OPINION: Salmon And Dams Can Coexist

For more than 20 years. there has been an ongoing debate about the impact of the four Snake River dams on the Pacific Northwest’s salmon population. Since the 1970s, billions of dollars have been spent to upgrade the dams and to improve salmon habitat. The results? According to the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), the average number of returning salmon and steelhead are more than double what they were when counts first began when the Bonneville Dam started operations in 1938. Despite this clear evidence that dams and fish can coexist, the debate continues.