration to and from the Pacific.

The Sawtooth Interpretive and Historical Association applauds the congressman’s approach.

The association is not interested in economic hardship for other communities. Our local community has suffered from the loss of salmon, so we know what that is like. But we believe creative problem solving can assure all parties benefit, and that is what we like about the congressman’s plan.

Some may wonder if these fish are worth this much effort. It is the opinion of the Sawtooth Interpretive and Historical Association that the answer is an obvious yes!

The salmon that return to Idaho each year complete one of the most remarkable life cycles and migrations of any species on earth. If they survive the gauntlet of dams to make it to the ocean — while changing from freshwater to saltwater fish — they swim the open seas as far as the Gulf of Alaska until, almost magically, they decide it’s time to return to Idaho. After finding the mouth of the Columbia River out of the vastness of the Pacific, they swim upstream 900 miles, against an avalanche of whitewater, following the great arc of the Salmon River through the heart of wild Idaho to find the gravels in which they were born, there to spawn and begin the process anew for the next generation. And then they die.

It is upon their death that the salmon release their great gift to us and the entire Salmon River ecosystem. The fish that left Idaho weighing less than a pound, return many times that size, bulging with treasures gathered in the ocean. When they die, these treasures are released in the form of nutrients that nourish virtually every other species in the ecosystem, from macroinvertebrates to 100-foot-tall Douglas fir trees. And they also nourish our communities economically. That, in our opinion, is a gift too generous to extinguish forever through the extinction of these fish.

Chinook and sockeye salmon have been making this incredible journey for thousands of years, and for most of that time, the native people of Idaho have relied on the fish for sustenance, forging a connection at almost a cellular level. That is why Idaho and Northwest tribes also wholeheartedly support the congressman’s proposal.

When white settlers first entered the Pacific Northwest, they were astounded by the salmon runs and the bounty they provided. Many Idahoans today recall that opulence or have photos of their ancestors displaying their catch from the Salmon River.

We have a chance to restore that natural bounty, but if the dams are not removed soon, it will be too late.

We humans are the most adaptable species on earth. That is how we have occupied every environmental niche on the planet. Our salmon have only one avenue for survival, and that is a natural river. Congressman Simpson’s proposal is simply a way for us to adapt and prosper so salmon can persist, and hopefully return to abundance. We all benefit from that.

The Sawtooth Interpretive and Historical Association supports Congressman Simpson’s visionary proposal and asks that you do as well.

Reach out to Idaho Gov. Brad Little at governor@gov.idaho.gov, 208-334-2100, or by mail at Office of the Governor, State Capitol, PO Box 83720, Boise, ID 83720, and U.S. Sens. Jim Risch and Mike Crapo at 202-224-3121, or by mail at United States Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510, and ask them to get on board.

This may be the wild salmon of Idaho’s last chance.

W. Stewart Wilder is the president, and Lin Gray the executive director of the Sawtooth Interpretive and Historical Association.