Editing Snake River (section)

==Ecology and environmental issues==
===Aquatic habitats===
[[Image:Shoshone_Falls,_March_2011.jpg|thumb|right|Shoshone Falls forms a complete barrier to upstream movement of fish in the Snake River, and was the historical upper limit of Snake River salmon and steelhead.|alt=A wide, multi-stage waterfall, backed by dark cliffs, cascades into a rocky canyon]]
The [[World Wide Fund for Nature]] (WWF) divides the Snake River into two [[freshwater ecoregion]]s – the Upper Snake and Columbia Unglaciated – with Shoshone Falls marking the boundary between the two. Shoshone Falls has presented a total barrier to the upstream movement of fish at least since the Bonneville flood 15,000 years ago. The [[Big Wood River]] (the main tributary of the [[Malad River (Gooding County, Idaho)|Malad River]]) is also included in the Upper Snake ecoregion, due to the presence of a separate natural waterfall barrier. As a result, only 35&nbsp;percent of the fish fauna above Shoshone falls, and 40&nbsp;percent of the Big Wood River's fish fauna, are shared with the lower Snake River.<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.feow.org/ecoregion_details.php?eco=121 
 |title=Columbia Unglaciated 
 |publisher=Freshwater Ecoregions of the World 
 |work=World Wide Fund for Nature and the Nature Conservancy 
 |access-date=April 14, 2010
|url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726052618/http://www.feow.org/ecoregion_details.php?eco=121 
 |archive-date=July 26, 2011
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.feow.org/ecoregion_details.php?eco=122 
 |title=Upper Snake 
 |publisher=Freshwater Ecoregions of the World 
 |work=World Wide Fund for Nature and the Nature Conservancy 
 |access-date=April 14, 2010
|url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726052702/http://www.feow.org/ecoregion_details.php?eco=122 
 |archive-date=July 26, 2011
}}</ref>

Compared to the lower Snake River and the rest of the Columbia River system, the Upper Snake ecoregion has a high level of [[endemism]], especially among [[freshwater mollusc]]s such as [[Gastropoda|snails]] and [[Bivalvia|clams]]. At least 21 snail and clam species are of special concern, including 15 that appear to exist only in single clusters.<ref name=abell/>{{rp|167–169}} There are 14 fish species found in the Upper Snake region that do not occur elsewhere in the Columbia's watershed, but which do occur in some western Utah watersheds and the [[Yellowstone River]]. These include healthy populations of [[Yellowstone cutthroat trout]] and [[Snake River fine-spotted cutthroat trout]].<ref name="Benke and Cushing 2005"/>{{rp|608}} The [[Wood River sculpin]] is endemic to the Wood River. The [[Shoshone sculpin]] is endemic to the small portion of the Snake River between Shoshone Falls and the Wood River.<ref name=abell>{{cite book |last= Abell |first= Robin A. |author2= David M. Olsen |author3= Eric Dinerstein |author4= Patrick T. Hurley |title= Freshwater Ecoregions of North America: A Conservation Assessment |year= 2000 |publisher= [[Island Press]] |isbn= 1-55963-734-X |display-authors= etal |url= https://archive.org/details/freshwaterecoreg0000unse/page/167 }}</ref>{{rp|167–169}}[[File:Snake river fine spotted cutthroat trout.jpg|thumb|Snake river fine spotted cutthroat trout]]

The Snake River below Shoshone Falls is home to about 35 native fish species, of which 12 are also found in the Columbia River and four of which are endemic to the Snake or nearby watersheds: the [[Percopsis transmontana|sand roller]], [[shorthead sculpin]], [[margined sculpin]] and the [[Oregon chub]], which also occurs in a few other Oregon streams.<ref name=abell/> [[Bull trout]] migrate from the main stem of the Snake to spawn in several tributary basins, including the Bruneau,<ref name="Benke and Cushing 2005"/>{{rp|608}} Imnaha and Grande Ronde Rivers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fws.gov/project/bull-trout-redd-monitoring-wallowa-mountains|title=Bull Trout Redd Monitoring in the Wallowa Mountains|publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service|date=March 31, 2021|accessdate=January 8, 2024}}</ref> Large [[white sturgeon]], introduced to the Snake River in the 19th century, were once widespread in the Snake River below Shoshone Falls; due to dam construction, only a few fragmented populations remain.<ref name="Benke and Cushing 2005"/>{{rp|608–609}} The [[Idaho Department of Fish and Game]] has occasionally recorded sturgeon more than {{convert|10|ft|m}} long in Hells Canyon.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://idfg.idaho.gov/blog/2021/12/when-big-ones-were-biting|title=Hells Canyon sturgeon are so big that anglers don't need to lie about how big they are|publisher=Idaho Department of Fish and Game|date=December 27, 2021|accessdate=February 4, 2024}}</ref> Other common introduced species include [[Mountain whitefish|whitefish]], [[pikeminnow]], [[smallmouth bass]], and [[rainbow trout|rainbow]], [[brown trout|brown]], [[brook trout|brook]] and [[lake trout]].<ref name="Benke and Cushing 2005"/>{{rp|608}}

====Anadromous fish====
[[Anadromous]] [[salmonid]]s (''[[Oncorhynchus]]''), including chinook, coho, and sockeye salmon, and [[Columbia River redband trout|redband]] and steelhead trout, were historically the most abundant fish and a [[keystone species]] of the Snake River system.<ref name="American Rivers"/> Benke and Cushing's ''Rivers of North America'' describes the Snake as a "wild salmon factory;"<ref name="Benke and Cushing 2005"/>{{rp|608}} prior to the 19th century, between two and six million adult salmon and steelhead returned each year from the Pacific to spawn in the Snake River watershed.<ref name="American Rivers">{{cite web|url=https://www.americanrivers.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/SnakeRiver_MER2022_Report_Final_03302022.pdf|title=America's Most Endangered Rivers: Snake River|publisher=American Rivers|year=2022|accessdate=January 8, 2024}}</ref> Salmon die after spawning, and their carcasses represent a crucial influx of organic matter to mountain rivers that have few natural nutrient sources.<ref name="Long 2021"/> Tributaries below Hells Canyon, particularly the Salmon River, held the richest spawning grounds, although substantial numbers also made it above Hells Canyon as far as Shoshone Falls.<ref name="Nemeth">{{cite web|url=https://collaboration.idfg.idaho.gov/FisheriesTechnicalReports/Snake%20River%20Spring%20and%20Summer%20Chinook%20Salmon%20-%20The%20Choice%20for%20Recovery.pdf|title=Snake River Spring and Summer Chinook Salmon - The Choice for Recovery|author=Nemeth, Douglas J. |author2=Kiefer, Russell B.|publisher=Idaho Department of Fish and Game|date=October 1999|accessdate=February 4, 2024}}</ref> The Snake River produced about 40&nbsp;percent of all chinook salmon and 50&nbsp;percent of all steelhead in the Columbia River watershed.<ref name="American Rivers"/>

[[Image:Lower Monumental Dam - a fish ladder (11955632415).jpg|thumb|left|Adult salmon and steelhead returning to the Snake River must surmount fish ladders at several dams, including this one at Lower Monumental Dam.|alt=Detail view of a portion of a concrete dam, showing a fish ladder in between a spillway to the left and a navigation lock to the right.]]
Populations of anadromous fish began to decline in the late 1800s due to the impact of commercial fishing, logging, mining and agriculture,<ref name="Long 2021"/> but even in the 1930s, returning fall chinook alone numbered 500,000.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://critfc.org/2012/11/09/snake-river-fall-chinook/|title=Snake River Fall Chinook Recovery|publisher=Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission|date=November 9, 2012|accessdate=January 8, 2024}}</ref> Populations further collapsed once dams were built on the lower Snake and Columbia Rivers, and Hells Canyon Dam blocked access to the upper Snake. Wild Snake River spring and summer chinook returns declined from 130,000 in the 1950s to less than 5,000 in the 1990s. Wild steelhead returns followed a similar pattern, falling from 110,000 in the 1960s to less than 10,000 in the 1990s. Spring, summer and fall-run chinook were all listed as threatened in 1992.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/endangered-species-conservation/snake-river-spring-summer-run-chinook-salmon|title=Snake River Spring/Summer-run Chinook Salmon|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|date=November 8, 2023|accessdate=January 24, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/endangered-species-conservation/snake-river-fall-run-chinook-salmon|title=Snake River Fall-run Chinook Salmon|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|date=January 22, 2024|accessdate=January 24, 2024}}</ref> Snake River steelhead were also listed as threatened in 1997.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/endangered-species-conservation/snake-river-basin-steelhead|title=Snake River Basin Steelhead|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|date=August 17, 2023|accessdate=January 24, 2024}}</ref>

Wild chinook salmon and steelhead continued to decline into the 1990s, but have begun an unsteady recovery since 2000, with both chinook and steelhead returns up to 20,000–30,000 in some years.<ref name="Snake River salmon graph"/> Coho salmon had disappeared from the Snake River by the 1980s, they were reintroduced to the watershed in 1995.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://critfc.org/press-releases/nez-perce-tribal-program-resurrects-snake-river-basin-coho-salmon/|title=Nez Perce Tribal Program Resurrects Snake River Basin Coho Salmon|publisher=Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission|accessdate=January 22, 2024}}</ref>

Snake River sockeye once numbered to up 150,000 adults.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=National Marine Fisheries Service West Coast Region |title=Status of the Species. Snake River Sockeye Salmon |year=2003 |pages=1–2}}</ref> Between 24,000 and 30,000 sockeye returned to Wallowa Lake in the Grande Ronde River watershed, but the run was eliminated by 1905 due to overharvest and unscreened irrigation diversions.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Cramer |last2=Witty |first1=Steven |first2=Kenneth  |title=Feasibility for Reintroducing Sockeye and Coho Salmon in the Grande Ronde Basin |publisher=BPA |id=Report DOE/BP 30423 1 |year=1998}}</ref> The [[Payette Lake]] population once numbering up to 100,000 was blocked by the Black Canyon Dam in 1924.<ref name=":0" /> Sockeye in the Yellowbelly, Stanley, and Pettit Lakes of the Sawtooth basin were eradicated by management actions of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game in the 1950s, and irrigation diversions lead to the extirpation of the Pettit Lake population.<ref name=":0" /> Snake River sockeye returns declined to 4,500 in the 1950s and only a few dozen by the late 1960s.<ref name="Snake River salmon graph">{{cite web|url=http://www.wildsalmon.org/images/factsheets-and-reports/2017.Graphs.Snake.River.Adult.Returns.pdf|title=Snake River Adult Returns for wild Spring/Summer Chinook Salmon, Sockeye Salmon and Steelhead: 1950s to Present|publisher=Save Our Wild Salmon|accessdate=January 8, 2024}}</ref>  Snake River sockeye were listed as endangered in 1991.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/endangered-species-conservation/snake-river-sockeye-salmon|title=Snake River Sockeye Salmon|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|date=February 22, 2023|accessdate=January 24, 2024}}</ref>

Numerous hatcheries are operated by agencies such as the Army Corps, Idaho Power, the [[Bonneville Power Administration]], the [[U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs]] and the [[U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]], to supplement wild fish populations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/endangered-species-conservation/snake-river-basin-hatchery-programs|title=Snake River Basin Hatchery Programs|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|date=October 2, 2019|accessdate=February 4, 2024}}</ref> Hatcheries release about 33 million salmon and steelhead smolt into the Snake River watershed each year.<ref name="McMillan 2021"/> However, the survival rate for hatchery fish is poor. Just 0.4&nbsp;percent of hatchery chinook and 1.5&nbsp;percent of hatchery steelhead returned as adults, as measured at Lower Granite Dam between 2007 and 2016.<ref name="McMillan 2021">{{cite web|url=https://www.tu.org/magazine/conservation/barriers/hatcheries-cant-save-snake-river-salmon-and-steelhead/|title=Hatcheries can't save Snake River salmon and steelhead|author=McMillan, John|publisher=Trout Unlimited|date=July 1, 2021|accessdate=January 22, 2024}}</ref>

Upstream of the four lower dams, the Snake River watershed contains some of the best remaining spawning habitat in the Columbia River system, particularly along the Clearwater and Salmon Rivers; the latter is one of the longest undammed rivers in the continental US.<ref name="Benke and Cushing 2005"/>{{rp|609}} A much depleted sockeye salmon run continues to spawn in Redfish Lake near [[Stanley, Idaho]], more than {{convert|900|mi|km}} inland from the Pacific Ocean. This represents the southernmost, highest elevation and longest sockeye run in the world.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Putting the Red Back in Redfish Lake, 20 Years of Progress Toward Saving the Pacific Northwest's Most Endangered Salmon Population|author=Kline, Paul A. |author2=Flagg, Thomas A.|year=2014|journal=Fisheries|volume=39|number=11|pages=488–500|doi=10.1080/03632415.2014.966087|bibcode=2014Fish...39..488K |url=https://fisheries.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Putting-the-Red-Back-in-Redfish-Lake-20-Years-of-Progress-Toward-Saving-the-Pacific-Northwests-Most-Endangered-Salmon-Population.pdf|accessdate=January 22, 2024}}</ref>

===Terrestrial and wetland habitats===
[[Image:Snake River Area of Critical Environmental Concern, Idaho (15665553301).jpg|thumb|right|Riparian forest and floodplain habitat lines the Snake River in Swan Valley, east of Rexburg, Idaho.|alt=A river forms multiple channels as it winds through a forested floodplain in a wide valley]]
{{See also|Snake River Plain (ecoregion)}}
The Snake River provides important wildlife habitat along much of its course, particularly in the arid Snake River Plain where it is the only source of water for many miles. The upper reaches of the Snake River, including in Jackson Hole and the floodplain north of Idaho Falls where it joins the Henrys Fork, have extensive [[Riparian zone|riparian]] [[gallery forest]]s dominated by [[Populus trichocarpa|black cottonwood]] and [[Populus angustifolia|narrowleaf cottonwood]].<ref name="Benke and Cushing 2005"/>{{rp|607}} The [[Northwest Power and Conservation Council]] describes these as "some of the most important cottonwood gallery forests in the Intermountain West".<ref name="uppersnakeprovince"/> Seasonal floods scour and change the shoreline, clearing areas of older trees and making way for new growth. [[Spiranthes diluvialis|Ute lady's tresses]], a rare orchid, are found in riparian wetlands along with willows, rushes, sedges and horsetails.<ref name="Benke and Cushing 2005"/>{{rp|607}}

The Fort Hall Bottoms in the southern Snake River Plain are an important wetland along the river, and create a major wintering and nesting site for waterfowl, shorebirds and raptors, including bald eagles and trumpeter swans.<ref name="Fort Hall Bottoms">{{cite web|url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc935064/m2/1/high_res_d/964647.pdf|title=Habitat Restoration/Enhancement, Fort Hall Reservation: 2008 Annual Report|author=Osborne, Hunter|publisher=University of North Texas|accessdate=January 20, 2024}}</ref> Part of these wetlands were flooded with the construction of American Falls Dam, and large portions of the remainder have been degraded by cattle grazing.<ref name="Fort Hall Bottoms"/> Ponds and wetlands in the Hagerman Valley, near the [[Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument]], are also heavily used by both migratory and resident birds.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/thingstodo/hafo_birding.htm|title=Birding in the Hagerman Valley|publisher=U.S National Park Service|accessdate=January 20, 2024}}</ref> On the Snake River south of Boise is the nearly {{convert|500000|acre|ha|adj=on}} [[Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area]], which hosts the densest concentration of nesting raptors in the US.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/idaho/morley-nelson-snake-river-birds-of-prey|title=Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey|publisher=U.S. Bureau of Land Management|date=|accessdate=January 24, 2024}}</ref>

The Snake River headwaters are part of the [[Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem]], which the National Park Service describes as "one of the largest nearly intact temperate-zone ecosystems on Earth." The region is home to some of the largest wild elk and bison populations in the US, and provides habitat for grizzly bear, wolverine and lynx.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/greater-yellowstone-ecosystem.htm|title=Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem|publisher=U.S. National Park Service|date=August 21, 2020|accessdate=January 24, 2024}}</ref> The other major wild area in the Snake River watershed centers on Idaho's extremely rugged [[Frank Church–River of No Return Wilderness]], the largest federally designated wilderness in the contiguous US.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/scnf/specialplaces/?cid=stelprdb5360033|title=Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness|publisher=U.S. Forest Service|date=|accessdate=February 2, 2024}}</ref><ref name="Benke and Cushing 2005"/>{{rp|609}} Although the Snake River watershed remains lightly populated, most of its landscape has seen significant human impact since the 19th century. Heavy logging has historically occurred in the Boise area<ref>{{cite web|url=https://history.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/0173.pdf|title=Lumber in the Boise Region|publisher=Idaho State Historical Society|work=Idaho State Historical Society Reference Series|accessdate=February 3, 2024}}</ref> and on the Clearwater River, which hosted the last whitewater [[log driving|log drive]] in the US in 1971.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://foresthistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/mccollister_the-clearwater-river-log-drives.pdf|title=The Clearwater River Log Drives|author=McCollister, Charles |author2=McCollister, Sarah|publisher=Forest History Society|work=Forest History Today|year=2000|accessdate=February 3, 2024}}</ref> Logging is still a major industry in the region, though since the 1990s, logging south of the Clearwater has decreased.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-A13-PURL-gpo53246/pdf/GOVPUB-A13-PURL-gpo53246.pdf|title=Logging Utilization in Idaho: Current and Past Trends|author=Simmons, Eric A. |author2=Morgan, Todd A. |author3=Berg, Erik C. |author4=Zarnoch, Stanley J. |author5=Hayes, Steven W. |author6=Thompson, Mike T.|publisher=U.S. Government Publishing Office|date=March 2014|accessdate=February 3, 2024}}</ref> Large areas of native sagebrush-steppe ecosystems, mostly in the Snake River Plain and Palouse, have been developed for agriculture. About two-thirds of the Snake River Plain remains grassland or shrubland; however, much of this acreage is impacted by livestock grazing, and fire regimes have become more severe with the proliferation of invasive species like [[cheatgrass]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1794/a/chapters/pp1794a_chapter24.pdf|title=Snake River Basin Ecoregion|author=Sleeter, Benjamin M.|work=U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1794–A, Status and Trends of Land Change in the Western United States, 1973 to 2000|publisher=U.S. Geological Survey|year=2012|accessdate=February 2, 2024}}</ref>

===Proposed dam removal===
[[Image:Un-Cruise Adventures - Legacy of Discovery (itinerary map).jpg|thumb|right|280px|Map showing locations of dams on the lower Snake and Columbia rivers|alt=A map showing the lower Snake and Columbia rivers, with locations of dams, cities and significant landmarks indicated]]
The lower Snake River dams have remained controversial since their construction, and in the 21st century there has been increased debate over potentially removing the dams. Although the dams were built with fish ladders, the warm, slow-moving water in reservoirs disoriented migrating fish,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.idahorivers.org/lsrd|title=The Lower Snake River Dams|publisher=Idaho Rivers United|date=|accessdate=February 2, 2024}}</ref> and juvenile fish experienced significant mortality passing through the dams.<ref name="Columbia River fish passage"/> In 1980 Congress passed the Northwest Power Act, which requires federal agencies in the Northwest to mitigate the impact of their dams on fish and wildlife. While installation of fish screens and bypasses have improved survival rates for juvenile fish,<ref name="Columbia River fish passage">{{cite web|url=https://www.nwcouncil.org/reports/columbia-river-history/fishpassage/|title=Fish passage at dams|publisher=Northwest Power and Conservation Council|accessdate=January 24, 2024}}</ref> efforts to capture fish and transport them around the dams have seen little success.<ref name="Benke and Cushing 2005"/>{{rp|609–610}} Although wild salmonid returns have seen a positive trend since their nadir in the 1990s, they remain well below pre-dam levels.<ref name="Snake River salmon graph"/>

Supporters of dam removal, which include tribal organizations such as the [[Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission]] and environmental advocacy groups such as the [[Natural Resources Defense Council]] and the [[Sierra Club]], argue that the most economical way to restore the fishery is to remove the dams, rather than continuing recovery efforts at great expense. As of 2023, over $17 billion had been spent on Snake River salmon recovery and hatchery operations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nwf.org/Northern-Rockies-and-Pacific-Region/Conservation/Snake-River-Salmon|title=Recovering Snake River Salmon|publisher=National Wildlife Federation|accessdate=February 2, 2024}}</ref> There are other economic arguments for dam removal, particularly that the annual cost of maintaining the barge channel exceeds the economic benefits provided by shipping, and the freight can be moved by rail instead.<ref name="Jones 2015"/><ref name="Revenue Stream">{{cite web|url=https://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/fish510/PDF/revenuestream8.pdf|title=Revenue Stream: An Economic Analysis of the Costs and Benefits of Removing the Four Dams on the Lower Snake River|publisher=University of Idaho|date=|accessdate=January 21, 2024}}</ref> Furthermore, the dams only account for a small percentage of the total hydropower in the Northwest.<ref name="Revenue Stream"/> A [[University of Idaho]] analysis estimated that over a 20-year period, removing the dams would be less expensive than the cost of continuing fish recovery efforts with the dams in place.<ref name="Revenue Stream"/> Representative [[Mike Simpson]] (R-ID) has been a major supporter of dam removal, and in 2021 put forth an ambitious proposal to remove the dams,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.hcn.org/issues/55.1/indigenous-affairs-dams-can-dam-removal-save-the-snake-river|title=Can dam removal save the Snake River?|work=High Country News|author=Austin, Hayley |author2=Smith, Anna V.|date=January 1, 2023|accessdate=January 24, 2024}}</ref> though Simpson's plan has come under scrutiny as among other actions, it would also impose "a 35-year moratorium on litigation related to anadromous fish" at federal Columbia River Basin dams.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.uidaho.edu/-/media/UIdaho-Responsive/Files/cnr/research/PAG/Issue/pag-ib24.pdf|title=Northwest In Transition: The Simpson Plan|publisher=University of Idaho|author=Wilson, Patrick|date=Aug 2021|accessdate=January 5, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://wildfishconservancy.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Simpson-Concept-Environmental-Justice-FINAL-4-12-2021-3.pdf|title=Rep. Simpson's Concept for the Lower Snake River Dams and Environmental Justice|publisher=Wild Fish Conservancy|year=2022|accessdate=January 5, 2024}}</ref>

Opponents of dam removal include farmers, local governments such as the city of Lewiston,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bigcountrynewsconnection.com/idaho/lewiston-city-council-votes-to-support-keeping-snake-river-dams/article_1c3dd8b2-64ef-11ed-ab10-2b84daf92a3f.html|title=Lewiston City Council Votes to Support Keeping Snake River Dams|work=Big Country News|date=November 15, 2022|accessdate=February 3, 2024}}</ref> congressional representatives in eastern Washington<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/article284650755.html|title=GOP reps ramp up fight on 'hypocritical assault' on Snake River dams in Eastern WA|work=Tri-City Herald|author=Cary, Annette|date=January 24, 2024}}</ref> and the Bonneville Power Administration, which manages federal hydroelectric dams in the Northwest.<ref name="NRDC 2018"/> In the context of shipping, while river traffic has declined in recent years, it remains important to the area's economy, and moving cargo by barge is cheaper and twice as fuel-efficient as diesel trains.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.uswheat.org/wheatletter/legislation-supports-barge-transportation-and-lower-snake-river-dams/|title=Legislation Supports Barge Transportation and Lower Snake River Dams|publisher=U.S. Wheat Associates|date=December 9, 2022|accessdate=February 3, 2024}}</ref> While the dams do not generate much [[baseload power]], they are crucial to managing peak demand on a daily basis, as hydropower can be ramped up and down quickly. As more wind and solar energy is added to the Northwest grid, more load balancing will be needed to compensate for the intermittent nature of those sources.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nwriverpartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/2019-12-09-PPC-NRU-LSRD-fact-sheet_FINAL.pdf|title=Lower Snake River Dams Fact Sheet|publisher=Northwest River Partners|accessdate=February 3, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/for-first-time-in-20-years-feds-take-deep-look-at-hydrodam-removal-on-lower-snake-river/|title=For first time in 20 years, feds take deep look at hydroelectric dam removal on Lower Snake River|author=Mapes, Lynda V.|work=The Seattle Times|date=February 27, 2020|accessdate=February 3, 2024}}</ref> Although Washington governor [[Jay Inslee]] and Washington Senator [[Patty Murray]] have tentatively endorsed dam removal, they stressed that hydropower must be replaced by other renewable sources, and economic impacts such as the loss of the ship channel should be "mitigated or replaced."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.hatchmag.com/articles/inslee-and-murray-would-support-snake-river-dam-removal/7715550|title=Inslee and Murray would support Snake River dam removal|work=Hatch|author=Hunt, Chris|date=August 30, 2022|accessdate=February 3, 2024}}</ref>

In December 2023, the [[Presidency of Joe Biden|Biden administration]] expressed its support for the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative, which would develop a strategy to replace the power and navigation benefits provided by the Snake River dams, and explore options for post-dam river restoration. The initiative is an agreement between the federal government, four tribal nations, the states of Washington and Oregon, and several conservation groups. It would not authorize the removal of the dams, which would require a separate act of Congress.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hcn.org/articles/dams-lower-snake-river-dams-closer-to-coming-down-with-new-agreement|title=Lower Snake River dams closer to coming down with new agreement|work=High Country News|author=Smith, Anna V.|date=December 15, 2023|accessdate=January 31, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/snake-river-litigation-cbri.pdf|title=Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative|publisher=EarthJustice|date=December 14, 2023|accessdate=January 31, 2024}}</ref>