‘A damn bad idea’: Idaho Legislature votes to tell Congress ‘no’ on Simpson dam breach plan
UPDATE (April 8, 2021): The Idaho House of Representatives on Thursday approved a joint memorial that will serve as the Legislature’s official position to Congress opposing U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson’s proposal to breach the Snake River dams.
Senate Joint Memorial 103 passed the Idaho Senate last month. It’s meant to affirm state legislators’ stances on Simpson’s $33.5 billion proposal to remove four Washington dams on the Snake River in an effort to save endangered salmon. The House voted 58-12 to approve the memorial.
Lewiston House members slammed Simpson’s plan to remove dam breaching and said it would be devastating to their area.
Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger, R-Lewiston, accused environmental groups of pushing the idea and said it was a “tactic” to ultimately remove all dams along the Columbia River.
“This is a damn bad idea,” said Rep. Mike Kingsley, a fellow Lewiston Republican.
Kingsley said other avenues could be explored before trying to remove the dams to save salmon. He suggested further managing Caspian terns, sea lions or even tribal fishing.
“I agree they have rights, but when we get to the point that we’re going to devastate so much of our economy, we really should look at every other issue before we get to the point that we want to remove dams,” Kingsley said.
House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, criticized the memorial for presenting a “one-sided” view of the issue and said it would be wrong for the Legislature to come to conclusions about Simpson’s plan so quickly.
“This is an incredibly complex question and I think we owe it to all Idahoans to acknowledge that, and recognize that there are vital economic interests on both sides that need to be weighed,” Rubel said. “This is an issue that requires a great deal more thought … but my understanding is the proposal is not a firm one.”
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The following story was originally published on March 9, 2021:
Idaho senators want to send a message to Congress: Don’t remove the Snake River dams.
A month after Eastern Idaho’s U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson released a $33.5 billion proposal to remove four of Washington’s Snake River dams in efforts to save endangered salmon, the state Senate voted 28-6 to approve a joint memorial opposing the removal or breaching of the Columbia-Snake River dams. Senate Joint Memorial 103 would be the Idaho Legislature’s position sent to the U.S. Senate president, U.S. House speaker and congressional delegates for Idaho, Montana, Washington and Oregon. The measure now moves to the Idaho House of Representatives.
Rep. Regina Bayer, R-Meridian, who sponsored the legislation, said the plan would harm the Port of Lewiston and put communities at risk, and she claimed it would fail to save salmon runs.
“Breaching the dams on the lower Snake River would be devastating to the Pacific Northwest and all of us who live here,” Bayer said.
Democrats criticized the legislation for its wording and misleading statements suggesting that scientific evidence doesn’t back the claims that removing dams would help mitigate the loss of salmon runs. Several groups of scientists have recently said the plan for dam removal is vital for salmon recovery.
Sen. Mark Nye, D-Pocatello, said he didn’t see Idaho’s Native American tribes and their interests represented in the legislation, while Sen. Michelle Stennett, D-Ketchum, said rural communities like Riggins — which relies on tourism from salmon fishing — also went unacknowledged.
But not every Senate Democrat voted against the legislation. Sen. David Nelson, D-Moscow, said he “reluctantly” voted in favor of the memorial to represent his community in Genesee and acknowledge the importance of barging, which would dissolve under Simpson’s proposal.
“I’m (voting yes) with the full knowledge that, I think, the salmon are going to go extinct,” Nelson said.
Several lawmakers expressed frustration that Simpson didn’t include the Idaho Legislature in his planning. Senate President Pro-Tem Chuck Winder, R-Boise, said most state legislators learned about Simpson’s plan through news reports.
“I think this sends a message that we want to be a player in this, that we do want to be at the table,” Winder said.
Sen. Steve Vick, R-Dalton Gardens, said the memorial provides legislators with an opportunity to make their voices heard.
“As a legislature, we don’t often have a chance to state our opinion in a federal discussion,” Vick said. “And this is an opportunity to do that.”
In a statement to the Statesman Tuesday afternoon, Simpson said he appreciated the Idaho Legislature’s feedback.
“When I was in the statehouse 23 years ago, I probably would have voted with them,” he said. “However in the last 25 years, the Klamath Basin Ag community has lost time and time again in court to environmental groups over the Endangered Species Act and producers are left without water and resources. I don’t want to see that happen to the Palouse and the Upper Snake River.
“The Four Lower Snake River dams are very valuable and if they are breached for salmon recovery, I believe that all stakeholders should be given the full value of the benefits they currently receive so they can continue their way of life for future generations,” Simpson added. “We must protect agriculture and end the lawsuits.”
Several Idaho lawmakers have already come out in opposition to Simpson’s proposal in newsletters to constituents and on conservative talk radio. Last month, Idaho Gov. Brad Little became the first governor in the Columbia Basin Collaborative — made up of leaders from Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Montana — to publicly oppose the plan.
Still, Simpson’s proposal has its supporters. Environmental groups have championed the move, as have fishing guides.
In a statement through the Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association, several Idaho outfitters said they felt disregarded by the Senate’s move, calling it shortsighted.
“This joint memorial exemplifies what is most dangerous in our current politics and culture,” IOGA director Aaron Lieberman said in a statement. “It reduces what is an incredibly complex and important issue to a series of platitudes representing only one part and perspective of the hydro system and its impacts.”
This story was originally published March 9, 2021 at 1:08 PM.
