August and September of 2022 saw a string of important policy developments affecting endangered Snake River salmon, imperiled orcas, and many Northwest Tribes.

• In early August, the Biden Administration committed to “development of a durable long-term strategy to restore salmon and other native fish populations to healthy and abundant levels.”

• Later in August, Sen. Patty Murray and Gov. Jay Inslee released a set of recommendations that put the region on a path to restoring a free-flowing lower Snake River as a centerpiece of salmon recovery efforts.

• Sen. Murray and Gov. Inslee also released a report demonstrating that replacing the services the four lower Snake River dams now provide is feasible and affordable.

• Then on September 30, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a report on the science of recovering abundant, harvestable stocks of endangered salmon and steelhead, identifying restoration of a free-flowing lower Snake as “essential” and a “centerpiece action.”

BUT THE BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION ISN’T ON BOARD

While the Biden Administration and senior Northwest leaders are stepping up to break a decades-long gridlock and develop real solutions, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) – a power marketing agency that is part of the U.S. Department of Energy – is ignoring the current Administration’s goals as if it were still the Trump years:

• BPA continues to tout the modest energy value of the dams without acknowledging the greater economic and community value of dam removal, fish and orca restoration, tribal treaty rights, and improved fishing industries.

• BPA leadership asserts that restoration of a free-flowing lower Snake River is not possible for decades, allowing our historic Northwest salmon and steelhead runs to be pushed ever closer to extinction. BPA wants to double down on the billions in failed measures that have not worked for over twenty years.  

• BPA is failing to make the kind of investments in clean energy needed to help replace the energy from the lower Snake dams and resists investments that will support new energy efficiency, demand response, renewable resources, storage, and transmission and grid enhancements that make sense with or without the dams.  

• Finally, BPA plans to spend only 10% of an extra $500 million in revenue in the last two years on salmon protection measures. This is a huge missed opportunity for BPA to begin to address its inadequate salmon recovery and protection actions.

BPA NEEDS TO JOIN THE TEAM.

Advocates for solutions that work for salmon and orcas, Tribes, utilities, farmers, and anglers are telling USDOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm, in the strongest terms, to ensure BPA aligns with the rest of the Biden Administration, Northwest Members of Congress, Governor Inslee, and community stakeholders on Snake River restoration.