Labor and Jobs

As recently as 1988 there were an estimated 62,750 salmon-dependent jobs in the Pacific Northwest (Pacific Rivers Council, 1992) in the commercial, recreational and Tribal fisheries combined, all of which generated about $1.25 billion to the regional economy. Other sources support these numbers. In 2004, the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association estimated 36,500 that sportfishing jobs depend on Northwest salmon.

Because removal of the four Lower Snake River dams is the most effective method of returning large harvestable runs, the economic yield of that potential investment is vast. It is estimated that such an investment will yield an additional $500 million/year in economic impacts to the region and support up to an additional 25,000 family wage jobs in the commercial fishing sector (Institute for Fisheries Resources, 1996). It is safe to assume that the sportfishing sector would see an increase of about twice that number.

The RAND Corporation, in a 2002 study on electric power in the Northwest, estimates that almost 15,000 new long term jobs could be created as a result of the removal of the lower Snake River dams. These jobs would grow primarily in the recreation, retail, restaurants, and real estate sectors.

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