May 11, 2025

Could you imagine fishers catching salmon to their heart’s content? There was a time when salmon were so abundant that smoked salmon stands on the side of the road were common. Today, salmon are in such short supply on the Lower Snake River, all Washington anglers are limited to catching a combined total of 407 spring chinook.

The fight for salmon continues with increasing barriers.

In January, Rep. Newhouse and Sen. Risch proposed legislation that, if successful, would prevent lower Snake River restoration and push critically endangered salmon and orcas closer to extinction. Rep. Baumgartner supported this bill.

This bill isn’t about solving problems – it’s about silencing progress. It ignores decades of scientific consensus, tribal leadership and community voices calling for bold action to restore salmon, protect orcas and modernize our energy system.

Let’s be clear: Lower Snake River Dam removal isn’t a radical idea – it’s a practical one. It’s how we build a resilient energy grid that works in the face of climate change, invest in 21st-century transportation and irrigation infrastructure and bring life back to a river system – while honoring our commitments to tribal nations who’ve stewarded this land for millennia.

Let’s not get dragged backward. We need our elected leaders to stand up for the future – not for outdated systems that are killing our salmon and hurting our economy.

The Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative is a roadmap forward. The Newhouse-Risch bill is a dead end.

Erica Tuell

Spokane